Slag detection system improves steel quality

A Land Instruments International product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 12, 2002

Land Infrared has developed a new noncontact thermal imaging system that helps prevent slag being carried over during tapping of the steel melting furnace or converter.

Land Infrared has developed a new noncontact thermal imaging system that helps prevent slag being carried over during tapping of the steel melting furnace or convertor.

The quantity of slag transferred to the ladle has a significant effect on process costs and product quality, and a reliable system can pay for itself within weeks of installation.

Controlling slag carry-over reduces the cost of steel-making, and of related processes such as alloy recovery, trimming and maintenance downtime.

The thermal imaging method also makes it easier to produce steel to the desired specification, and is intrinsically safer than conventional observation of the steel stream by the naked eye.

Land's new slag detection system uses an FTI 6 thermal imager, which can measure temperatures up to 2000C, housed in a rugged environmental enclosure.

The imager measures the infra-red energy emitted from the tapping stream at a wavelength of 3.9um, and is fitted with a telephoto lens that allows sufficient magnification for a clear view from a safe distance.

Slag produces a much brighter thermal image than steel at the same temperature, and the contrast between the two is an indicator of the presence of slag.

The high quality thermal image generated by the FTI 6 clearly shows the transition from steel to slag during tapping.

A special version of Land's proven LIPS software can be configured to activate alarms when a specific percentage of either steel or slag is detected within a defined thermal window, advising the operator of the need terminate tapping.

The same thermal imaging system can be used to measure the freeboard height of the liquid steel in the ladle.

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