Apparatus for temperature measurements of a molten bath in a top submerged injection lance installation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10018509-B2
Application number	US-201414783233-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 11, 2014
Priority date	Apr 12, 2013
Publication date	Jul 10, 2018
Grant date	Jul 10, 2018

Abstract

A temperature measuring apparatus for a top submerged lancing installation, for use in measuring the temperature of a molten bath that includes a slag phase, during a pyro-metallurgical operation conducted in a reactor of the installation, includes a top submerged injecting top submerged injecting lance having at least an outer pipe and an inner pipe. A bore is defined by the inner pipe and an annular passage is defined in part by an inner surface of the outer pipe. The apparatus further includes a pyrometer device of which at least a sensor head part is mounted in relation to the top submerged injecting lance and operable both to receive infrared energy passing longitudinally within the lance from an outlet end of the lance. The sensor head part also is operable to focus the received infrared energy to enable generation of an output signal or display indicative of the temperature of a molten bath in which an outlet end portion of the lance is submerged and from which the infrared energy is received.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A temperature measuring apparatus for a TSL installation, for use in measuring the temperature of a molten bath that includes a slag phase, during a pyro-metallurgical operation conducted in a reactor of the installation, wherein the apparatus includes a top submerged injecting lance (herein a TSL lance) having at least an outer pipe and an inner pipe, with a bore defined by the inner pipe and an annular passage defined in part by an inner surface of the outer pipe, the TSL lance configured to inject fuel/reductant and oxygen containing gas into the molten bath causing combustion at an outlet end of the lance, and wherein the apparatus further includes an optical pyrometer device of which at least a sensor head part is mounted in relation to the TSL lance and operable both to receive infrared energy passing longitudinally within the TSL lance from the outlet end of the lance, and to focus the received infrared energy to enable generation of an output signal or display indicative of the temperature of a molten bath in which an outlet end portion of the TSL lance is submerged and from which the infrared energy is received.

2. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 1 , where the optical pyrometer device includes a detector unit operable to receive from the sensor head the focused infrared energy and generate a corresponding electrical output signal.

3. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the detector unit is coupled to the sensor head and receives the focused infrared energy directly from the sensor head.

4. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the detector unit is external to the TSL lance and is in communication with the sensor head by a fibre optic cable.

5. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the optical pyrometer device includes an amplifier unit operable to receive the output signal from the detector unit and to generate an amplified output signal.

6. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the amplifier unit is coupled to a display device operable to provide a display indicative of the temperature the molten bath from which the infrared energy was received by the sensor unit.

7. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least the sensor head of the optical pyrometer device is mounted in relation to the TSL lance within the periphery of at least the outer pipe of the lance.

8. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein at least the sensor head is within an annular passage between the outer and inner pipes.

9. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the TSL lance includes at least one intermediate pipe between the outer and inner pipes and the sensor head is between the outer pipe and a next inner-most pipe, or between two intermediate pipes, or between the inner pipe and a next outer-most pipe.

10. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the sensor head is within the periphery of the inner pipe.

11. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least the sensor head of the optical pyrometer device is spaced from each of the inlet and outlet ends of the TSL lance.

12. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein at least the sensor head is spaced from the outlet end of the lance by a minor part of the length of the lance.

13. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least the sensor head is oriented so that the sensor head has a cone axis substantially parallel with a longitudinal axis of the TSL lance.

14. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the inner pipe, and optionally any intermediate pipe, terminates short of the end of the outer pipe at the outlet end of the lance to define a mixing chamber within the outlet end portion of the lance, and the optical pyrometer device is mounted in relation to the lance at or adjacent to, such as within the bore of, the end of the inner pipe nearer to the outlet end of the lance.

15. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes at least two said optical pyrometer devices each having at least a sensor head part mounted in relation to the TSL lance and operable to receive infrared energy passing longitudinally within the lance from said outlet end and each operable to focus infrared energy it so receives and enable generation of a respective said output signal.

16. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 15 , wherein said at least two optical pyrometer devices are mounted within the bore defined by the inner pipe.

17. The temperature measuring apparatus of claim 15 , wherein at least one of said at least two optical pyrometer devices is mounted within an annular passage defined between at least one of the inner and outer pipes and an intermediate pipe between the inner and outer pipes.

18. The temperature measuring apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the TSL lance is cooled in use and thereby maintains a protective solid slag coating solely as a consequence of gas or gases injected through the lance.

19. The temperature measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the TSL lance is cooled in use and maintains a protective solid slag coating as a consequence of the combined cooling effect of gas or gases injected through the lance and circulation of coolant fluid.

Assignees

• Outotec Finland Oy

Inventors

• Matusewicz Robert W
• Grant John Robyn

Classifications

• C21C5/4673 Primary

  Measuring and sampling devices · CPC title

• C21C2005/5288

  Measuring or sampling devices · CPC title

• F27D2019/0003

  Monitoring the temperature or a characteristic of the charge and using it as a controlling value · CPC title

• G01J5/004 Primary

  by molten metals · CPC title

• F27B3/28

  Arrangement of controlling, monitoring, alarm or the like devices · CPC title