Disclosed is a system for monitoring the status of a material exposed to a high-voltage and high-temperature environment, such as the refractory material in an electric furnace. The system is operative to collect data from a sensor disposed in the proximity of such material, while incorporating protective elements for operating at a 2000ºF temperature and a 3.0 KV voltage to reduce the overall downtime during the inspection and prevent potential personnel injuries as well as furnace and equipment damage. Additionally, the system comprises a processor and data processing software to account for harsh environment effects while determining certain flaws, including the deformation of, and presence of gaps within, the refractory material. This allows determining the thickness of the refractory material, timely warning about the risks of furnace operation, achieving higher operational safety, and more accurately estimating both the remaining operational life and the maintenance plan of the furnace.
G01B 15/02 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electromagnetic waves or particle radiation, e.g. by the use of microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays or electrons for measuring thickness
Disclosed is a system and a method for determining the thickness of a refractory material forming part of a manufacturing vessel, such as a furnace or ladle, using a surface profile scanning while the vessel is maintained at operating temperatures. The system and method are operative to determine the relative positionings of an internal surface and the corresponding external surface of such material, based on a plurality of surface profile data scans. Additionally, a computational algorithm can process these data and/or other data to determine certain flaws of the refractory material, including the presence of gaps within and bending or deformation of such material for a more accurate determination of its thickness. This provides a way to early warn a user of the risk of continuing operating the vessel, achieve a higher operational safety, and more accurately estimate both the remaining operational life and the maintenance plan of the vessel.
F27B 1/28 - Arrangements of monitoring devices, of indicators, of alarm devices
G01B 7/06 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electric or magnetic techniques for measuring length, width, or thickness for measuring thickness
G01B 11/06 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring length, width, or thickness for measuring thickness
Disclosed is a system and a method for estimating a level of risk of operation of a metallurgical vessel used in the formation of metals. The system and method are operative to determine a condition and level of degradation of the refractory material of the vessel to early warn a user of the operational risk of continuing operating the vessel, based on thermal scanning and the use of artificial intelligence. The system is capable of determining the presence of certain flaws within the refractory material and the remaining thickness of such material by correlating the results of processing thermal data corresponding to the external surface of the vessel with a machine learning-based mathematical model, according to a set of operational parameters related to the melting process, data from the user, and residual thickness of the refractory material.
F27D 21/00 - Arrangement of monitoring devicesArrangement of safety devices
G01B 15/02 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electromagnetic waves or particle radiation, e.g. by the use of microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays or electrons for measuring thickness
Disclosed is a system and method for evaluating a status of a refractory material in metallurgical vessels, including furnaces and ladles, wherein a slag buildup is formed on the surface of such material as a result of scrap accumulation and chemical reactions occurring during the melting of metals in such vessels. The system and method are operative to determine both a rate of degradation of the material under evaluation, including the thickness of such material, and a measure of the slag buildup to predict and extend the operational life and improve the maintenance plan of the vessel. The system is capable of determining the thickness of and the slag buildup on the entire material under evaluation by sampling a number of regions of such material with different types of sensors, characterizing the surface profile of such material, and using appropriate signal processing techniques and artificial intelligence algorithms.
G01M 3/16 - Investigating fluid tightness of structures by using fluid or vacuum by detecting the presence of fluid at the leakage point using electric detection means
G01M 3/40 - Investigating fluid tightness of structures by using electric means, e.g. by observing electric discharges
Disclosed is a sensing system to evaluate and monitor the status of a material forming part of a refractory furnace, integrating an antenna and a grating structure that might be part of the furnace. The system is operative to identify flaws and measure the erosion profile and thickness of different materials, including refractory materials of an industrial furnace, using radiofrequency signals. The system is designed to integrate the antenna with a grating adjacent to an external furnace wall to improve the overall performance of the sensing system as compared to that of the antenna alone during an inspection of the furnace, even in regions of difficult access. Furthermore, the system comprises a mechanism to physically attach the antenna to the furnace grating or to modify the grating configuration around the antenna to improve the system performance for better estimating the remaining operational life and maintenance plan of the furnace.
Disclosed is an apparatus and method for evaluating a status of a refractory material in metallurgical vessels, including furnaces and ladles, wherein an external structure at least partly surrounding the refractory material impairs the propagation of radiofrequency signals. The apparatus and method are operative to identify flaws and determine the erosion profile and thickness of refractory material and the level or rate of penetration of molten material into the refractory material, using radiofrequency signals. The apparatus comprises an antenna embedded in the refractory material or positioned inside the chamber of the vessel designed to collect data associated with the propagation of radiofrequency signals transmitted by the antenna into the refractory material. Moreover, signal processing techniques allow determining the status of the internal wall of the vessel due to operational wear, age, and presence of flaws, cracks, corrosion, and erosion to improve the operational life and maintenance of the vessel.
G01N 22/00 - Investigating or analysing materials by the use of microwaves or radio waves, i.e. electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of one millimetre or more
G01B 15/00 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electromagnetic waves or particle radiation, e.g. by the use of microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays or electrons
G01B 15/02 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electromagnetic waves or particle radiation, e.g. by the use of microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays or electrons for measuring thickness
G01B 15/04 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electromagnetic waves or particle radiation, e.g. by the use of microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays or electrons for measuring contours or curvatures
The display device 1 is provided with a display 5, a ground plate 3, and a transparent antenna element 2a. In a plan view, the ground plate 3 is disposed so as to correspond to the display 5, the transparent antenna element 2a is disposed so as to correspond to a portion of a display area of the display 5, and the ground plate 3 has a cutout part 3a corresponding to the transparent antenna element 2a.
H01Q 1/24 - SupportsMounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles with receiving set
G09F 9/00 - Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements
H01Q 7/00 - Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
Disclosed is an improved system and method to evaluate the status of a material. The system and method are operative to identify flaws and measure the erosion profile and thickness of different materials, including refractory materials, using electromagnetic waves. The system is designed to reduce a plurality of reflections, associated with the propagation of electromagnetic waves launched into the material under evaluation, by a sufficient extent so as to enable detection of electromagnetic waves of interest reflected from remote discontinuities of the material. Furthermore, the system and method utilize a configuration and signal processing techniques that reduce clutter and enable the isolation of electromagnetic waves of interest. Moreover, the launcher is impedance matched to the material under evaluation, and the feeding mechanism is designed to mitigate multiple reflection effects to further suppress clutter.
G01B 15/02 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electromagnetic waves or particle radiation, e.g. by the use of microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays or electrons for measuring thickness
F27D 21/00 - Arrangement of monitoring devicesArrangement of safety devices
G01B 7/06 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electric or magnetic techniques for measuring length, width, or thickness for measuring thickness
G01B 11/06 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring length, width, or thickness for measuring thickness
G01B 15/04 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electromagnetic waves or particle radiation, e.g. by the use of microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays or electrons for measuring contours or curvatures
G01K 1/02 - Means for indicating or recording specially adapted for thermometers
Disclosed is a system to evaluate and monitor the status of a material forming part of an asset, such as a refractory furnace. The system is operative to identify flaws and measure the erosion profile and thickness of different materials, including refractory materials of an industrial furnace, using radiofrequency signals. The system is designed to integrate software with a plurality of sensors and additional hardware to collect data during an inspection of the furnace, even in regions of difficult access. Furthermore, the system comprises a software management subsystem configured to implement signal processing techniques to process the data collected and generate reports to visualize the status, estimate the remaining operational life, and determine the level of penetration of molten material into the surrounding layers of the furnace. Moreover, the system's software enables a user to monitor the status of the furnace both locally and remotely.
G01R 27/28 - Measuring attenuation, gain, phase shift, or derived characteristics of electric four-pole networks, i.e. two-port networksMeasuring transient response
Disclosed is an improved device and method to evaluate the status of a material by scanning an area that overlaps a region of the material under evaluation. The device and method are operative to identify a leakage of a first material into a second material, such as a molten material surrounded by a refractory material, to measure the thickness of the second material, using electromagnetic waves, and to generate images. The device is designed to reduce a plurality of reflections associated with the propagation of electromagnetic waves launched into the material under evaluation, by a sufficient extent so as to enable detection of electromagnetic waves of interest reflected from remote discontinuities present in between the device and the enclosed material. Furthermore, the device can be configured to scan areas of interest in either a portable or fixed configuration, manually in a standalone mode or as part of an automated system.
G01B 11/06 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring length, width, or thickness for measuring thickness
G01B 15/02 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electromagnetic waves or particle radiation, e.g. by the use of microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays or electrons for measuring thickness
Disclosed is an improved system and method to evaluate the status of a material. The system and method are operative to identify flaws and measure the erosion profile and thickness of different materials, including refractory materials, using electromagnetic waves. The system is designed to reduce a plurality of reflections, associated with the propagation of electromagnetic waves launched into the material under evaluation, by a sufficient extent so as to enable detection of electromagnetic waves of interest reflected from remote discontinuities of the material. Furthermore, the system and method utilize a configuration and signal processing techniques that reduce clutter and enable the isolation of electromagnetic waves of interest. Moreover, the launcher is impedance matched to the material under evaluation, and the feeding mechanism is designed to mitigate multiple reflection effects to further suppress clutter.
G01B 7/06 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electric or magnetic techniques for measuring length, width, or thickness for measuring thickness
12.
ADAPTIVE ANTENNA FEEDING AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING THE DESIGN THEREOF
Disclosed is an antenna feeding system and method to optimize the design of the feeding system to feed an antenna made of a resistive sheet. The system and method are operative to design a topology of the antenna feeding system to adapt to a topology of the resistive sheet antenna to mitigate the adverse effects caused by the inherent losses of resistive sheets while operating as antennas. The system is designed to reduce a convergence of radiofrequency currents that may create a localized high density current concentration, such as hot spots and pinch points, on the resistive sheet, by a sufficient extent so as to prevent power losses that substantially decrease the radiation efficiency of the antenna as compared with feeding systems designed using traditional design techniques.
Disclosed is an antenna system and method to optimize the design of an antenna using resistive sheets. The system and method are operative to design a topology of a resistive sheet to mitigate the adverse effects caused by the inherent losses of resistive sheets while operating as antennas. The system is designed to reduce a plurality of radiofrequency current "hot spots" and "pinch points," associated with the flow of a current on a resistive sheet, by a sufficient extent so as to enable radiation of electromagnetic waves at substantially higher radiation efficiency as compared with antennas designed using traditional design techniques.
A method and system for evaluating the condition of a remote surface of a material, especially a refractory material, including the steps of providing a wide band coherent radar antenna that is selected based upon an impedance match with the material to be evaluated, wherein said antenna is provided a physical configuration adapted to delay receipt of a signal of interest reflected from said remote surface of said material by a time period sufficient to distinguish between said reflected signal of interest and reflected spurious signals from a near surface of said material, placing said antenna adjacent said near surface of said material, irradiating said material with coherent microwave radiation tuned over a frequency range, detecting reflected microwave radiation from said remote surface of said material, and determining the thickness of the material based upon a determined distance traveled by said signal of interest.
patents
