Vol. 50 No.

4 FUJI ELECTRIC REVIEW 126

Table 1 Main specifications of the internally-housed gamma
ray thickness gauge
Asao Monno
Industrial Measurement Instruments
that Use Radioisotopes
1. Introduction
I ndustri al measurement i nstruments that use ra-
di oi sotopes (RI ) are i nstruments that harness radi oac-
ti ve rays to measure such parameters as thi ckness,
l evel , densi ty, moi sture and the l i ke. The advantage of
such measuri ng i nstruments i s that they are non-
contact, non-destructi ve and enabl e onl i ne, real -ti me
hi gh-speed measurements. Because the physi cal prop-
erti es of RI make these i nstruments l ess suscepti bl e to
thermal , el ectri cal and vi bratory noi se sources, these
measuri ng i nstruments are wi del y used i n such appl i -
cati ons as, for exampl e, the mi l l control i n a steel
pl ant, or i n producti on l i nes at chemi cal pl ants and i n
the pl asti c and paper i ndustri es.
I n addi ti on to thei r use for product i nspecti on
purposes, these i nstruments al so are used to produc-
ti on process control systems and have become estab-
l i shed as speci al sensors essenti al to each producti on
process.
One such exampl e i s a hot steel pl ate thi ckness
gauge that operates automati cal l y under supervi si on
from a process computer and transmi ts hot state
thi ckness val ues, wi th a 50 ms response ti me, as
output for the real ti me control of a mi l l , whi l e
si mul taneousl y outputti ng and stori ng the thi ckness of
the fi ni shed product, or i n other words the col d state
thi ckness val ue.
Fuji El ectri c offers a wi de l i neup of these i nstru-
ments, i ncl udi ng a gamma ray thi ckness gauge for use
i n steel pl ants, a beta ray thi ckness gauge for use wi th
pl asti c and paper, vari ous l evel gauges, moi sture
gauges, and the l i ke.
Thi s paper descri bes a thi ckness gauge to be
housed i nsi de a pl ate mi l l , a thi ckness gauge for hot
seaml ess tubes, and Hi tachi -compati bl e radi oi sotope-
appl i ed measurement i nstruments.
2. Gamma Ray Thickness Gauge Housed Inside
a Hot Plate Mill
I n the past, thi ckness gauges for hot pl ate mi l l s
coul d be i nstal l ed onl y at a di stance of at l east 10 m
from ei ther the front or back of the hot pl ate mi l l .
The i nternal l y-housed gamma ray thi ckness gauge
measures by i rradi ati ng gamma rays from i nsi de the
mi l l housi ng, or more speci fi cal l y, from the smal l gap
between the rol l s of the conveyor at a di stance of 2 m
from the center of the mi l l . Conduci ve to the earl y
appl i cati on of mi l l control , thi s gauge can be used at
the stage when the pl ate i s sti l l a sl ab of a consi derabl e
thi ckness. Furthermore, use of thi s gauge enhances
mi l l effi ci ency si nce there i s no need to convey pl ates a
di stance of at l east 10 m behi nd the mi l l i n order to
acqui re mi l l control i nformati on.
I n order to real i ze such a thi ckness gauge, i n
addi ti on to good envi ronmental i mmuni ty performance
capabl e of wi thstandi ng the harsh envi ronment i nsi de
a mi l l , namel y, heat, mechani cal shocks, copi ous
amounts of water, adhesi on of i ron scraps or i ron
oxi des, fal l i ng pi eces of i ron and the l i ke, because the
i nstal l ati on si te does not al l ow mai ntenance to be
performed offl i ne, hi gh rel i abi l i ty that di ffers qual i ta-
ti vel y from the rel i abi l i ty of conventi onal thi ckness
gauges, remote mai ntenance capabi l i ty, or the l i ke
must al so be provi ded.
Detai l s of the performance of the detector have
been reported previ ousl y, and therefore, the descri p-
ti on bel ow wi l l focus on apparatus performance, sys-
137
Cs 1.11 TBq
Pl asti c sci nti l l ator detector
Pul se amp method
(di gi tal count method)
Spectra stabi l i zati on by
near-ul travi ol et rays
735 m/s
2
(75 G)
1/10 or l ess
Conti nuous operati on possi bl e
i nsi de a hot pl ate mi l l
Approx. 2 to 150 mm
Ex: 33 m at 20 mm wi th
90 % rel i abi l i ty, 0.2 s response
5 m /8 h
Radi ati on source
Detector
Detector amp
Detector stabi l i zi ng
method
Max. i mpact accel erati on
I mpact reducti on rati o
Thermal resi stance
Measurement range
Stati sti cal noi se
Dri ft
I nstrument response 10 ms
Industrial Measurement Instruments that Use Radioisotopes 127
tem confi gurati on and mai ntai nabi l i ty.
Mai n speci fi cati ons of the i nternal l y-housed gam-
ma ray thi ckness gauge are l i sted i n Table 1, and the
confi gurati on of a system currentl y bei ng constructed
i s shown i n Fig. 1. A 100 ms real ti me si gnal i s output
for mi l l control , and a fast 10 ms response si gnal i s
output to enabl e more detai l ed ascertai nment of the
pl ate profi l e. Thi ckness data i s presented to the mi l l
operator vi a a di gi tal di spl ay and a pl ate profi l e i mage
i s di spl ayed i n real ti me at each pass of the rol l i ng
procedure, provi di ng support for i nstantaneous deci -
si on-maki ng.
Remote mai ntenance, i mpl emented whi l e the
gauge i s onl i ne, uses i nternal sampl es to perform
automati c mul ti -poi nt cal i brati on, whi ch i ncl udes the
zero poi nt (see Publ i shed Japanese Patent No. H04-
43207). Thi s remote automated cal i brati on, combi ned
wi th the good stabi l i ty of the detector, el i mi nates the
need for onsi te mai ntenance of the i nstrument cal i bra-
ti on.
Furthermore, as i ndependent processor i s addi ti on-
al l y provi ded to i mpl ement a preventati ve sel f-di agno-
si s functi on whi ch stores i n a database vari ous types of
mai ntenance data for the detecti on and standby sys-
tems, as wel l as real ti me measurements of vi brati on,
i mpact, accel erati on and the l i ke, and suppl i es data for
the purpose of di agnosi ng and anal yzi ng fai l ure and to
prevent troubl e.
3. Tube Wall Thickness Gauge for Hot Seamless
Tube Mills
Seaml ess tubes are hi gh-strength steel tubes sui t-
abl e for use under severe condi ti ons such as oi l wel l
dri l l i ng. The tube wal l thi ckness gauge for hot
seaml ess tube mi l l s i s desi gned for mi l l l i nes, and
especi al l y for mi l l control i n a stretch-reduci ng mi l l
(that reduces tube di ameter and stretches tube wal l
thi ckness). Thi s gauge i s an automated measuri ng
system that outputs wal l thi ckness measurements i n
Fig.1 System configuration of the internally-housed gamma ray thickness gauge
PL
PBL

Pl ate mi l l pl ants
process computer
Termi nal l i nk
HMI for mi l l
operator
Control panel for
mi l l operator
Touch panel for
mai ntenance
Di spl ay of pl ate
profi l e, etc.
Computer
wi th 19-
i nch LCD
Standby system
Standby
detector
Standby
systems
gamma
ray source
PI O Real ti me output : 100 ms
DDC for mi l l control
Mai n cabi net
LAN#1
LAN#2
LAN#3
HMD
(Hot Materi al Detector)
speed i nformati on, etc.
Gamma count, mai ntenance i nformati on
(hi gh vol tage, temperature, vi brati on)
Gamma count, mai ntenance i nformati on
(hi gh vol tage, temperature, vi brati on)
Detector
Gamma ray source
Chi l l ed water system
Ai r
Ai r source for gamma ray shutter
Conveyor rol l s
i nsi de mi l l
I nternal sampl es
Accel erati on sensor
Touch panel for control
Processor l i nk
Pri nter
Data handl i ng
FA (Factory Automati on)
computer for HMI
Computer for remote
mai ntenance
FA computer for
preventati ve sel f-di agnosi s
Real ti me output : 10 ms
Real ti me output : 100 ms
Control panel
HMI : Human Machi ne I nterface
Table 2 Main specifications of the tube wall thickness gauge
for hot seamless tube mills
137
Cs 1.11 TBq, l ength 223 mm
Pl asti c sci nti l l ator detector wi th
350 mm measurement wi dth
Pul se amp method
(di gi tal count method)
Spectra stabi l i zati on by
near-ul travi ol et rays
Outer di ameter : 25 to 180 mm
Wal l thi ckness : 2 to 45 mm
Wi thi n 0.2 % of the wal l thi ckness
0.2 m /12 h at 81 mm (outer di ameter)
and 9.21 mm (wal l thi ckness)
Radi ati on source
Detector
Detector amp
Detector stabi l i zi ng
method
Measurement range
Measurement
accuracy
Dri ft
I nstrument response 8 ms
Vol. 50 No. 4 FUJI ELECTRIC REVIEW 128
Fig.3 Mechanical part of hot seamless tube wall thickness
gauge
real ti me wi th a fast 8 ms response speed, whi l e
si mul taneousl y determi ni ng the top and bottom cut-off
l ocati ons and stori ng wal l thi ckness profi l e i nforma-
ti on.
As gui dance to the mi l l operator, an i mage of the
wal l thi ckness profi l e i s di spl ayed i n real ti me for each
pi ece. The hi stori cal wal l thi ckness profi l es of any
arbi trary pi ece i n the database can al so be di spl ayed
upon request.
Table 2 l i sts the mai n speci fi cati ons of the appara-
tus under constructi on i n FY2004, and Fig. 2 i l l us-
trates i ts confi gurati on. I n addi ti on, Fig. 3 shows the
appearance of a conventi onal tube wal l thi ckness
gauge, and Fig. 4 i l l ustrates the measurement pri nci -
pl e of the hot seaml ess tube wal l thi ckness gauge. The
measurement pri nci pl e avoi ds the i ntroducti on of mea-
suri ng error, even i n the case where the posi ti on of the
tube wal l fl uctuates hori zontal l y or verti cal l y duri ng
the course of moti on (see Japanese Regi stered Patent
No. 1474136-00).
I n order to real i ze thi s pri nci pl e, not onl y must the
gamma ray i rradi ati on fi el d be made uni form, but the
detector sensi ti vi ty must al so be uni form. Thi s
chal l enge was sol ved by combi ni ng an approxi matel y
350 mm-wi de pl asti c sci nti l l ator wi th a speci al l i ght
gui de that focuses the sci nti l l ati on l i ght uni forml y and
then gui des i t to a photomul ti pl i er. The el ectroni c
ci rcui try i s the same as that of the i nternal l y-housed
gamma ray thi ckness gauge, and the near-ul travi ol et
ray reference method i s used as the stabi l i zi ng method.
Uti l i zi ng two of these detectors, thi s apparatus
Fig.2 System configuration of the hot seamless tube wall thickness gauge
Fig.4 Measurement principle of hot seamless tube wall
thickness gauge
Process computer for
seaml ess tube mi l l
LAN
Speed si gnal
Mai n cabi net
FA computer for
control panel HMI
Processor l i nk
Juncti on
box
Chi l l ed water system
Speed
sensor
Hot tube wal l
thi ckness gauge
Local
operati on panel
Ai r
HMI for mi l l operator
FA computer
Di spl ay of wal l thi ckness, etc.
Control panel
for mi l l operator
LAN
Amount of gamma
ray detecti on
Detector
Even i f tube posi ti on fl uctuates, amount
of gamma ray detecti on does not change
Posi ti on fl uctuati on
Tube
Col l i meter
Li ne radi ati on
source
Industrial Measurement Instruments that Use Radioisotopes 129
Fig.5 Hitachi-compatible radioisotope-applied measurement
instrument
real i zes hi gh count val ues and reduces stati sti cal error
wi th a fast 8 ms response speed.
4. Hitachi, Ltd.-Compatible Measurement Instru-
ments
Fuji El ectri c manufactures and sel l s equi pment
that i s ful l y compati bl e wi th Hi tachi , Ltd.s radi oi so-
tope-appl i ed measurement i nstruments.
Not onl y i s such measurement equi pment i nter-
changeabl e on the system l evel , but compati bi l i ty i s
al so guaranteed on the component l evel for such basi c
components as the radi ati on source contai ner, detector,
el ectroni c ci rcui try, cabl es, accessori es and the l i ke,
maki ng i t easy to i mpl ement parti al equi pment up-
grades.
I n parti cul ar, the source capsul es, parts, drawi ngs
and manufacturi ng processes of Fuji El ectri cs and
Hi tachi s radi ati on source contai ners are compl etel y
i denti cal . Thi s i s benefi ci al to the user for ensuri ng
compl i ance wi th the appl i cabl e l aws and regul ati ons.
Si nce the start of marketi ng acti vi ti es under the
terms of cooperati on between Hi tachi and Fuji El ectri c,
these i nstruments have al ready been del i vered to
several tens of customers, and i n al l cases, the
equi pment i s operati ng stabl y.
Figure 5 shows an exampl e of a compati bl e i nstru-
ment.
5. Conclusion
The i nternal l y-housed gamma ray thi ckness gauge
achi eves better durabi l i ty i n terms of i mpact resi stance
and thermal resi stance than Fuji El ectri cs previ ous
thi ckness gauges, and al so real i zes stabl e mai nte-
nance-free operati on, hi gh-speed response, and a data-
base functi on. I n the future, Fuji El ectri c i ntends to
appl y these technol ogi es to i ts enti re l i ne of thi ckness
gauges and to provi de systems wi th even hi gher l evel s
of rel i abi l i ty.
Because the hot seaml ess tube wal l thi ckness
gauge handl es tube di ameters of approxi matel y 180
mm, i t i s i ntended for rather l arge-scal e systems. I n
the future, Fuji El ectri c pl ans to devel op l ower cost
equi pment for smal l er tube di ameters or systems
havi ng si mpl er confi gurati ons.
Level gauges and densi ty gauges are avai l abl e both
as Fuji El ectri c model s and as Hi tachi -compati bl e
model s. Future product devel opment wi l l promote the
advantages of each.
(a) Detector for gamma ray l evel gauge
(b) Radi ati on source contai ner (shi el di ng contai ner)