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ISBN: 978-1-926872-32-2

UTILIZATION OF RADAR IN CONTROLLING FEED LEVELS FOR ELECTRIC FURNACES

J. Erskine1, J. Armitage1, *A. Sadri1
1

Hatch Ltd.
2800 Speakman Drive
Mississauga, Canada L5K 2R7
(Corresponding author: asadri@hatch.ca)

ABSTRACT
Feed level and thickness measurements are essential in the optimization of an electric arc furnace. A
precise measurement of the feed thickness and level gives operators the ability to increase the smelter efficiency and
reduce the maintenance cost. Hatch has developed a radar system which is an affordable, low maintenance, and
accurate level measurement system. The radar units can be installed across the furnace to measure the feed level and
the feed thickness can be calculated with one slag level sounding. The present paper describes the development of
radar systems as a process optimizing tool by furnace controls. The authors will discuss the challenges involved in
installing eight radar units on the roof of a six-in-line electric furnace.
KEYWORDS
Radar, blacktop, feed level, feed control, monitoring, furnace efficiency, electric arc furnace and microwave.

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INTRODUCTION
Electric arc furnaces are commonly used around the world to produce metals. Typically the material
distribution in the furnace consists of four different layers: feed (charge), slag, matte, and build up. The build-up
layer at the bottom of the furnace is not always present in every furnace and depends upon the process chemistry. A
cross sectional view of an arc furnace can be seen below in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Cross sectional view of a typical electric arc furnace.

The buildup, slag, matte or metal and feed levels are the distance between the top of each particular layer and
the hearth. Maintaining the correct level and thickness value for each of the layers is crucial for optimizing
production and reducing the maintenance costs related to roof refractory repairs and replacements.
The exact issues that arise for each furnace are different; however, there are two common problems that can
develop due to unmonitored feed layer. Firstly, the feed level can become too high from over feeding or under
tapping. This can lead to a decrease in smelter efficiency, increased roof temperature, and increased feed being lost
to the off-gas system. The second problem is the feed layer can become too thin from under feeding the furnace. The
furnace being under fed can lead to the furnace roof being exposed to the heat from the slag layer without the
thermal insulation provided by the feed layer, which increases the heat losses. This will also increase the
temperature of the furnace roof, decreasing its expected life [1]. In addition, with calcine fed furnaces, it is important
to maintain the blacktop feed layer as it is thought that this is the most important contributor to high pressure
events. These events, sometimes referred to as blowbacks result in over pressure in the slag burden which then
result in gas and dust being ejected through any small gap in the furnace crucible refractory and equipment. This
can be a hazardous event that leads to unsafe operation of the furnace and possible damage to equipment and, or
harm to plant personnel.

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It is important to monitor the feed in order to insure that the furnace feed level is not too high or too thin. The
ideal level and thickness distribution depends on the feed composition, electrical power distribution and the
process. This ideal level for a particular furnace comes from operators experience with that furnace.
The benefits of introducing an instrument based feed level measurement system are the following:

Increasing safety: by removing the sounding operator from the roof. Also to control high over-pressure
events.

Increased smelter efficiency: this can be achieved by ensuring that the feed is operating at the ideal
thickness and profile. Preventing overfeeding reduces the amount of feed that gets drawn into the off-gas.
This will decrease the load on the off-gas system.

Reduced maintenance: by keeping the ideal feed height and controlling the thermal stresses on the roof,
itll reduce the repair and replacement of the refractory on the roof.

Feed system response monitoring: measuring the feed level also provides valuable information on the
current state of the feeding system and can help identify problems such as a jam or leak.

Hatch has been performing lab and field testing of a radar feed level measurement system on an arc furnace
since 2009. The additional benefits of using specifically using a radar feed level system are the following:

The radar system is an affordable, continuous, reliable, and accurate measurement system that can easily be
installed across the furnace roof.

The system is able to directly measure the feed level and can instantly calculate the feed thickness using a
single manual sounding result.

The radar does not require an operator on the furnace roof which reduces the possibility of accidents and
injuries.
DESCRIPTION OF TECHNOLOGY

Radar measurements are a standard technique used for measuring levels of solids and liquids across a broad
range of sectors including the petroleum, food, and pharmaceutical industries [2]. Tanks and silos containing
everything from oil to pastes to sawdust use radar for level measurements. Radar level measurements allow
operators to optimize operations and track inventory, and can also be used in situations where very high accuracy is
required, such as custody transfer.
There is a wide array of commercially available radar units, including contact and non-contact radars in a
range of different frequencies. Each type of radar, as well as the frequencies it uses, has its own set of capabilities
and advantages. Factors such as desired accuracy, the properties of the measured material, the size and layout of the
vessel, and steam or dust levels all play an important role in choosing an appropriate radar unit. For example, there
are two main types of commercial non-contact radar units, frequency modulated continuous wave (FM-CW) and
pulse radar. A FM-CW radar emits a microwave signal that continuously ramps between two frequencies while a
pulse radar emits a microwave frequency sinusoidal pulse. There are unique benefits for both types of radar; FMCW radars need higher processing power and develop more multiple echoes than pulse radars, but they are generally
more suitable for high accuracy and challenging applications.
When looking to use radar in an electric furnace, there are several aspects of the furnace environment that
need special consideration:

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Electromagnetic noise: With currents on the order of kilo amps passing through them, the electrodes
produce very strong electromagnetic fields. It is possible that these electromagnetic fields could interfere
with the sensor, causing system malfunctions.

Temperature limits for electronics: While one of radars advantages is that its accuracy is virtually
unaffected by temperature, the radar sensor itself and the associated electronics can fail if exposed to high
temperatures. Furnace temperatures are extreme for any commercially available unit and the sensor could
over heat through a number of methods, including IR radiation, conduction and convection of heat through
the freeboard, and magnetic heating due to close proximity to the electrodes.

Dust and build up: High dust levels in the furnace will attenuate the microwave signal. Additionally, any
dust or accretion that accumulates on the radar antenna can further reduce the signal strength. In some
furnaces, hot process material can splash on to the roof this could seriously damage a radar unit.

Based on the difficulties inherent in the furnace environment, Hatch designed a protective enclosure for the
radar. The enclosure had several unique design challenges; for example, it was determined that a physical barrier
near the end of the radar antenna would be the best way to protect the radar from dust, accretion, and excessive
radiation. This barrier needed to be durable, survive the freeboard temperatures, and reflect high amounts of
radiation, all while being nearly invisible to the microwaves so as not to affect the measurement. Other important
design considerations included EMI shielding from the magnetic fields surrounding the electrodes without
interfering with the microwaves, as well as a robust and reliable cooling system.

PRELIMINARY FIELD TRIALS

Hatch has been conducting field trials at a platinum smelter in South Africa since 2009. The site was chosen in
part because of the short distance between the blacktop level and the furnace roof this creates harsher than average
conditions such as higher temperatures at the furnace roof and thus a rigorous test environment for the radar units.
Hatchs robust radar enclosure has successfully allowed the radar to survive high temperatures, electromagnetic
noise, and high dust levels with little build-up of process material on the radar.
During the initial trials the radar agreed with manual soundings with a 1% (3 cm) margin of error when the
furnace was powered on [3]. However, it was noticed that the radar signal output behaved erratically when the
furnace power was low or off. This was very surprising because the opposite was expected due to higher electronic
noise at higher power levels. After reviewing the echo profiles from the radar it was determined that the amplitude
of the surface reflection signal was consistently decreasing to approximately the noise threshold in the measurement
range when the power was low or off. The measurement range is between the top of the furnace freeboard (0.89 m)
and hearth (5.2 m). The plot of a radar echo profile when the furnace is running at medium power (50 MW) and is
offline can be seen below:

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Figure 2 Typical radar echo profile when the furnace is operating at 50 MW. (15/09/2012)

Figure 3 Typical radar echo profile when the furnace is off. (18/09/2012)
In Figure 2 with power on the surface signal is clear and can be easily distinguished from the noise. In
Figure 3 it is virtually impossible to determine the surface signal from noise due to the weak surface signal. It is still
unclear why the surface peak signal is substantially lower when the furnace is off. To confuse the understanding of
this particular problem, the issue has not been observed in the new design of the radar enclosure.
Based on the excessive noise present even when the furnace was off, it was hypothesized that the radar
enclosure might be generating unwanted reflections. Hatch tested this hypothesis in the lab to determine if it was
correct and if any further optimization was possible.

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ENCLOSURE OPTIMIZATION
In October 2012, Hatch created a radar enclosure similar to the one used in the preliminary trials in order to
perform some testing and optimization. A series of tests were done to quantify the noise and signal strength detected
by the radar under varying conditions and enclosure specifications. A few of the specifications tested included the
material used for the radiation barrier and its placement relative to the antenna, as well the diameter and length of
the antenna enclosure.
To make the trials as relevant as possible, an effort was made to simulate a range of furnace conditions during
the experiments. Some of the conditions simulated included:

Feed size: to simulate feed of different grades and sizes, sets of ball bearings of different sizes were
used as a target for the radar unit.

Angle of repose: since feed can accumulate in cones and valleys, tests were done where the target was
tilted relative to the sensor to simulate an uneven feed distribution.

Non-ideal installation: it is a reasonable assumption that not every radar unit will be mounted and
installed perfectly, therefore a series of tests were done to examine how some non-ideal installations
affect the radar signal.

Based on the test results, an optimized, low-noise enclosure was designed and built. This new enclosure
significantly reduced the noise without compromising its thermal and dust protection capabilities. The dramatic
reduction in noise can be seen in the radar echo profiles shown in Figure 4 (original enclosure) and Figure 5
(optimized enclosure). The optimized enclosure was used in the eight permanent radar units installed in May
and August 2013 at the trial smelter.

Reflections
inside the
enclosure

Figure 4 An echo profile of the field radar enclosure reconstructed in the lab detecting a brick wall
4.04 m away.

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Figure 5 An echo profile of the optimized radar enclosure detecting a metal sheet 8 meters away in
the lab.

HIGH TEMPERATURE EVENTS

In March 2010 during the preliminary trials, one radar failed due to excessively high temperatures. It is believed
that this failure occurred due to the cooling air being shut off for a 14 hour period the previous day. The measured
temperature over this period can be seen in Figure 6. During the period with no cooling air, the temperature of the
radar unit rose to almost 20C above its maximum specified operating temperature. The signal was lost but was
restored after the cooling was restored. Since that failure, no further temperature related issues have occurred and the
radars have continued to function through several less severe high temperature events.

Enclosure Temperature
140
Temperature (C)

120
100
80
60
40
20

0
3/01/10 00:00

3/01/10 12:00

3/02/10 00:00

3/02/10 12:00

3/03/10 00:00

Date and Time

Electronics Chamber Temperature

Max Electronics Temperature

Radar Failure

Figure 6 Electronics enclosure temperature during a cooling air shutdown. The shutdown caused the
temperature to rise nearly 20 C above the specified maximum.

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PERMANENT FIELD INSTALLATIONS

Based on the success of the initial field trials, a total of eight radar units were installed at the trial facility: two
were installed in June 2013 and six were installed in August 2013. As of October 2014, more than a year after
installation, all eight radars are still functioning and accurately measuring charge level.
A comparison between the radar measured charge level and manual soundings is shown in Figure 7; the radar
readings are consistent across the multiple radar units and they agree well with the manual soundings. The radars
have thus far proven their reliability and the plant operational personnel believe in the accuracy of the
measurements. The operators are now using the radar measurements by feeding them back into the control system
manually, which has significantly improved their blacktop feed layer control. The blacktop thickness set point was
95 cm and the addition of radar level measurement has reduced the standard deviation in blacktop thickness from 25
cm to 6 cm. The next step is to automate this process to achieve the full benefit of the radar measurements.

Figure 7 Comparison of seven of the radar outputs with manual sounding measurements of charge
level.
The radar units have survived the harsh operating conditions inherent in a furnace with minimal maintenance.
An inspection in September 2014, a full year after the previous inspection, revealed few minor problems. A small
amount of build-up had accumulated in some of the radar housings and the shield used to block infrared radiation
had been damaged on some units and was repaired, but neither of the issues prevented the radars from functioning.

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CONCLUSION
Monitoring and maintaining the correct feed level and thickness is critical for maintaining smelter efficiency,
reducing maintenance, and monitoring the feed system response. Hatchs radar level measurement system is capable
of accurately and affordably detecting the feed distribution across the furnace and it can infer the feed thickness with
one slag level sounding.
Hatch has been performing radar trials since 2009. During these trials the radar agreed closely with manual
soundings when the furnace was powered on, but often produced erroneous data in situations when the furnace
power was low or off. It was determined that the surface echo was difficult to distinguish from noise in the
measurement range; lab experiments determined the source of the noise and developed a new, low noise radar
enclosure that is able to provide the optimum environmental conditions for the radar.
In June and August 2013, a total of eight radar units using the optimized radar enclosures were installed at a
trial facility. More than a year after installation and with minimal maintenance, all eight radars are still operational
and still accurately measuring feed level. At the trial facility, the use of radar level measurement has decreased the
standard deviation in feed layer thickness by a factor of 4.

REFERENCES
[1]

E. Shameli, R. Venditti, B. Uyeda, A. Kepes, T. Gerritsen, A. Sadri, S. Southball, Enhanced Furnace feed
control using radar level measurement, European Metallurgical Conference, Proceedings of EMC 2011,
June 26-29, 2011, Dusseldorf, Germany

[2]

D. Gillum, Industrial Pressure, Level, and Density Measurement, (Research Triangle Park: ISA, 2009),
394-396

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