KROHNE differential flowmeters at HKM

OPTIFLUX at HKM

Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH (Duisburg in Germany) utilizes a total of 60 OPTIFLUX electromagnetic flowmeters from KROHNE to measure flow rate differences in the cooling water circuit of blast furnace B. The aim is to detect leaks at the blast furnace tuyères as early as possible.




These nozzles are arranged in a ring in the wall of the blast furnace and blow hot wind at a temperature of 1300° C into the furnace for the reduction process. Each of the tuyères comprises two chambers and has a water cooling system to prevent damage being caused by the hot melt that would result in leaks. Such leaks inevitably lead to water entering the blast furnace, with a deterioration in the quality of the steel at best, and an oxyhydrogen gas explosion that can destroy the furnace at worst.

Differential flow measurements are generally difficult because the water volume to be measured lies in the range of the measuring uncertainty. At HKM, an alarm should already be triggered at 0.4% of the full-scale range in order to minimize the water inlet into the blast furnace. In order to achieve this goal, two OPTIFLUX were calibrated together so that the flowmeters can detect the admission of even minimal amounts of water into the blast furnace.

Two jointly calibrated flowmeters then monitor each tuyère and trigger an alarm as soon as the limit value of 0.4% of the full-scale range is exceeded. HKM is thus able to shut down defective tuyères and avoid costly standstills of the plant that could otherwise be caused by water damage.

Information: KROHNE Messtechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Thomas Zimmerling, E-mail: TZimmerling@krohne.de 

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