Any optimisation work on industrial operations generally starts with an evaluation of the current situation and ends with a similar evaluation of the improved mode of operation. This often includes special measurements to deliver the necessary information on the equipment and systems, the process and the products. We offer a large variety of laboratory-scale measurements as well as measurement series conducted on-site on the actual equipment, together with expert evaluation and interpretation of the results. With our broad selection of equipment and instruments and the expertise and experience of our staff, we are a strong partner to have at your side.

Below you will find a selection of our services.

Laboratory analytics and testing

• Chemical analyses, e.g. elemental analysis, moisture content, ash analysis, acid and metal concentrations in liquid media and determination of further typical organic and inorganic components in liquid media used in the steel, non-ferrous and metal processing industries (AOX, organic, particle, ion concentrations, magnetisable substances, etc.)
• Physical properties, e.g. density, bulk angle, grain size distribution (Camsizer, sieve stack), BET surface area, cold compressive strength, permeability
• Fluidising behaviour of dusts and granulate material
• Pneumatic conveyability (at pilot plant scale)

Operational measurement campaigns

• Determination of the composition and flow distribution of typical liquid media such as cooling water, emulsions, acids, process and gas scrubbing water
• 1 MW pilot plant with process and steelmaking gases from the mill network

• Exhaust air/gas: temperature, velocity, pressure, moisture, gas composition determined by means of process gas analysers, mass spectrometers and FTIR; calorific value, minimum air demand, density, Wobbe index, dew point
• Fumes and dust: dust/fine dust concentration, flow pattern visualisation through artificial fumes, fume propagation with determination of velocity (structural PIV)
• Vibration and oscillation diagnostics on machinery and systems to evaluate the process state and optimise wear behaviour
• Periscopic video systems in high-temperature zones for optical assessment of components inside furnaces
• Planar measurements of surface temperature by means of thermography, also conducted as long-term campaigns with scan evaluation
• Determination of the thermal condition of refractory materials in ladles using thermography and thermocouple instrumentation
• Measurement of the melt temperature as well as recording of cooling curves to determine microstructure formation and chemical composition
• Continuous measurement of the liquid steel temperature with DynTemp®, e.g. to optimise the homogenisation period and the time point for thermocouple measurements

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  Recording of operational measurements to produce energy and material balances, comparison between normal modes of operation and those adjusted by BFI.

• Process monitoring and evaluation of ladle treatment with respect to stirring efficiency in order to ensure the success of treatment (homogenisation, degassing, segregation of inclusions)
• Monitoring of deslagging during liquid steel production with the help of IR cameras and image processing in order to minimise both residual slag in the ladle and steel losses
• Development of customer-specific solutions for automatic process control using image processing, e.g. filling level detection
• Monitoring of casting powder coverage in continuous casting moulds for permanent operator support and as a campaign when changing and testing casting powder

Measuring samples (assessment of surfaces)

• Measurement of flatness, roughness and surface topography based on different measuring principles (tactile, laser triangulation, chromatic confocal point sensor systems combined with an air-cushioned precision measuring table for recording large-surface topographies, confocal microscopy, fringe projection, deflectometry, scattered-light sensors, visual impression / WaveScan)
• Light microscopy including metallographic sample preparation
• Evaluation of layer properties (layer thickness, adhesion, hardness, microhardness, mechanical characteristics, microindentation, etc.)

Wear tests (tribological and corrosion stresses)

• Simulation of different types of tribological stressing to determine the wear behaviour (abrasion, surface degradation, adhesion, tribocorrosion) under defined conditions using different tribometers
• Tribometer to evaluate material behaviour under combined loads (wear – corrosion – (high) temperature – thermal shock)
• Microindentation for investigations in the near-surface zone
• Evaluation of friction behaviour (frictional force measurements)
• Evaluation of corrosion behaviour (exposure/stress tests, current density vs potential curves, etc.)
• Component testing technology (different bearing types)
• Abrasion during pneumatic conveying