Patent ID: 8613883
Filing Date: 2013-12-24
Classification: C21B,C21C,F27B,F27D,Y02P

Abstract:
1. A diagnostic system for a cooling element of a metallurgical reactor, the system comprising: at least one sensor located in or proximate the cooling element, the at least one sensor configured to sense operating conditions of the cooling element at a plurality of time intervals; at least one processor in communication with the at least one sensor, the at least one processor configured to receive data corresponding to the sensed operating conditions and process the data to determine a relative condition indicator representing accumulated wear of the cooling element, relative to an initial condition of the cooling element, at each time interval over a period of time comprising at least one metallurgical heating and cooling cycle of the cooling element; and at least one display in communication with the at least one processor, the at least one display configured to display the relative condition indicator to a user of the diagnostic system, wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one optical fiber having temperature-dependent reflection characteristics and the at least one processor comprises a first processor in communication with the at least one sensor and a second processor in communication with the first processor.