Investigation of the Possibilities for Infrared Diagnosis of Pierce-Smith Converters in Non-Ferrous Metallurgy

To implement predictive maintenance of units in the practice of metallurgical manufacturers, computer information and diagnostic systems are being developed to assess the current state of individual units throughout their entire life cycle. This publication presents the results of a study on developing an infrared diagnostic system for predictive maintenance of converter units in the non-ferrous metallurgy industry. A 3D mathematical model of the transient heat transfer in the wall of a real operating unit has been developed and numerically implemented to study, analyze, and diagnose surface temperature fields resulting from wear and local damage. To adjust the operation of the mathematical model, the design parameters and the results for operating and technological parameters of an industrial experiment were taken into consideration. Using the model, a full-factorial experiment was simulated to investigate the parameters of local damage and total wall wear. The optimal time range for conducting thermographic monitoring was determined based on the surface temperature field. A regression dependence was derived to predict the total wall wear of the converter unit as a function of the temperature of the outer surface of the unit. The results are part of a comprehensive investigation aimed at developing thermal imaging techniques for converter units in non-ferrous metallurgy.