Monitoring the wear of the refractory lining in the blast-furnace hearth

Abstract

The Razgar Gorna computer program is developed for calculating two-dimensional temperature fields in any vertical and horizontal cross section of the blast-furnace hearth. In the calculations, the heat-conduction equations are solved by means of readings from many temperature sensors (up to 1000, depending on the volume) installed within the furnace lining between the refractory modules. Continuous temperature monitoring at each point permits the determination of the remaining lining thickness and prediction of the onset of lining wear, as necessary. A mathematical model is employed in continuous temperature monitoring of the lining. The database of the Razgar Gorna program relies on the collection, analysis, and transmission of information from the temperature or heat-flux sensors. The program is in use at blast furnaces in Chinese steelworks at Jinan (two furnaces), Jiyuan, and Liuzhou. © 2013 Allerton Press, Inc.