AISTech 2019 — Proceedings of the Iron & Steel Technology Conference

6–9 May 2019, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA

DOI 10.1000.377.035

Precise Localization of Torpedo Transport Cars Through the Aid of Differential GPS

Malte Braam1, Krishnan Premanand2, Wolfgang Linden3

1
SMS group
Eduard-Schloemann-Straße 4, Germany,40237 Düsseldorf
Phone: +492118815073
Email: Malte.Braam@sms-group.com
2
SMS group
Eduard-Schloemann-Straße 4, Germany,40237 Düsseldorf
Phone: +492118816089
Email: Krishnan.Premanand@sms-group.com
3
SMS group
Eduard-Schloemann-Straße 4, Germany,40237 Düsseldorf
Phone: +492118816779
Email: Wolfgang.Linden@sms-group.com

Keywords: GPS torpedo tracking, efficient torpedo routing, live GPS tracking on steel plant area

INTRODUCTION
For economically operations of steelworks, it is important to efficiently plan routes of torpedo cars.
Today's stationary detection methods (e.g.. RFID) have the disadvantage that torpedo cars are detected only at this
stationary location and there is no live movement tracking of the torpedo cars. Furthermore, for the all in all tracking
the entire track network must be equipped with stationary sensors. SMS group has chosen a new approach to equip the
individual torpedo cars with battery-powered differential GPS modules. First test measurements showed location
accuracies below 2.5m CEP and the modules are capable to transmit the live location information via radio transceivers
over distances up to kilometers to a common base station. There the data is evaluated and made available to connected
software modules.

DISCUSSION
In a steel plant, metallurgical vessels, e.g. torpedo or ladle cars are used to transport molten material e.g. iron steel from
the blast furnace to another processing station. These are rail-guided non-motorized railway cars. For the transport to be
carried out, the cars are coupled to a locomotive. The processing stations need large space for logistics. Due to that the
rail network covers several kilometers, mainly in open terrain.
Steel plant operators are required to coordinate the use of torpedo and ladle cars for proper handling. For an efficient
operation, it is necessary to avoid unnecessary downtime of torpedo and ladle cars. Determining the optimal route
between the processing stations considering the production plan, is essential to minimize temperature loss while
transporting between the various processing stations. Furthermore it can happen that steel plant operators have to
reschedule the use and routing of the torpedo and ladle cars due to acute events (e.g., a machining station failure).
Currently in most steel plants torpedo or ladle cars are detected visually by operators at the respective processing
stations and are registered into a central server by hand. Off-late, a more modern technique is to identify torpedo or
ladle cars by stationary recognition systems (e.g. RFID) and automatically register the recognized torpedo or ladle car
in a central server for the defined locations (e.g. processing stations).

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 347

The above mentioned systems have the disadvantages that operators are responsible to register the torpedo and ladle
cars in the central server system. Dirt deposits on the torpedo or ladle car (for example, incorrect visual reading of the
identification number due to contamination) will result in incorrect registrations in the central server system or
registration will only be made in the central server system after a considerable delay. The automatic detection systems
(e.g. RFID) have the disadvantage that exact positioning must take place between the RFID chip and the reading
antenna. Furthermore the position identification can only take place at the stationary reading stations.
In both case , either by the position detection with the help of the operator or by RFID, the positioning between these
reading stations are not detected. The result is an inconsistent or incomplete tracking of the torpedo and ladle cars.
Thus, the coordination of the torpedo or ladle cars are purely left to the locomotive operator to rely on visual feedback
and hence a very limited decision capability in response to unforeseen events. This often results in an ad-hoc plan
which is turn out to be metallurgical and economical costly.
The new promising approach is to mount a battery-powered satellite position receiving system (e.g. GPS) on every
torpedo or ladle car. The system is characterized by the fact that the location information of the torpedo and ladle cars
are recorded with assistance of GPS satellite. The reliability and accuracy of the location information are increased by
using appropriate correction algorithms in the receiving system and then sent by radio transceiver to a central receiving
unit in a master-slave operation. The range of the system can be extended by repeaters, which results in the range of a
few square kilometers. The location information of the torpedo and ladle carriages is transmitted continuously. This
results in uninterrupted tracking of torpedo and ladle cars. The master station feeds the connected database system with
all received position information of the slaves cyclically. Responsible in-charges can perform the coordination tasks
related to the torpedo and ladle cars efficiently with the received and visualized database information’s. It is also
possible to use software-based algorithms to support the users for this purpose.

Standard GPS signal

The GPS is a satellite-based system provided by the US government for location, navigation and time transmission. It is
operated by the Department of Defense (DOD) and consists of 24 satellites. They orbit the earth at an altitude of 20200
km. With the help of transmitted data, recipients, whether stationary or not, can determine their position. GPS is used in
air, land and sea navigation as well as in land surveying and various other applications. [1]
GPS signals have measurement errors. The measurement errors lead to inaccurate position accuracy. The following
table shows the typical measuring errors and their influence on the position accuracy.

Table 1. Measurements errors GPS

Name Measuring
error
Ionosphere 0-90m

Troposphere 0-30m

Variations in satellite orbits 1-10m

Time / clock error of 0-1.5m

satellites
Multipath effects 0-1m

Calculation and rounding 1m

error

In the literature a maximum error of 90m is given [2]. Looking at the technical specifications of established
manufacturers of GPS receivers, the error tolerance is often limited to 2.5m CEP. This means that in 50% of the
position signals are in a tolerance window with a radius of 2.5m [3]. In case of torpedo tracking, distances between rails
less than four meters are possible. Thus, a normal GPS signal is not suitable to establish a clear assignment of torpedo
cars to the respective rail. Accordingly, correction algorithm techniques must be used to increase the positional
accuracy.

348 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

Accuracy increase by Differential GPS (DGPS)
As described in the previous section, position errors are mainly due to the different signal velocities in the troposphere
and ionosphere. Furthermore, clock errors can further adversely affect the position accuracy. These errors are the same
for GPS receivers which are nearby to each other. If a DGPS receiver is installed at a known stationary position the
needed correction data can be calculated and provided for moving GPS receiver. This results in an improvement in the
position accuracy of the moving GPS receiver. There are different implementation forms of the differential GPS
method which are described below.

DGPS with SBAS

SBAS is a satellite-based augmentation system that increases GPS accuracy by sending out correction information. For
this purpose, different correction services exist in different countries / continents, examples are shown in the following
table 2.

Table 2. SBAS provider by countries/ continents [4]

Name Description Country

WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System North

America
EGNOS European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Europe
Service
MSAS Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation Japan
System
GAGAN GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation India

The correction data from ground stations are forwarded to a master station. The master station communicates with the
geostationary SBAS satellite. The SBAS satellite provides the correction information. This correction information is
used by suitable GPS receivers. With this correction, established manufacturers of GPS receivers typically specify an
accuracy of 2m CEP [3]. The following figure 1 illustrates the coherences.

Figure 1. Scheme of SBAS function

DGPS with own base station

If the SBAS correction is not sufficient or the line of sight to the correction satellite is not possible due to the
geographical location, the operation of a own base station improves the accuracy of GPS signals. For this purpose, a

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 349

suitable GPS receiver is installed at a known, fixed location in the area of the moving GPS receiver. By comparing the
actual, known position and the position received by the GPS signals, correction data (pseudo range and time error) can
be calculated. The correction data can be transmitted to the moving GPS receiver. Typically, a value of 1m CEP or
better can be achieved. The following figure 2 illustrates the coherences.

Figure 2. Scheme of correction with own base station

Local data transmission by radio transceiver in the ISM band

Positioning or correction information must be transmitted to the torpedoes or from the torpedoes (slaves) to a master
station. The master station collects all position signals of the different torpedoes or ladle cars and provide the
information to Level 2 computer systems for planning and visualization. A frequency band should be chosen which can
be used license free, as here an open global application is being adopted. The ISM band in the 2.4 Ghz range is a
suitable frequency (e.. 802.11b) as this is free for home and commercial uses [6]. Thus, a wide variety of protocols can
be used (e.g. Zigbee or Trusted Wireless) and they are not subjected to a duty cycle. Depending on the selected data
transmission rate, distances in the kilometer range can be achieved and extended by repeater installations.

Developed solution for GPS torpedo tracking

A battery-powered tracking system was developed to track torpedoes or ladles on the steel plant area. Depending on the
requirements (e.g. required accuracies or track spacing) different GPS receivers (SBAS, DGPS with own base station or
standard GPS) can be connected to a tracking module. The standardized NMEA protocol forwards the GPS data to the
tracking module. The tracking module consists of a microcontroller and is equipped with all necessary housing
connections. The local data transmission is handled by a 2.4 GHz radio module, which forwards the position data to a
master station in master-slave mode. By default, AES 128-bit wireless data transmission is encrypted and up to 25
slaves (Torpedoes) can communicate with one master station. For outdoor use, the overall system has an IP67
certification. The tracking system is also designed for low temperatures (-20deg Celsius). Following figure 3 shows the
principle block diagram.

350 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

 Figure 3. Principle block diagram of functionality
By default, the system uses SBAS-enabled GPS receivers. A pilot system is installed in cooperation with a Canadian
steelworks and a maximum torpedo position deviation below 2m CEP in open terrain is achieved. In the area of high
building complexes (e.g. blast furnaces) or within buildings (e.g., desulphurization plant), empirical measurements
shows a deterioration in accuracy. Maximum deviations of about 15m occurs, but are eliminated by downstream
software algorithms. The battery life is approximately 7 days with a 360 watt-hour battery, which can be significantly
increased by switching off the radio receiver at standstill or by the combination with a mounted solar panel. The
tracking module is prepared for this application. The position data of the individual torpedoes are collected by an
assembled master station in master-slave operation. In real test operation, radio ranges of approx. 1000m were achieved
without the use of a repeater structure. The system also provides the option to transmit additional signals (e.g.,
temperatures, brake status, etc.). An additional card with corresponding analog or digital signals is prepared. Following
figure 4 shows the principle operating scheme on the left side and on the right side the tracking result displayed on a
map.

Figure 4. Left: Operating scheme of SBAS DGPS torpedo tracking. Right: Tracking result (yellow = tracked torpedo
movement)

CONCLUSIONS
The paper describes a developed solution for the constant tracking of the torpedo cars by the use of GPS. The presented
approach shows the usage of three methods:
1. Standard GPS signal
2. DGPS with SBAS
3. DGPS with own base station

© 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. 351

As shown, depending on the requirements the optimal solution can be implemented. A range of accuracy from 2.5m
CEP with Standard GPS, down below 1.0m CEP with DGPS by base station is available [5].
The data transmission is handled by local 2.4 GHz radios and covers a area in the range of kilometers to a central
master station. The system is battery powered and designed for outdoor use. Furthermore the system design foresees
the transmission of additional signals (e.g., temperatures, brake status, etc.) as well.

REFERENCES
1. Guochang Xu, GPS Theory, Algorithms and Applications, Springer, Germany, 2007
2. Gerhard H. Schildt, Satellitennavigation GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, Lyk, Germany, 2008
3. Ublox, Neo-M8 u-blox M8 concurrent GNSS module, Data Sheet Neo M8, www.u-blox.com
4. Lambert Wanninger, The Future is Now GPS + GLONASS + SBAS =GNSS, GPS World, 2008
5. Geo-konzept,GPS Empfänger Vergleich DLG Prüfbericht 5148F, Geo-konzept, Germany, 2003
6. Keit B. Schaub & Joe Kelly, Production Testing of RF and System on Chip Devices for Wireless
Communications, Artech House, Boston, 2004

352 © 2019 by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.