Application of blast furnace falling materials trajectories measurement using laser scan technology

An innovative method for blast furnace falling materials trajectories measurement using a laser scanner is presented in this paper. The surface profiles of the falling materials delivered from the rotary chute at various titled angle in the filling operation of the blast furnace in China Steel Corporation (CSC) were digitized during the course of burden discharge. Based on the rigid body transformation and the invariant features, 3D image registration algorithm was applied to find out the transformation between the measurement and the blast furnace. Afterwards, the developed data processing method was employed to determine the quadratic curve representing the surface profiles of the falling materials. Consequently, the trajectories standing for the moving paths of the raw materials were evaluated to provide valuable information for preventing blast furnace wall from serious worn-out as well as establishing burden distribution strategies for better productivity and stability.