Industrial high-temperature radar and imaging technology in blast furnace burden distribution monitoring process

Chen, Xianzhong; Liu, Fengmei; Hou, Qingwen; Lu, Yao

doi:10.1109/icemi.2009.5274795

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In high temperature envrionments like furnaces or batch-containers, we have to ensure a proper heat protection of the TLPR. This can be done by flushing the whole system with cooling nitrogen like proposed in [13], which seems to be very costly. In other high temperature applications, TLPRs are combined with long, heat resistant CWG transitions.…”

Section: High Temperature Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dielectric waveguides for industrial radar applications

Baer

Schulz

Rolfes

et al. 2015

Int. J. Microw. Wireless Technol.

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In this paper, we present several dielectric waveguide (DWG) setups that enable the transition between radar front ends and antennas in challenging, industrial environments. Apart from good propagation behavior, DWG provide a nearly dispersion free transmission over large distances. Furthermore, they can be used as an electrical insulator in places with critical creep distances, in high temperature environments, and for applications with limited installation space. Fundamentals concerning the ideal propagation mode and adequate waveguide-fiber transitions are presented. Results of electromagnetic simulations as well as measurements on manufactured DWG are discussed in detail. The presented excellent propagation behavior proves the effectiveness of the proposed setup.In the last decades, radar systems found their way into numerous industrial applications. Therefore, one common application is the tank level probing radar (TLPRs). It is used to determine the filling level of silos or tanks. Therefore, basic requirements for efficient TLPR-systems are the resolution, the accuracy, and the cost. While the resolution deteriorates due to dispersion, signal attenuation decreases the signalto-noise ratio which influences the accuracy of the radar negatively. By now, we observe two trends concerning industrial radar systems. Firstly, operating frequencies increase due to the simultaneously increasing operation bandwidth, which results in higher range resolutions. A prominent TLPR system with a center frequency at 80 GHz was introduced in [1]. Secondly, the contact free measuring method of TLPRs is ideally suited for the operation in harsh industrial environments like high temperature environments or potentially explosive atmospheres. For the explosive atmosphere operation, TLPR systems have to comply various safety requirements like the DIN-EN-50020. Furthermore, in case of high temperature applications, cooling zones must be kept to ensure proper functionality of the radar system. Therefore, the transition between electronic and antenna must be extended, which leads to increased dispersive behavior at higher frequencies.Although, these requirements are necessary due to safety reasons, they prevent the utilization of commonly used transitions or feedings. Hence, high frequency radar systems are often not applicable for high temperature applications or in potentially explosive atmospheres. In this contribution, we present dielectric waveguides (DWGs) that were designed and manufactured to fulfill a non-dispersive behavior as well as to meet the mentioned requirements. The presented DWGs were designed for operating frequency range from 75 to 90 GHz.Based on the results from [2], we have structured this article as follows. In chapter two, we illustrate three challenging industrial environments that limit the applicability for common TLPR systems. In chapter three, we discuss fundamentals concerning DWG and explain basic design rules. Further, we introduce three different DWG setups that are suitable for the mentioned environm...

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Section: High Temperature Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dielectric waveguides for industrial radar applications

Baer

Schulz

Rolfes

et al. 2015

Int. J. Microw. Wireless Technol.

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“…The FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) principle 5,6) has been employed to detect the distance inside the BF. The measurement scenario is shown in Fig.…”

Section: Methods and Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

Blowpipe Antenna in Blast Furnace Raceway Depth Measurement

Wei

Chen

2015

ISIJ Int.

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A high gain blowpipe antenna has been presented in this paper. The blowpipe is a pipe used to blow hot air into the Blast Furnace (BF). It has formed the antenna as the radiation unit. A multi-stages cylindrical waveguide has been designed and employed to be the feeding unit. The two units of antenna are separated outside and inside the BF. They are easy to assemble during the BF production process. The antenna operates from 24 to 26 GHz. The simulation result shows that the blowpipe antenna has 25 dBi gain, 20 dB return loss and 30° HPBW (Half Power Beam Width) at the frequency of 25 GHz. Prototype antenna has been fabricated and measured the raceway depth in a real BF. The experiment result shows that the blowpipe antenna can be used in raceway depth measurement. It has advantages of high gain and easy-to-assemble.

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“…However, the laser is easily interfered with by dust, and the speed of ultrasonic is easily interfered with by temperature. Stationary single-point microwave-level radar have been successful applied in these fields [ 5 , 6 ]. Considering the microwave wavelength is longer and the wave velocity is not sensitive to temperature, microwave imaging technology has become a promising technology for these areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Dielectric-Filled Waveguide Antenna Element for 3D Imaging Radar in High Temperature and Excessive Dust Conditions

Chen

et al. 2016

Sensors

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Three-dimensional information of the burden surface in high temperature and excessive dust industrial conditions has been previously hard to obtain. This paper presents a novel microstrip-fed dielectric-filled waveguide antenna element which is resistant to dust and high temperatures. A novel microstrip-to-dielectric-loaded waveguide transition was developed. A cylinder and cuboid composite structure was employed at the terminal of the antenna element, which improved the return loss performance and reduced the size. The proposed antenna element was easily integrated into a T-shape multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) imaging radar system and tested in both the laboratory environment and real blast furnace environment. The measurement results show that the proposed antenna element works very well in industrial 3D imaging radar.

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Industrial high-temperature radar and imaging technology in blast furnace burden distribution monitoring process

Cited by 19 publications

References 8 publications

Dielectric waveguides for industrial radar applications

Dielectric waveguides for industrial radar applications

Blowpipe Antenna in Blast Furnace Raceway Depth Measurement

A Dielectric-Filled Waveguide Antenna Element for 3D Imaging Radar in High Temperature and Excessive Dust Conditions

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