Cracking as a result of the puncture in the refractory which was causing machine downtime, interrupting operations and creating safety hazards. Compact spot finder IR camera was installed to create a temperature profile of the smelting furnace.
Online condition based monitoring of smelting furnace
Pilger mill in tube rolling mills - hot and cold pipe detection
Increased efficiency: Equipment lifetime improvement with early detection allowing for selective repairs as opposed to full lining replacement
Improved safety level: Prevented breakouts and reduced risk of damage to personnel & plant equipment
Predictive Maintenance: Real time system running 365 / 24/ 7 days, with warning of excessive shell temperature from refractory degradatio
Challenges
- Cracking as a result of the puncture in the refractory which was causing machine downtime, interrupting operations and creating safety hazards.
Solution
Compact spot finder IR camera was installed to create a temperature profile of the smelting furnace
- Each ROI (region of interest) temperature was continuously monitored
- If zone temperature exceeds above 300⁰C, an alarm was generated
- Easy identification of the spot with maximum refractory erosion was made possible
- Avoided unscheduled downtime: Avoided costly machinery damage and days to clean-up mess
Products and Accessories
Case Study Number
- TP3
Challenge
- The increasing flexibility of production lines requires a high adaptability of sensors. Continually changing object geometries, different temperatures and very high radiation or surrounding temperatures are no rarity.
- In a pilger mill those rough conditions can be found, among others in the production of seemless steel pipes. The raw steel blocks, each weighing a few tons are heated up first in a round oven at a temperature of 1300 °C.
- After descaling of the surface, the steel block is prepunched in a hole press with a strength from a converted 2000 t. In the next sloping rolling mill the growing pipe rotates between two rollers that are positioned at an angle to each other. The punching is widened to the size of the mandrel diameter.
Previous solution / Competitor product
- N/A
Solution
- The sensor that was installed at this application is the HMD OKA 2038.38 G with tube OL 19.
- The signal of the infrared sensors controls the movement of centering device and abutment. The point of view is restricted by the tube and prevents disturbances by steam in the cooling phase.
- An optimum adaptation to the operating conditions is given due to the adjustable response temperature. The HMD with self-learning response temperature (Auto-Teach function) is suited to continually changing conditions.
- The compact sensor with a stainless steel housing can withstand surrounding temperatures of up to 75° C. The use of a cooling jacket raises this up to 200° C.
- Alternatively sensors with fibre optic cables are available which permit an application at ambient temperatures up to 600° C without cooling.
Customer Benefits
- Maintenance-free
- High temperature stability
- Recognition of hot objects at big distances
- Self adjustment with Auto-Teach or step switch for the response temperature
Product Part number
- OKA 2038.38 G
Brand
- Proxitron
Accessories
- Piros swivel stand HM2
- Tube OL 19
- Pilot light unit (for alignment) DAK 308 + OL 26
- Different cable lengths (e.g. 15 m)
Customer Testimonial
compared to previous solution or competition
Case Studies
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