Display of the SAVEWAY system
Dipl.-Medienwiss. Kristin Möller, Dr.-Ing. Manfred Hopf
Up to the present day the identification of wear at electrical melting, holding and pouring furnaces has mostly been the business of the melter, who operates this equipment and makes decisions based on his experiences. Information about the power input, current, voltage and frequencies are available to the operating staff. In cold condition it is possible to measure and inspect the crucible to discover potential defects of the furnace lining and thereby avoid failures and furnace breakthroughs. In the sintered furnace lining cracks evolve during the cooling process. These mostly close as the furnace is heated. Unfortunately these cracks also drive the wear deeper into the lining. Dangerous are especially in coreless induction furnaces metal fins, that infiltrate unrecognised into these cracks of the furnace lining. This causes expensive production losses and provokes extensive damage to the melting equipment. In the worst case these mistakes cause explosions with severe injuries to the furnace staff or fatal consequences.
The SAVEWAY system is the only technology available on the market that measures the remaining lining thickness during furnace operation. The original lining thickness is divided into 16 increments and is shown separately in each sensor segment. Large and small wash outs, metal infiltration, cracks and even smallest metal fins are indicated reliably. The detection of coolant leakages at the coil and also the monitoring of the dry-out progress of the refractory during sintering is possible with this technology.
For 20 years now the SAVEWAY system has been monitoring the refractory lining of coreless induction furnaces, as well as other melting and holding equipment. Worldwide the system is installed in more than 900 furnaces of different manufacturers and linings. Next to the important increase of safety for operating staff and equipment, there are also huge economical savings. For example increases of refractory service life of 30 % are typical.
More information: www.saveway-germany.de
Literature
[1] Hopf, M. (1998): „Six years operational experience with the SAVEWAY system“. Internationales Feuerfest-Kolloquium, Aachen
[2] Linke, P. (2008)0: „Metallurgie und Schmelztechnik der Eisengusswerkstoffe im Elektroofen. Thema: Sicherheitseinrichtungen“. VDG Seminar of May 28th and 29th 2008