Temperature measurement and sampling an important links in the steelmaking process, but currently, most steel plants are still completed manually. The on-site working environment is poor, the labour intensity of workers is high, and the degree of intelligence is low.
Steel companies can implement intelligent operations by applying robotic technology in temperature measurement and sampling, which can not only avoid safety risks but also improve operational accuracy. The use of robots for temperature measurement and sampling can ensure that the temperature measurement sampling points are at a fixed position and have higher accuracy and success rate than manual labour. It can effectively maintain the safety of personnel, prevent burn accidents during manual temperature measurement, reduce labour intensity, and improve production quality and efficiency.
At the same time, in order to ensure the effectiveness of robots in practical applications, the feasibility of applying robots can be determined through simulation experiments.
1. Necessity of the project
When the robot system is in operation, combined with on-site automation equipment, it can automatically measure the temperature of molten steel and automatically complete the sampling work, which improves the working environment. Intelligent operations can be achieved during steelmaking, and the technical operation level is high. improved. Mainly reflected in three aspects:
1) The risk factor for operators is reduced when operating on-site
To avoid personal injury, the safety index of the site has been improved. The current electric furnace temperature measurement and sampling adopts a manual operation method. During the work, the steel slag will be splashed around and injure the on-site workers.
2) The labour intensity of workers is reduced
There is electromagnetic radiation and thermal radiation in front of the electric furnace, and the ambient temperature is very high. On-site personnel need to wear burn gloves and hold a 4-meter-long temperature measuring gun in their hands. When performing temperature measurement and sampling, extend the temperature measuring gun from the furnace mouth. into the electric furnace. This work is very labour-intensive, but industrial robots have the characteristics of high-temperature resistance and good protection. They can complete this work smoothly and ensure the quality of the work.
3) Eliminate manual operation errors
When applying a robotic system for temperature measurement and sampling, the accuracy can be improved and errors in manual operations can be eliminated. Timely feedback can also be provided during the measurement process, and the data obtained has high accuracy.
2. Feasibility of applying robots in electric furnace temperature measurement and sampling
1) The application of robots in temperature measurement and sampling can improve accuracy
Industrial enterprises use robots in electric furnace temperature measurement and sampling. They can adjust the thickness of thermocouples, sampler paper tubes and refractory materials according to the needs of temperature measurement, and optimize and adjust the insertion angle of the robot’s mechanical arm and the angle of the temperature measurement furnace body so that The depth of the thermocouple sampler inserted into the molten steel does not exceed 200mm. The temperature measurement and sampling has a high success rate and the accuracy of temperature measurement and sampling is greatly improved. The operation time from lowering the gun barrel to lifting the gun can be completed within 24 seconds. The success rate of temperature measurement of molten steel exceeds 98%; the success rate of oxygen determination of molten steel exceeds 96%; the success rate of sampling and breaking slag of molten steel exceeds 96%; The surface detection accuracy is controlled within 20mm, and the repeatable positioning error of the probe inserted into the molten steel is less than 2mm; the repeatable positioning accuracy of the liquid level ranging sensor does not exceed 20mm.
2) The application of robots in temperature measurement and sampling can reduce personnel and increase efficiency.
In the steel industry, an LF furnace is a refining furnace, which is a special form of electric arc furnace. The application of robots in electric furnace temperature measurement and sampling can realize fully automatic operation of the entire cycle of the system. The operator can automatically measure the temperature with one-button start. No human participation is required in the entire process. At the same time, it can also receive secondary distribution from the LF furnace. instruction. The system operates automatically and also has manual operation functions, allowing step-by-step operations. Robots are used in electric furnace temperature measurement and sampling. Since all operations are completed by robots, the number of workers is reduced, and the work quality and efficiency are improved.
3. Application examples of temperature measurement and sampling robots
1) Taiyuan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.’s first temperature measurement and sampling robot comes on duty, and the entire process is completed with one click
Recently, the first temperature measurement and sampling robot at the Taiyuan base of Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. successfully conducted a hot test in the No. 3 LF furnace in the North District of the Second Steelmaking Plant. The operator only needs to press the start button, and the robot wearing a silver heat-insulating suit will extend its long arms to quickly and accurately complete the temperature measurement and sampling operation.
The temperature measurement and sampling robot put into use this time adopts the “one gun, two uses” mode. Before the ladle truck enters the No. 3 LF furnace station, the radar liquid level detection device detects the height of the molten steel level in the ladle and guides the depth of the measuring gun into the molten steel. During operation, the robot automatically installs the probe for temperature measurement and sampling according to different temperature measurements and sampling settings and automatically disassembles the probe after the operation is completed. The entire process is completed with one click.
The successful use of the temperature measurement and sampling robot marks that the temperature measurement and sampling operation of the Second Steelmaking Plant has entered the era of intelligent robot mode from extensive manual mode, truly allowing employees to transform from a “3D” job with the poor working environment, high labour intensity, and high-risk factor. Liberated from the job.
2) The converter plant of Hubei Xinye Steel Co., Ltd. has successfully introduced a full-process intelligent robot temperature measurement and sampling system
It is reported that this system was used for the first time in Xinye Steel. Since the successful heat load test on January 30, it has been running smoothly. It has now replaced manual operations to complete the molten steel detection work in the LF furnace of the converter plant, pushing the unmanned production of the steel plant to a further step!
The intelligent temperature measurement and sampling system applied this time uses advanced robot technology, combined with automatic feeding system equipment and advanced control concepts, making full use of the flexibility of the robot to drive the temperature measurement and sampling gun rod and cooperate with the automatic feeding equipment to carry out temperature measurement and sampling. The probe is eliminated and replaced, thereby completing the entire temperature measurement and sampling process with high efficiency and precision. While improving the safety factor of operations and effectively avoiding safety accidents, it also ensures the accuracy and real-time nature of temperature measurement and sampling data, improves on-site operation efficiency, and realizes unmanned and intelligent operation of temperature measurement and sampling.
Automatic feeding device
It consists of a temperature measurement supply bin, a sampling supply bin, a chain mechanism, an automatic probe rejection device and an electronic control system. A touch screen is set outside the device to display the operating status of the automatic feeding equipment, fault alarm, and automatic/manual It has functions such as switching and device self-diagnosis and can supply two different types of materials at the same time, which is the first of its kind in China.
After a period of use and verification, all indicators of the robot’s intelligent temperature measurement and sampling system are at the leading level. The molten steel temperature measurement rate is 100%, and the liquid level detection accuracy is ±20mm. At the same time, the robot’s intelligent temperature measurement and sampling system can be used for temperature measurement and sampling in RH furnaces, LF furnaces, converters, electric furnaces, continuous casting and other processes according to specific requirements.