F L I R S o l u t i o n S e ri e s

F L I R S o l u t i o n S e ri e s
Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring

Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring

Steel mill ladles have limited lives. As their refractory linings

wear or develop breaks due to shock, the outer part of a ladle
can be exposed to excessive temperatures. If not caught in
time, the result can be ladle disintegration and a molten metal
breakout, threatening the lives of workers and destroying
equipment. FLIR infrared camera systems are used to monitor
ladles in real time and warn of a breakout before it happens. This
application flyer describes how these systems can be designed and
used to save mills hundreds of thousands of dollars by preventing
injuries, equipment damage, and production downtime.

Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring

• Non-contact temperature measurement
• Remote monitoring from a safe location
• A few cameras cover entire ladle surface
• Ethernet & fiberoptic communications minimize noise problems
• Temperature readings warn of potential molten metal breakout
• Even earlier warning with trend analysis software
• Allows timely replacement of refractory lining before failure
• Also used for torpedo (submarine) car monitoring

• Enclosures available for mill environments

Enclosure with Camera Junction Box

This publication is one of the FLIR Solution Series that describes important applications
for IR camera systems. This Series is designed to show our customers how FLIR systems
can be used to help reduce costs by protecting their assets, improving production automation
and machine vision processes, and increasing the value of their predictive/preventative
maintenance operations. The images, case histories, and system designs described in this
Series are merely examples of the many possibilities available to users of FLIR IR cameras.
Your feedback on the Series will be sincerely appreciated; you can respond by email to
moreinfo@flir.com, by telephone to 800.464.6372, or by letter to FLIR Systems, Inc.
25 Esquire Rd. North Billerica, MA 01826.
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Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring

Ladle Safety
It is well known that refractory linings in
steel mill ladles have limited lives, and
useful life may be shortened even more
due to breakage of refractory bricks
from mechanical shock. As the lining
wears or develops breaks, the outer part
of a transport ladle can be exposed to
molten metal. If not caught in time, the
result can be ladle disintegration and
a molten metal breakout, threatening
the lives of workers and destroying
equipment. Fortunately, IR cameras
can detect hot spots on the ladle that
warn of a failure far sooner than a visual
inspection. This allows the ladle to be
taken out of service in a timely manner
and scheduled for relining – not too
soon, not too late – at the optimum
replacement cost.

Ladle Monitoring System
FLIR’s approach to ladle monitoring is
to place its IR video cameras in robust
housings, and locate them in fixed
positions where they have a clear view
of a filled ladle as it passes by on the
gantry crane. Those cameras capture
video images of the ladle in real time,
and calculate temperatures over the
ladle’s surface. A few cameras can
cover the entire surface of the ladle,
but typically a few regions of interest
(ROIs) are predefined for closer scrutiny
and analysis. The IR images of ROIs
where failures are more likely to occur
can be stored in PC memory for later
comparison to current images. Defining
ROIs also allows FLIR’S IR MONITOR
software to ignore high temperatures on
objects around the ladle that are within
the camera’s field of view (FOV), which
prevents false alarms.
These video images and their
temperature data are carried over
Ethernet and fiberoptic cables to the
industrial PC, which avoids problems
from the electrically noisy mill
environment. The IR MONITOR software
can compare each image frame from a
camera to the image templates stored
in PC memory. This eliminates the need
for the gantry crane operator to stop
at any particular location to capture
images. When there is a match between
the template and the corresponding
portion of a camera’s FOV, temperatures
are calculated. If a temperature exceeds
the ladle’s predefined setpoint value, an
alarm is triggered. The exact setpoint
temperatures for alarms are easily
adjustable based on mill experience.
The alarm could be just a warning if
the temperature isn’t too high, and
movement of the ladle to the converter
mill or torpedo car can continue. The
operator can then compare the warning
temperature to a trend analysis done by
the software to determine if the ladle
can remain in service for another pour.
If the ladle spot temperature is high
enough, this could trigger an emergency
alarm and stop the gantry crane
movement. In addition, alarm messages
and images can be sent to a mill manager’s
office via Ethernet, email, or ftp.
Other Applications
Arcelor Mittal uses a ladle monitoring
system to avoid molten metal breakout
and the high costs associated with it. In
addition, the firm uses the same basic
system for torpedo car monitoring. The
objectives are the same, and the major
system difference is in the mounting of
the IR cameras. Typically, cameras are
placed on both sides of the rail track that
carries torpedo cars to the converter mill.
IR cameras can also be used to measure
the internal temperature of the torpedo
car refractory as it is preheated prior
to being filled. Since this takes several
hours, one of the objectives is to
minimize preheat time and energy
consumption. In addition, it avoids
molten metal from hardening in areas
where the refractory was not sufficiently
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heated. An IR camera can see through
the preheat flame to measure refractory
temperature, which eliminates the use of
thermocouples that are less accurate and
burn out frequently.
United States Steel uses IR cameras to
improve its blast furnace monitoring
and maintenance program. This has led
to the redesign of some blast furnace
insulation and refractory components,
and is avoiding the astronomical costs
of unplanned downtime and repairs to
those components.
Similarly, IR monitoring can improve the
operation and maintenance of the stove
domes that are part of a blast furnace.
These domes are lined with refractory
brick to withstand the temperatures of
the blast air and hot gases fed back from
the furnace. Proper temperature of the
blast air is critical to efficient furnace
operation, which can be determined
from non-contact IR temperature
measurements. The temperature of the
stove dome shell can be used to spot
potential refractory failures.
Another use of IR monitoring is slag
detection when tapping liquid metal from
the furnace. This method is better than
visual and electromagnetic detection
methods, and helps minimize the amount
of slag carryover to the ladle. IR cameras
F L I R
Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring
are also used in coking and annealing
operations, and many other applications.
Important System Features
Cameras are mounted in housings that
protect them from the hot, dusty mill
environment. If necessary, the interior
temperature of the housings can be
maintained with cooling airflow. A short
Ethernet cable connects the camera to
a wireless access point or junction box
containing a fiberoptic interface. This
minimizes electrical noise on the camera
signals that are transmitted to the
control room. If needed, the junction box
temperature can also be controlled with
cooling air.
To ensure accurate temperature
measurements, camera calibration
must be checked periodically. This
can be done by using the camera’s
blackbody source, which is maintained
at a constant temperature. Camera
control functions can insert the
blackbody into the camera’s field of
view to initiate the calibration check.
If the camera’s temperature reading
deviates significantly from the reference
temperature, an alarm can be sent to
the control room, indicating the camera
needs to be inspected.
S o l u t i o n S e ri e s
FLIR’s IR MONITOR software is used to
control all camera functions, collect
temperature data, display thermal
images, and perform data analysis.
The operator’s display is the primary
interface for alarm functions.
The image on the following page depicts
a typical automated Mill Ladle Refractory
Monitoring System using the FLIR A-320
Camera. Although the analog video and
digital I/O outputs from this camera
allow it to operate as a standalone smart
sensor, most steel mill applications use
its digital data stream, sent over Ethernet
lines, in computer controlled automation
systems. When used in this manner, the
temperature data is a primary control
variable, and thermographic images are
used by equipment operators to make
additional control decisions.
In conjunction with its alarm setpoint
capabilities, the A-320’s Ethernet
interface can supply a digital
compression of the camera’s analog
video signal to virtually anywhere a PC
is running IR MONITOR. Increasingly, the
TCP/IP protocols of the A-320 cameras
are used to facilitate monitoring from
multiple locations. They can automatically
send temperature data and images to
a PC via e-mail (SMTP) or FTP protocol
whenever a temperature warning
threshold is reached.
Management personnel at designated
locations can open a password protected
web browser to access the camera’s web
server for basic control functions, and view
live video of the monitored area.
Free Survey and Consultation
Contact FLIR for a free survey of
your critical mill applications and
our recommendations for IR Camera
Monitoring Systems.
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Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring

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and have piled up more industry firsts in thermal imaging than anyone. Today we are the only global company totally dedicated to
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For more information:

Call: 1 800 464 6372
Web: goinfrared.com 4