Method for obtaining a height of a material stacked in a coke oven

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10844284-B2
Application number	US-201716099820-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 9, 2017
Priority date	May 13, 2016
Publication date	Nov 24, 2020
Grant date	Nov 24, 2020

Abstract

A method for obtaining a parameter representative of a height (H) of an upper surface of a material stacked in a coke oven with respect to a reference plane (P) is provided. The method includes the following steps:
providing a sensor located above the upper surface at an operation distance (D 1 ) from the reference plane, the sensor and the material forming a capacitor having a capacitance, obtaining at least one capacitance signal representative of said capacitance, obtaining at least one distance signal (S 2 ) using the capacitance signal, the distance signal being representative of a distance (D 2 ) between the sensor and the upper surface along a vertical direction (Z), and obtaining said parameter representative of the height using the distance signal and the operation distance. A process for controlling a filling rate of the coke oven, a system for implementing the method, and a coke oven including the system are also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for obtaining a parameter representative of a height of an upper surface of a material stacked in a coke oven with respect to a reference plane, comprising the following steps:
providing a sensor located above the upper surface at an operation distance from the reference plane, the sensor and the material forming a capacitor having a capacitance,
obtaining at least one capacitance signal representative of said capacitance,
obtaining at least one distance signal using the capacitance signal, the distance signal being representative of a distance between the sensor and the upper surface along a vertical direction, and
obtaining said parameter representative of the height using the distance signal and the operation distance.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
measuring a parameter representative of a temperature of the sensor, and
correcting the capacitance signal provided by the sensor in function of said parameter in order to produce the distance signal.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein obtaining the capacitance signal includes selecting the operation distance so that the distance between the sensor and the upper surface ranges between 0 cm and 60 cm.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
moving the sensor within the coke oven in a plurality of successive locations with respect to the upper surface,
obtaining a plurality of distance signals, each of the distance signals being obtained in one of the successive locations, and
obtaining a profile of the upper surface using the plurality of distance signals.

5. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising a step of calculating a filling rate of the coke oven using the obtained profile, wherein the filling rate is representative of an amount of the material in the coke oven.

6. A process for controlling a filling rate of a coke oven, the process comprising:
implementing the method according to claim 5 in to obtain the filling rate of the coke oven, and
adjusting the amount of the material in the coke oven using the obtained filling rate.

7. A system for obtaining a parameter representative of a height of an upper surface of bulk coal stacked in a coke oven with respect to a reference plane, comprising:
a leveling bar intended to be moved within the coke oven in a plurality of successive locations with respect to the upper surface, and
at least one assembly fastened to the leveling bar and including:
a sensor intended to be above the upper surface at an operation distance from the reference plane and to form a capacitor with the bulk coal, the capacitor having a capacitance, and
a device for providing at least one capacitance signal representative of said capacitance, and

a calculator,
the assembly being suitable for providing at least one distance signal using the capacitance signal, the distance signal being representative of a distance between the sensor and the upper surface along a vertical direction,
the calculator being adapted to calculate said parameter using the distance signal and the operation distance.

8. The system according to claim 7 , wherein:
the leveling bar has a bottom part, and
the sensor is located vertically at a distance above the bottom part, said distance ranging between 100 mm and 350 mm.

9. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the assembly further comprises a protective housing hosting the sensor, the protective housing being suitable for providing thermal insulation from a temperature comprised between 1000° C. and 1100° C. within the coke oven.

10. The system according to claim 9 , wherein the protective housing comprises a case and at least one plate made of a dielectric material.

11. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the assembly further includes:
a temperature sensor adapted to measure a temperature in the assembly, and
a temperature compensation system adapted to correct the capacitance signal provided by the sensor for variations of the measured temperature in order to produce the distance signal.

12. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the assembly further includes an accelerometer adapted to provide parameters for inertial navigation of the assembly.

13. A coke oven comprising the system according to claim 7 .

14. A system for obtaining a parameter representative of a height of an upper surface of coke stacked in a coke oven with respect to a reference plane, comprising:
a guide car intended to be moved within the coke oven in a plurality of successive locations with respect to the upper surface, and
at least one assembly fastened to the guide car and including:
a sensor intended to be above the upper surface at an operation distance from the reference plane and to form a capacitor with the coke, the capacitor having a capacitance, and
a device for providing at least one capacitance signal representative of said capacitance, and

a calculator,
the assembly being suitable for providing at least one distance signal using the capacitance signal, the distance signal being representative of a distance between the sensor and the upper surface along a vertical direction,
the calculator being adapted to calculate said parameter using the distance signal and the operation distance.

15. A coke oven comprising the system according to claim 14 .

Assignees

• Arcelormittal

Inventors

• Lopez Fresno José
• Garcia Cimadevilla José Luis
• Fernandez Lopez Juan José

Classifications

• G01B7/023 Primary

  for measuring distance between sensor and object (G01B7/082 and G01B7/102 take precedence) · CPC title

• C10B37/02

  Levelling charges, e.g. with bars · CPC title

• C10B41/005 Primary

  for charging coal · CPC title

• G01B7/082

  Height gauges · CPC title

• G01K7/02

  using thermoelectric elements, e.g. thermocouples · CPC title