ABSTRACT
Maintaining and extending the safe working life of the furnace lining is a major step in the extension of productive asset life and an aid to maximum recovery of capital investment.
The paper focuses on the hearth which is a critical area of the blast furnace. Knowledge of the motion of liquids in the hearth, the position of the ‘deadman’ and lining thickness are examples of important factors to consider for prolonging the life of refractories. The objectives of the work are to develop a non-intrusive measurement in order to understand the motion of materials and thereby improve process control. A commercial gravimeter is used to detect gravity or mass changes caused by movements of material in the hearth.
A mathematical model of the blast furnace hearth has been modified to incorporate the forces due to gravity and the resulting calculations agreed with measurements.
The non-intrusive measurement of mass changes within the blast furnace hearth has the potential to develop into a new method of blast furnace liquid level control.
At present commercial gravimeter equipment is available from Engineering Research Organisations, Universities and Geophysics engineering services. Further work is required to adapt this equipment for routine use on a blast furnace.
