Furnace Lining Monitoring System

Metso's Outotec Furnace Lining Monitoring System is an intelligent solution for monitoring furnace refractory linings to reduce unplanned shutdowns, improve maintenance planning, and extend the lifespan of the lining.

Benefits

Metso's Outotec furnace lining monitoring system continuously monitors the refractory lining and provides data to support optimization of your furnace operations. The ability to monitor refractory performance and identify the correct time to replace the lining maximizes the campaign life and reduces costs at the smelter.

Key benefits

Improved furnace availability and longer refractory lining lifespan
Reduced risk of unplanned shutdowns for emergency repairs
Optimized lining campaign lifetime and improved shutdown planning
Reduced maintenance costs
Improved overall energy efficiency

Furnace containment is critical to your process. To obtain the longest possible campaign life and gain maximum benefit from the system, the performance of the furnace refractory linings needs to be continuously monitored.

Principle of operation

The solution comprises thermocouples installed at different depths in the furnace wall to enable accurate monitoring of locations that are prone to wear. Using data gathered by the thermocouples, the heat flux can be calculated throughout the lining using Fourier’s Law of Heat Conduction. The calculation uses the heat-flux data and the isotherm curves (temperature curves where metal and slag are at melting point). The collected data is used to generate user-friendly visualizations of temperature, lining condition, and isotherm curves for operators and engineering personnel.

The required analysis of the melting points and viscosity of all metal and slag components can be performed at the Outotec Research Center.

Metso's Outotec furnace lining monitoring system displays information in a clean 2D interface, enabling operators to quickly and easily determine the condition of the furnace lining.

Key components

Thermocouples
Connectivity from thermocouples to distributed control system (DCS) and from DCS to the FLMS PC and display
Software application including lining modeling and user interfaces

The number of thermocouples depends on the size and geometry of the furnace, and the software has to be modified according to number of thermoelements and furnace form.