Contact person
Fiber Measurements Lead to Better Steel
Increased productivity, more consistent quality, and an improved work environment in the steel plant. These are the results as specialty steel manufacturer Alleima now implements RISE’s research into actual production.
Alleima, formerly known as Sandvik Materials Technology, has worked with RISE and other partners on the projects Smarter Melt and RealSteel for nearly eight years. Together, they have developed technology for continuous measurement of the steel melt's temperature and chemical composition. The development has now progressed to the point where it can soon be introduced into Alleima's production.
"I believe we'll be there within a year," says Fredrik Sandberg, Alleima's R&D expert on production technology. "Then we'll achieve better productivity, more consistent steel quality, and also an improved work environment as we can avoid taking manual samples," he says.
These are not simple measurements. The melt, in its enormous kettle weighing many tons, maintains a temperature of approximately 1550 degrees. The temperature is measured by inserting a ceramic finger-like probe into the melt. A specially manufactured optical fiber connects the probe to a measuring computer. The challenge lies both in handling the heat and achieving accuracy in the measurements. Optical measurement of the melt also provides information about its chemical composition.
"In a metallurgical process, keeping track of the temperature is essential," says Fredrik. "Today, a lot of time is spent taking samples from the melt, bringing them to our lab, and having them analyzed. And it's not risk-free either to be so close to the equipment. Having continuous monitoring of the melt's composition saves time and reduces risks for our personnel."
In the long run, this also results in lower energy consumption and therefore reduced carbon dioxide emissions from the steel plant.
"I am very satisfied with our collaboration. RISE personnel are extremely competent, they have the right background and understand our industry. There have been many experiments, and they have always been very well prepared, and we've had good follow-up meetings afterward," says Fredrik. "We've done the project in many small steps, which I believe has been the key to success. I find it hard to see what we or RISE could have done differently," he says.
The collaboration with Alleima now continues, one example being a project for high-temperature fiber.
"It's about measuring in places where we don't want to have thermal cameras, for example by placing fiber on furnaces, in casting boxes, or in water tanks. The fiber is coated and lies in steel tubes, sometimes with fiber Bragg gratings," Fredrik explains.
