JP7227096B2 - Slag amount measuring device and slag amount measuring method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a technique for measuring the amount of molten slag contained in a slag stream taken out from a taphole.

A blast furnace is an example of a vertical furnace. Within the blast furnace is a hot melt containing hot metal (iron in the molten state) and slag (slag in the molten state). The high-temperature melt taken out of the taphole of the blast furnace is called tapping slag flow. The tapping slag stream flows through a tapping trough where it is separated into hot metal and slag, and the hot metal is transferred to a torpedo car for further processing. The slag is sent to water granulation equipment and made into water granulated slag. Granulated slag is reused as a raw material for cement and the like.

If the amount of high-temperature melt in the blast furnace is too large, the furnace conditions will deteriorate and the operation of the blast furnace will be hindered. Therefore, it is important to control the amount of hot melt in the blast furnace. If the respective amounts of hot metal and slag contained in the tapped slag stream are known, the amount of hot melt in the blast furnace can be known. The amount of hot metal contained in the tapped slag stream can be accurately determined using the weight of the torpedo car with hot metal and the weight of the torpedo car without hot metal.

Although the amount of slag contained in the tapped slag stream can be determined from water granulated slag, it is not highly reliable. Therefore, Patent Document 1 obtains the speed and width of the tapped slag flow by image processing, and uses a predetermined formula including the speed and width as variables to accurately calculate the amount of molten slag contained in the tapped slag flow. It discloses a technique for measuring. The tapping slag flow width is the size of the tapping slag flow in the direction crossing the direction of tapping slag flow, in other words, the diameter of the cross-section of the tapping slag flow perpendicular to the flow direction. is.

JP 2016-6221 A

When the tapped slag flow is taken out from the taphole, molten slag dripping occurs in the lower portion of the taphole. The hot metal slag drip is part of the tapping slag flow, but its velocity is much lower than the tapping slag flow velocity and drips off the lower portion of the taphole. The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses an image of the tapped slag flow coming out of the taphole (in other words, the tapped slag flow immediately after coming out of the taphole) to determine the width of the tapped slag flow. Calculate The inventors have found that when dripping of hot metal slag occurs, the width of tapping slag flow is not accurately calculated, and as a result, the amount of slag cannot be accurately calculated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a slag amount measuring apparatus and a slag amount measuring method that can accurately calculate the amount of slag contained in a tapped slag stream.

A slag amount measuring device according to a first aspect of the present invention is based on a plurality of first images obtained by imaging a slag stream coming out of a taphole of a vertical furnace at a plurality of times. and calculating the velocity and width of the tapping stream, and using a predetermined formula including the velocity and the width as variables to calculate the amount of slag taken out from the tap hole. In the measuring device, using a plurality of the first images, image processing is performed to increase the contrast ratio between the edge of the image showing the flow of molten iron and slag and the image showing dripping of hot metal slag, and a second image is obtained. and a calculator that calculates the width using the second image.

The slag amount measuring device according to the first aspect of the present invention is a slag flow that has come out of the taphole of the vertical furnace (the tapped slag flow that is discharged from the taphole of the vertical furnace and flows near the taphole Based on a plurality of first images obtained by imaging the slag flow) at a plurality of times, the speed and width of the tapping slag flow are calculated, and a predetermined formula including the speed and width as variables is used. to calculate the amount of slag taken out from the tap hole. This can be realized, for example, by the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200013. An example of how to calculate the amount of slag will be described below.

The calculation unit calculates the amount of slag taken out from the tap hole per unit time (slag amount m _s ) using Equation (1).

The amount of molten iron _mf can be obtained, for example, based on the weight of a torpedo car containing molten iron and the weight of a topedo car containing no molten iron. The tapping slag flow radius r is the radius of the cross section of the tapping slag flow perpendicular to the tapping slag flow direction, and is half the width of the tapping slag flow. The correction coefficient k is, for example, 0≦k≦1.

The calculation unit calculates the slag amount _Ms by time-integrating the slag amount _ms .

The slag amount measuring device according to the first aspect of the present invention does not use the first image to calculate the width of the tapped slag flow, but uses the second image to calculate the width of the tapped slag flow. do. The first image may be an image captured by an infrared camera (infrared image) or an image captured by a visible light camera. The width of the tapping slag stream is the size of the tapping slag stream in the direction crossing the direction in which the tapping slag stream flows.

The second image is generated by using a plurality of first images and performing image processing to increase the contrast ratio between the edge of the image showing the tapped slag flow and the image showing the dripping of molten slag.

According to the second image, it is possible to distinguish between the image showing the tapped slag flow and the image showing the molten slag dripping (details will be described in the embodiment and the first modified example). Therefore, according to the slag amount measuring device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the width of the image showing the tapped slag flow can be calculated accurately, so the width of the tapped slag flow can be calculated accurately. This makes it possible to accurately calculate the amount of molten slag contained in the tapped slag flow.

As described above, in the slag amount measuring device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the width of the tapping slag flow is calculated using the second image. Since the second image is generated using a plurality of first images, the width of the tapped slag stream is calculated based on the plurality of first images.

In the above configuration, the generating unit generates the second image in which the values of the pixels at the same positions in the plurality of first images are values indicating variations in the values of the pixels at the same position.

This configuration is an example of how the second image is generated. Pixels at the same position are, in other words, pixels at the same pixel coordinates. A value indicating the variation is, for example, the standard deviation.

In the above configuration, the generation unit generates a difference image that is the second image, and the difference image is a maximum value, a minimum value, an average value, Combining two or more of a maximum value image, a minimum value image, an average value image, and a median value image, each of which has a median as the value of the pixel at the position, and generated using the difference in the value of the pixel at the same position be done.

This configuration is an example of how the second image is generated. A maximum value image and a minimum value image will be described as examples of the difference image generated by combining the two. The difference image is an image in which the difference between the values of the pixels at the same position in the maximum value image and the minimum value image is the value of the pixel at that position (the i-th pixel value of the maximum value image and the i-th pixel value of the minimum value image). The difference between the values of the th pixel is taken as the value of the i th pixel of the difference image).

A maximum value image, a minimum value image, and an average value image will be described as examples of the difference image generated by combining three or more. The generation unit compares the difference between the pixel value of the maximum value image and the pixel value of the average value image and the difference between the pixel value of the minimum value image and the pixel value of the average value image for pixels at the same position, The larger one is used as the pixel value of the difference image (the difference between the i-th pixel value of the maximum value image and the i-th pixel value of the average value image, the i-th pixel value of the minimum value image and the i-th pixel value of the average value image Among the differences in pixel values, the larger one is set as the value of the i-th pixel in the difference image).

In the above configuration, the calculation unit identifies the edge and calculates the width based on the fact that the edge is brighter than the rest of the image showing the slag flow in the second image. .

The distance between the upper edge and the lower edge of the image showing the tapping slag flow (tapping slag flow image) is the width of the tapping slag flow image. Since the tapping slag stream flows vigorously from the taphole, there is not always a tapping slag stream at the position of the edge of the tapping slag stream, but there may or may not be a tapping slag stream. For this reason, the edge of the tapped slag flow has extremely large temperature fluctuations on the time axis. Therefore, in the second image, the edge of the tapping slag flow image appears brighter than the rest of the tapping slag flow image and the molten slag dripping image. The boundary between the tapping slag flow image and the molten slag dripping image is the lower edge of the tapping slag flow image. According to the second image, the edges (upper edge, lower edge) of the tapping flow image can be identified, so the width of the tapping flow image can be accurately calculated.

A method for measuring the amount of molten slag according to the second aspect of the present invention is based on a plurality of first images obtained by capturing images of the slag flow coming out of the taphole of a vertical furnace at a plurality of times. and calculating the velocity and width of the tapping stream, and using a predetermined formula including the velocity and the width as variables to calculate the amount of slag taken out from the tap hole. In the measuring method, using a plurality of the first images, image processing is performed to increase the contrast ratio between the edge of the image showing the flow of molten iron and slag and the image showing dripping of hot metal slag, and the second image is obtained. and a calculating step of calculating the width using the second image.

A slag amount measuring method according to a second aspect of the present invention defines the slag amount measuring device according to the first aspect of the present invention from the viewpoint of the method, and the slag amount measuring method according to the first aspect of the present invention. It has the same effect as the device.

According to the present invention, the amount of molten slag contained in the tapped slag stream can be accurately calculated.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating treatment of tapped slag flow taken out from the taphole of the blast furnace; 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a slag amount measuring device according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between a first image and a second image; FIG. 10 is an image diagram of a first image showing an example of an image captured first of two consecutive images; FIG. 10 is an image diagram of a first image showing an example of an image captured later of two consecutive images; FIG. 10 is an image diagram showing an example of a first image; 7 is a graph showing the luminance profile of pixels positioned on the arrow extending in the y direction in the first image shown in FIG. 6; It is a flowchart explaining calculation of the width|variety of a slag flow image. FIG. 7 is an image diagram showing an example of a second image generated based on a plurality of first images including the first image shown in FIG. 6; FIG. 10 is a graph showing the luminance profile of pixels positioned on the arrow extending in the y direction in the second image shown in FIG. 9 and the luminance profile shown in FIG. 7; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a difference image; FIG. 10 is an image diagram showing an example of a difference image generated using a maximum value image and a minimum value image; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between a maximum value image, a minimum value image, an average value image, and a difference image; FIG. 10 is an image diagram showing an example of a minimum value image; FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing an example of a standard deviation image; 4 is a graph showing luminance profiles of pixels located on arrows extending in the y direction in a minimum value image and a standard deviation image;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. In each figure, the configurations denoted by the same reference numerals indicate the same configuration, and the description of the content of the configuration that has already been described will be omitted.

In the embodiments, a blast furnace will be described as an example of a vertical furnace. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of a tapped slag flow 30 taken out from a taphole 11 of a blast furnace 10. As shown in FIG. An end portion 20 a of the tapping trough 20 is positioned below the tap hole 11 . A tapping slag flow 30 taken out from the taphole 11 (a tapping slag flow 30 coming out of the taphole 11 ) falls at a predetermined location of the tapping trough 20 and flows through the tapping trough 20 . A tapping trough cover 21 that covers the tapping trough 20 is arranged at this predetermined location. The tapping trough cover 21 prevents the tapping slag flow 30 falling at a predetermined place from scattering outside. A tapping slag flow 30 flowing through the tapping trough 20 is separated into hot metal 31 and slag 32 . Hot metal 31 is sent to the torpedo car. The slag 32 is sent to water granulation equipment.

A space from the taphole 11 to the tapping trough 20 of the tapping slag flow 30 taken out from the taphole 11 is set as an imaging range of the tapping slag flow 30 . Although the taphole 11 is included in the imaging range, the taphole 11 may not be included. The lower portion 30a of the tapping slag flow 30 passes through the vicinity of the lower portion 11a of the taphole 11 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the slag amount measuring device 1 according to the embodiment. The slag amount measuring device 1 includes an imaging unit 3 , a control processing unit 5 , a display unit 7 and an input unit 9 . Among these, the control processing unit 5, the display unit 7, and the input unit 9 are arranged in an operator room (not shown).

The imaging unit 3 includes a band-pass filter that transmits light having a red wavelength or more or a near-infrared wavelength or more. A moving image V of the tapped slag flow 30) in the vicinity of the iron hole 11 is captured and sent to the control processing unit 5. In this way, the imaging unit 3 images the tapped slag flow 30 near the tap hole 11 of the blast furnace 10 at a plurality of times, and sends a plurality of first images Im1 obtained thereby to the control processing unit 5. . The imaging unit 3 is, for example, a camera equipped with a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor.

The control processing unit 5 is a hardware processor. Specifically, the control processing unit 5 includes an acquisition unit 51, a generation unit 52, a calculation unit 53, and a display control unit 54 as functional blocks. The control processing unit 5 includes hardware such as a communication interface, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and executes the functions of the above functional blocks. It is realized by a program and data etc. for

1 and 2, acquisition unit 51 receives moving image V sent from imaging unit 3 to control processing unit 5. As shown in FIG. In this way, the acquisition unit 51 obtains images of the tapped slag flow 30 coming out of the taphole 11 of the blast furnace 10 (the tapped slag flow 30 near the taphole 11) at a plurality of times. A plurality of first images Im1 are acquired. Each first image Im1 is each frame of the moving image V. FIG.

The generation unit 52 generates the second image Im2 using the multiple first images Im1 acquired by the acquisition unit 51 . The second image Im2 is generated by performing image processing to increase the contrast between the edge of the image showing the slag flow and the image showing the dripping of hot metal slag, using a plurality of first images Im1. This is an image. For example, the second image Im2 is an image in which the value of the pixel at the same position in the plurality of first images Im1 is the value indicating the variation in the value of the pixel at the same position. Values indicating variation are, for example, standard deviation and variance. The second image Im2 will be described in detail using the standard deviation as an example.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between the first image Im1 and the second image Im2. The plurality of first images Im1 is assumed to be N first images Im1 (N is an integer). Assume that the number of pixels forming each first image Im1 is M (M is an integer). In the 1st first image Im1-1 to the N-th first image Im1-N, the standard deviation of the values of the 1st pixels becomes the value of the 1st pixel constituting the second image Im2, and the standard deviation of the 2nd The standard deviation of the pixel values is the value of the second pixel forming the second image Im2, and the standard deviation of the M-th pixel value is the value of the M-th pixel forming the second image Im2. value.

1 and 2, the calculation unit 53 calculates the velocity of the tapping slag flow 30 using the plurality of first images Im1 acquired by the acquisition unit 51, and calculates the second image generated by the generation unit 52. The width of the tapped slag flow 30 is calculated using the image Im2. Then, the calculation unit 53 calculates the amount of slag 32 taken out from the tap hole 11 using a predetermined formula including the speed and width as variables. A method of calculating the slag amount m _s will be described using equation (1) as an example. The slag amount m _s is the amount of slag 32 taken out from the tap hole 11 per unit time.

The radius r of the tapped slag stream 30 is the radius of the cross section of the tapped slag stream 30 perpendicular to the flow direction, and is half the width of the tapped slag stream 30 . The molten iron amount _mf can be obtained, for example, based on the weight of a torpedo car containing molten iron 31 and the weight of a topedo car containing no molten iron 31 . The correction coefficient k is, for example, 0≦k≦1.

The calculation unit 53 calculates the slag amount M _s taken out from the tap hole 11 by time-integrating the slag amount m _s .

The display control unit 54 causes the display unit 7 to display an image showing predetermined information. For example, the display control unit 54 causes the display unit 7 to display an image showing the amount of slag measured by the slag amount measuring device 1 .

The display unit 7 is realized by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display (Organic Light Emitting Diode display), or the like.

The input unit 9 is a device for the user to input commands (for example, start measuring the amount of slag, end measurement of the amount of slag) etc. to the slag amount measuring device 1 . The input unit 9 is implemented by a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, or the like.

Calculation of the velocity of the tapped slag flow 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. The calculation unit 53 selects two consecutive first images Im1 (frames) from the moving image V received by the acquisition unit 51 . FIG. 4 is an image diagram of a first image Im1-a showing an example of the first image Im1 taken first among two consecutive first images Im1. FIG. 5 is an image diagram of a first image Im1-b showing an example of the first image Im1 captured later among the two consecutive first images Im1. In the first images Im1-a and Im1-b, the x direction indicates the horizontal direction and the y direction indicates the vertical direction. Let the y direction be the width direction of the tapped slag flow 30 . An image showing the slag tapping flow 30 (hereinafter referred to as a tapping slag flow image 300) is shown in the first images Im1-a and Im1-b. The imaging range of the tapping slag flow 30 is the space from the tapping port 11 to the tapping trough 20, as described above.

The calculator 53 sets a region of interest ROI in the tapping flow image 300 captured in the first image Im1-a. Since the tapping stream 30 is flowing, the image within the region of interest ROI moves in the direction in which the tapping stream 30 is flowing. The calculation unit 53 identifies the position of the image within the region of interest ROI on the tapping flow image 300 captured in the first image Im1-b shown in FIG. This can be achieved, for example, by pattern matching. The calculation unit 53 calculates the movement amount of the image within the region of interest ROI between the first image Im1-a and the first image Im1-b, and based on this, calculates the velocity of the tapping slag flow 30. . In order to calculate the speed of the tapping stream 30, the frame rate of the moving image V captured by the imaging unit 3 is preferably 100 fps or higher (eg, 180 fps).

Calculation of the width of the tapping slag stream 30 will be described in detail. First, it will be explained that the width of the tapping slag flow 30 cannot be calculated accurately when the width of the tapping slag flow 30 is calculated using the first image Im1.

1 and 2, imaging unit 3 is an infrared camera, and thus a plurality of first images Im1 (moving images V) captured by imaging unit 3 are infrared images. When the width of the tapped slag flow is calculated using the first image Im1 (infrared image) under the condition that hot metal slag dripping is occurring, the calculated width is the actual width of the tapped slag flow. greater than the width of FIG. 6 is an image diagram of a first image Im1-c, which is an example of the first image Im1. The x-direction indicates the horizontal direction and the y-direction indicates the vertical direction. Let the y direction be the width direction of the tapped slag flow 30 . In the first image Im1-c, a tapping slag flow image 300, an image showing molten slag dripping (hereinafter referred to as molten slag dripping image 301), and a background 400 are shown. The dripping of hot metal slag is generated near the lower portion 11a of the tap hole 11 (FIG. 1). A dripping molten iron slag image 301 is present in the range surrounded by the ellipse 500 .

FIG. 7 is a graph showing a luminance profile 701 of pixels located on an arrow 601 extending in the y direction in the first image Im1-c shown in FIG. Arrow 601 passes through background 400 , tapping slag flow image 300 , molten slag dripping image 301 , and background 400 . The horizontal axis indicates the pixel position in the y direction. The vertical axis indicates the brightness of each pixel.

1, 6 and 7, the tapping slag stream 30 is hot and the background of the tapping slag stream 30 is normal temperature (room temperature), so in the first image Im1-c, the tapping slag The flow image 300 appears bright and the background 400 appears dark. Since the temperature of the dripping hot metal slag is close to the temperature of the tapping slag stream 30, it appears bright. Therefore, in the first image Im1-c, it is difficult to distinguish between the tapping slag flow image 300 and the molten slag dripping image 301, so the tapping slag flow image 300 is added with the dripping molten slag image 301. The width of the image is calculated as the width of the slag stream image 300 . That is, the width of the body obtained by adding the molten slag dripping to the tapped slag stream 30 is calculated as the width of the tapped slag stream 30 . Therefore, the slag amount calculated using the formula (1) is larger than the actual value. As a result, the amount of hot melt in the blast furnace 10 is calculated to be less than the actual amount, so an event occurs where the amount of hot melt in the blast furnace 10 is too large (this deteriorates the furnace condition of the blast furnace 10). cause it to occur).

Therefore, in the embodiment, the width of the tapping flow image 300 (that is, the width of the tapping flow 30) is calculated using the second image Im2. FIG. 8 is a flow chart explaining this. 1 and 2, generation unit 52 extracts a plurality of continuous frames (first image Im1) from moving image V captured by imaging unit 3 (step S1 in FIG. 8). These are a plurality of first images Im1 captured at a plurality of times (in other words, a plurality of first images Im1 arranged in time series). The plurality of first images Im1 includes two first images Im1 used for calculating the velocity of the tapping slag flow 30. FIG. This is because the imaging time of the first image Im1 used for calculating the width of the tapping slag flow 30 and the imaging timing of the first image Im1 used for calculating the velocity of the tapping slag flow 30 are the same. If these imaging time points are not the same, the amount of slag 32 cannot be measured accurately.

The generator 52 generates the second image Im2 using the plurality of first images Im1 (step S2 in FIG. 8).

FIG. 9 is an image diagram showing an example of a second image Im2 generated based on a plurality of first images Im1 including the first images Im1-c shown in FIG. The multiple first images Im1 are, for example, 14 first images Im1 captured in 30 seconds. The x direction and y direction are the same as the x direction and y direction in FIG. The second image Im2 includes a tapping slag flow image 300, a hot metal slag dripping image 301, a background 400, an upper edge (upper edge 302) of the tapping slag flow image 300, and a tapping slag flow image 300. , the lower edge of (lower edge 303), and are shown.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the luminance profile 702 of pixels located on the arrow 602 extending in the y direction and the luminance profile 701 shown in FIG. 7 in the second image Im2 shown in FIG. Arrow 602 passes through background 400 , upper edge 302 , tapping slag flow image 300 , lower edge 303 , slag dripping image 301 , background 400 . The horizontal and vertical axes are the same as those in FIG.

1, 9 and 10, the value of each pixel forming the second image Im2 is the standard deviation of the values of pixels at the same position in the plurality of first images Im1. In other words, the value of each pixel forming the second image Im2 is a value that indicates variation on the time axis for the pixels at each position in the plurality of first images Im1. The tapping slag flow 30 has a large temperature fluctuation on the time axis mainly due to the difference between the emissivity of the hot metal 31 and the emissivity of the molten slag 32 . The background of the tapping slag flow 30 has a small temperature fluctuation on the time axis. Therefore, similarly to the first image Im1-c, in the second image Im2, the slag flow image 300 appears bright and the background 400 appears dark.

The dripping hot metal slag has a high temperature, but the flow speed is slow, so the temperature fluctuation is small on the time axis. Therefore, unlike the first image Im1-c, the dripping hot metal slag image 301 appears dark in the second image Im2. For this reason, as shown in the brightness profile 702, in the second image Im2, the lower edge 303 (the edge of the slag flow image 300) and the dripping image 301 of the molten slag are increased in contrast ratio. Therefore, in the second image Im2, the tapping slag flow image 300 and the molten slag dripping image 301 can be distinguished, so the width of the tapping slag flow 30 can be calculated accurately.

The distance between the upper edge 302 and the lower edge 303 is the width of the tapping slag flow image 300 . Since the tapping slag stream 30 flows vigorously from the taphole 11, the tapping slag stream 30 does not always exist at the position of the edge of the tapping slag stream 30. sometimes not. For this reason, the edge of the tapping slag flow 30 has extremely large temperature fluctuations on the time axis. Therefore, in the second image Im2, the edges (upper edge 302, lower edge 303) of the tapping slag flow image 300 appear brighter than the rest of the tapping slag flow image 300 and the dripping image 301 of hot metal. A lower edge 303 is a boundary between the tapping slag flow image 300 and the hot metal slag dripping image 301 .

The calculator 53 stores in advance a predetermined threshold value 800 that is greater than the brightness of the tapping flow image 300 in order to specify the positions of the upper edge 302 and the lower edge 303 . Calculation unit 53 determines the position of upper edge 302 and the position of lower edge 303 by dividing luminance profile 702 using threshold value 800 (step S3 in FIG. 8).

The calculator 53 uses these positions to calculate the number of pixels between the upper edge 302 and the lower edge 303 . The calculation unit 53 stores in advance the length of the portion of the tapping stream 30 corresponding to one pixel of the second image Im2. The calculator 53 calculates the width of the slag flow 30 by multiplying this length by the number of pixels (step S4 in FIG. 8). The calculation unit 53 calculates the width of the tapping slag flow 30 using the second image Im2. Since the second image Im2 is generated using a plurality of first images Im1 (step S2 in FIG. 8), the width of the tapping stream 30 is calculated based on the plurality of first images Im1. become.

Main effects of the embodiment will be described. Referring to FIG. 9, according to the second image Im2, the tapping slag flow image 300 and the molten slag dripping image 301 can be distinguished. Therefore, according to the embodiment, since the width of the tapping slag flow image 300 can be calculated accurately, the width of the tapping slag flow 30 can be calculated accurately.

The first modified example will be described, focusing on the differences from the embodiment. The second image Im2 of the embodiment is an image in which the standard deviation of the pixel values at the same position in the plurality of first images Im1 is the pixel value at that position (standard deviation image Im-std). Pixels at the same position are, in other words, pixels with the same pixel coordinates. A pixel value is an index value indicating brightness, such as luminance.

The second image Im2 of the first modified example is the differential image Im-d. The difference image Im-d is a maximum value image Im-max in which the maximum value, the minimum value, the average value, and the median of the values of the pixels at the same positions in the plurality of first images Im1 are the values of the pixels at the positions. , the minimum value image Im-min, the average value image Im-ave, and the median value image Im-med.

A method of generating the maximum value image Im-max, the minimum value image Im-min, the average value image Im-ave, and the median value image Im-med will be briefly described with reference to FIG. Although not shown, the maximum value image Im-max, the minimum value image Im-min, the average value image Im-ave, and the median value image Im-med are located at the position of the second image Im2. The maximum value image Im-max is an image in which the maximum value of the pixel values at the same position in the plurality of first images Im1 is the value of the pixel at that position. The minimum value image Im-min is an image in which the minimum value of the pixel values at the same position in the plurality of first images Im1 is the value of the pixel at that position. The average value image Im-ave is an image in which the average value of the pixel values at the same position in the plurality of first images Im1 is the value of the pixel at that position. The median image Im-med is an image in which the median value of the pixel values at the same position in the plurality of first images Im1 is the value of the pixel at that position.

A maximum value image Im-max and a minimum value image Im-min will be described as examples of the difference image Im-d generated by combining these two. The generation unit 52 shown in FIG. 2 generates a maximum value image Im-max and a minimum value image Im-min, and uses these images to generate a difference image Im-d. The difference image Im-d is an image in which the difference between the pixel values at the same position in the maximum value image Im-max and the minimum value image Im-min is the value of the pixel at that position.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between the maximum value image Im-max, the minimum value image Im-min, and the difference image Im-d. Assume that the number of pixels forming each image is M (M is an integer). In the maximum value image Im-max and the minimum value image Im-min, the difference between the values of the first pixel is the value of the first pixel forming the difference image Im-d, and the difference between the values of the second pixel is , becomes the value of the second pixel forming the difference image Im-d, .

FIG. 12 is an image diagram showing an example of a difference image Im-d generated using the maximum value image Im-max and the minimum value image Im-min. The plurality of first images Im1 used to generate the maximum value image Im-max and the minimum value image Im-min are, for example, 14 first images Im1 captured in 30 seconds. The x direction and y direction are the same as the x direction and y direction in FIG. Similar to the second image Im2 (standard deviation image Im-std) shown in FIG. An upper edge (upper edge 302) of the slag flow image 300 and a lower edge (lower edge 303) of the tapping slag flow image 300 are shown.

A maximum value image Im-max, a minimum value image Im-min, and an average value image Im-ave will be described as examples of the difference image Im-d generated by combining three or more. The generation unit 52 shown in FIG. 2 generates a maximum value image Im-max, a minimum value image Im-min, and an average value image Im-ave, and the pixel values of the maximum value image Im-max and Of the pixel value difference of the average value image Im-ave and the pixel value difference of the minimum value image Im-min and the pixel value difference of the average value image Im-ave, the larger one is the pixel value of the difference image Im-d. value.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between the maximum value image Im-max, the minimum value image Im-min, the average value image Im-ave, and the difference image Im-d. Assume that the number of pixels forming each image is M (M is an integer). The difference between the value of the first pixel in the maximum value image Im-max and the average value image Im-ave and the difference between the value of the first pixel in the minimum value image Im-min and the average value image Im-ave, whichever is greater is the value of the first pixel in the difference image Im-d, and the difference between the values of the M-th pixel in the maximum value image Im-max and the average value image Im-ave, the minimum value image Im-min, and the average value Among the differences in the values of the M-th pixel in the image Im-ave, the larger one becomes the value of the M-th pixel in the difference image Im-d.

As shown in FIG. 12, the difference image Im-d is also an image similar to the second image Im2 shown in FIG. The calculation unit shown in FIG. 2 performs the same processing as the second image Im2 on the difference image Im-d to calculate the width of the tapped slag flow 30 .

The second modified example will be described, focusing on the differences from the embodiment. In the second modification, the image used for calculating the width of the tapping stream 30 is the third image. The third image includes a tapping slag flow image 300 from which images of waves occurring on the surface of the tapping slag flow 30 are removed.

Referring to FIG. 5, since tapping slag flow 30 is a turbulent flow, waves (surface waves) are always occurring on the surface of tapping slag flow 30 . Therefore, when viewed along the time axis, the width of the tapping slag flow 30 varies irregularly. As described above, the edge of the tapping slag flow image 300 is used to calculate the width of the tapping slag flow 30 . Let us consider a case where an edge does not indicate a portion where the tap metal flow 30 always exists, but indicates a portion where a period in which the tap metal flow 30 exists and a period in which the tap metal flow 30 does not exist coexist, as viewed on the time axis. When the amount of slag 32 is calculated using the width of the tapped slag stream 30 based on this edge, the amount of slag 32 is larger than it actually is, and as a result, the amount of slag 32 is increased. more than it actually is. The second modification can prevent this.

The generation unit 52 shown in FIG. 2 uses a plurality of first images Im1 to generate a third image Im3 including a slag tapping flow image 300 from which the images of waves occurring on the surface of the tapping slag flow 30 are removed. . As the third image Im3, for example, there is the minimum value image Im-min described in the first modified example. FIG. 14 is an image diagram showing an example of the minimum value image Im-min. The plurality of first images Im1 used to generate the minimum value image Im-min are, for example, 14 first images Im1 captured in 30 seconds. A standard deviation image Im-std that is compared with the minimum value image Im-min shown in FIG. 14 will be described. FIG. 15 is an image diagram showing an example of the standard deviation image Im-std. This standard deviation image Im-std is generated using a plurality of first images Im1 used to generate the minimum value image Im-min shown in FIG. The standard deviation image Im-std is the second image Im2 described with reference to FIGS.

14 and 15, the x direction and y direction are the same as the x direction and y direction in FIG. Each of the minimum value image Im-min and the standard deviation image Im-std includes a tapping flow image 300, a background 400, an upper edge (upper edge 302) of the tapping flow image 300, and tapping slag. The lower edge (lower edge 303) of the flow image 300 is shown.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing luminance profiles 703 and 704 of pixels located on the arrow 603 extending in the y direction in the minimum value image Im-min shown in FIG. 14 and the standard deviation image Im-std shown in FIG. be. The horizontal and vertical axes are the same as those in FIG. The width of the tapping flow image 300 of the minimum value image Im-min (the distance between the upper edge 302 and the bottom edge 303 in the tapping flow image 300 of the minimum value image Im-min) is the standard deviation image Im-std (the distance between the upper edge 302 and the lower edge 303 in the tapping flow image 300 of the standard deviation image Im-std). This is because the image of waves occurring on the surface of the tapping slag flow 30 is removed from the tapping slag flow image 300 of the minimum value image Im-min.

The calculation unit 53 shown in FIG. 2 calculates the width of the tapping slag flow 30 using the third image. The calculation method is the same as that of the second image Im2.

The third image is not limited to the minimum value image Im-min. explain in detail. With respect to the plurality of first images Im1, even if the value is, for example, the second or third smallest among the pixels at the same position, the tapped slag from which the image of the wave occurring on the surface of the tapped slag flow 30 has been removed. If an image including the flow image 300 can be generated, this image may be used. In addition, with respect to the plurality of first images Im1, among the pixels at the same position, pixels indicating pixel values within a lower constant ratio are extracted, and even if the average value or the median value of the pixel values indicated by the extracted pixels is If an image including a tapping flow image 300 in which an image of waves occurring on the surface of the tapping flow 30 is removed, this image may be used.

1 Slag amount measuring device 10 Blast furnace 11 Taphole 11a Near the lower part of the taphole 20 Tapping trough 20a End of the tapping trough 21 Tapping trough cover 30 Tapping slag flow 30a Below the tapping slag flow Part 31 Hot metal 32 Slag 300 Slag flow image 301 Slag dripping image 302 Upper edge 303 Lower edge 400 Background 500 Ellipses 601, 602, 603 Arrows 701, 702, 703, 704 Brightness profile 800 Threshold Im1- a, Im1-b, Im1-c, Im1-1 to Im1-N First image Im2 Second image Im-d Difference image (second image)
Im-max Maximum value image Im-min Minimum value image Im-ave Average value image Im-std Standard deviation image ROI Region of interest V Movie

Claims (6)

The velocity and width of the tapping slag flow are calculated based on a plurality of first images obtained by imaging the tapping slag flow coming out of the tap hole of the vertical furnace at a plurality of times. , a slag amount measuring device for calculating the amount of slag taken out from the tap hole using a predetermined formula including the speed and the width as variables,
a generation unit that uses the plurality of first images to perform image processing to increase the contrast ratio between the edge of the image showing the tapping flow of the slag and the image showing the dripping of the molten slag, thereby generating a second image; ,
A calculation unit that calculates the width using the second image,
wherein the generation unit generates the second image in which a value indicating variation in values of pixels at the same position in the plurality of first images is the value of the pixel at the position;
Slag amount measuring device. The slag amount measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the value indicating the variation is a standard deviation. The velocity and width of the tapping slag flow are calculated based on a plurality of first images obtained by imaging the tapping slag flow coming out of the tap hole of the vertical furnace at a plurality of times. , a slag amount measuring device for calculating the amount of slag taken out from the tap hole using a predetermined formula including the speed and the width as variables,
a generation unit that uses the plurality of first images to perform image processing to increase the contrast ratio between the edge of the image showing the tapping flow of the slag and the image showing the dripping of the molten slag, thereby generating a second image; ,
A calculation unit that calculates the width using the second image,
The generation unit generates a difference image that is the second image,
The difference image is a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a minimum value image having the maximum value, the minimum value, the average value, and the median value of the pixel values at the same position in the plurality of the first images. A slag amount measuring device, which is generated by combining two or more of an average value image and a median value image and using a difference in values of pixels at the same position. 2. The calculation unit identifies the edge and calculates the width based on the fact that the edge is brighter than the rest of the image showing the slag flow in the second image. 4. The slag amount measuring device according to any one of 1 to 3 . The velocity and width of the tapping slag flow are calculated based on a plurality of first images obtained by imaging the tapping slag flow coming out of the tap hole of the vertical furnace at a plurality of times. , a slag amount measuring method for calculating the amount of slag taken out from the tap hole using a predetermined formula including the speed and the width as variables,
a generating step of generating a second image by performing image processing to increase the contrast ratio between the edge of the image showing the flow of molten iron slag and the image showing the dripping of hot metal slag, using the plurality of first images; ,
and a calculating step of calculating the width using the second image,
The generating step generates the second image in which the values of the pixels at the same positions in the plurality of first images are values indicating variations in the values of the pixels at the same positions.
Method for measuring the amount of slag. The velocity and width of the tapping slag flow are calculated based on a plurality of first images obtained by imaging the tapping slag flow coming out of the tap hole of the vertical furnace at a plurality of times. , a slag amount measuring method for calculating the amount of slag taken out from the tap hole using a predetermined formula including the speed and the width as variables,
a generating step of generating a second image by performing image processing to increase the contrast ratio between the edge of the image showing the flow of molten iron slag and the image showing the dripping of hot metal slag, using the plurality of first images; ,
and a calculating step of calculating the width using the second image,
The generating step generates a difference image to be the second image ,
The difference image is a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a maximum value image, a minimum value image, and a minimum value image having the maximum value, the minimum value, the average value, and the median value of the pixel values at the same position in the plurality of the first images. Generated by combining two or more of the average value image and the median value image and using the difference in the value of the pixel at the same position,
Method for measuring the amount of slag .

Images