Feed and Charge Level Measurements in Furnaces

Warren Braun David Chataway, Jakob Janzen, Andrei Kepes

Production staff and metallurgists understand the importance of measuring the feed or blacktop layers in smelting furnaces. These measurements are crucial to the safe and stable operation of a furnace. However, obtaining the actual level measurements by traditional methods is not an easy task and it requires furnace operational staff to be exposed to the dangerous roof area of a live furnace. These traditional measurements are done manually and are inaccurate due to human interpretive error. Recently, technological advances have made new equipment and techniques available to furnace operations to measure the feed or blacktop layers safely and reliably. Ideally, the feed layer in a smelting furnace should be kept constant, or maintained within boundaries to ensure the integrity of the furnace crucible and to optimize smelting rates. Operational radar instruments on furnaces have shown significantly improved control of the furnace feed levels as compared to traditional means. Innovations in instrument design and cooling systems have enabled instrumentation to survive the harsh environment of a smelting furnace. As a result, the advantages are clear and the performance data verifies that knowledge of the furnace feed levels provides a measurable benefit to the furnace efficiency, safety and productivity