Situation
• Unknown wear profile inside the blast furnace
• Risk of hot metal breakouts
• Problems with the interpretation of thermocouple measurement data

Solution
• On- and offline programme versions to display the current wear profile
• Direct measurement of the heat flux density using BFI heat flux sensors
• Heat flux density as a direct measure of the residual wall thickness.

Benefits
• Reliable planning of repairs and relinings:
   > as late as possible - as early as necessary
• Prolongation of blast furnace life by protection measures for regions with identified hearth wear:
  > TiO2 injection at the tuyere level
  > addition of ilmenite ore via burden
  > Temporary throttling of individual tuyeres
• Monitoring of the heat balance in the hearth, on the basis of metallurgical
  decisions
• Hearth monitoring model utilises measurement data from:
  > heat flux sensors
  > thermocouples