WO2024161369A1

WO2024161369A1 - A system for real time size distribution of particles in a feeder

Info

Publication number: WO2024161369A1
Application number: PCT/IB2024/050981
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rohit Kumar Agrawal; Vikrant Pratap; R Shunmuga Sundaram; Balamurugan S; Subhashis KUNDU; Kamma Ramakrishna Rao; Bonikila Pradeep Reddy; Amit Kumar
Original assignee: Tata Steel Limited
Priority date: 2023-02-02
Filing date: 2024-02-02
Publication date: 2024-08-08

Abstract

Present disclosure discloses a system for size distribution of particles in a feeder is disclosed. The system includes plurality of illuminating devices positioned in the feeder and configured to selectively illuminate a region of the feeder and creating shadows of the particles in the feeder. Further, the system includes an image capturing unit positioned in the feeder and configured to capture images of the illuminated region of the feeder and the shadows in the feeder. Furthermore, the method includes a processing unit communicatively coupled to the image capturing unit, wherein the processing unit is configured to receive and process the captured images and shadows to determine the size distribution of the particles in the feeder. The system aids in efficient and real time size distribution of particles in the feeder.

Description

TITLE: “A SYSTEM FOR REAL TIME SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF PARTICLES IN A FEEDER”

TECHNICAL FIELD

Present disclosure relates to field of metallurgy. Further embodiments of the present disclosure relates to size distribution of particles in a feeder. In particular, embodiments of the present disclosure discloses a system and a method for determining real time size distribution of particles in the feeder.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Iron ore sinter or sinter is usually the major component of a blast furnace iron bearing burden material. Sinter normally consists of various mineral phases produced by sintering of iron ore fines with fluxes, metallurgical wastes, and a solid fuel. Macroscopically sinter has a non- uniform structure with large irregular pores. The good quality of sinter is important for smooth blast furnace operation. Quality of sintered iron ore affect gas permeability in the blast furnace. In the operation of blast furnace, it is supposed that high gas permeability of burden is important. Hence, it is necessary to control total gas permeability from the top to the bottom of the furnace in regular operation. The stability of the gas flow depends almost entirely on the burden permeability, which is determined by the burden packing structure i.e., particle size, particle size distribution, and fine particles ratios.

Consistency in sinter size has a significant effect on blast furnace performance. Maintaining the gas permeability in the stack region of blast furnace is the challenging task for a blast furnace operator due to the variation in the sinter particle size distribution. It is well known fact that sinter fines are detrimental to furnace operation. Fine material lowers blast furnace stack permeability (stack becomes choked and flow of gas is impeded), increases dust losses, and may lower the maximum permissible blast temperature for smooth furnace operation. Sinter that is too coarse is also undesirable, particularly if its reducibility is low and it is poor in strength, thus undergoing physical degradation during furnace processing.

Conventionally, to determine particle size distribution of the sinter, sieve analysis (or gradation test) has been widely used. The sieve analysis include allowing the sinter material to pass through a series of sieves of progressively smaller mesh size and weighing the amount of material that is stopped by each sieve as a fraction of the whole mass. The practice is performed manually on sample basis and is not able to provide real time particle size distribution. The present disclosure is directed to overcome one or more limitations stated above or any other limitations associated with the conventional arts.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One or more shortcomings of the conventional techniques are overcome by a system and a method, as disclosed and additional advantages are provided through the system and the method as described in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a system for real time size distribution of particles in a feeder is disclosed. The system includes plurality of illuminating devices positioned in the feeder and configured to selectively illuminate a region of the feeder and creating shadows of the particles in the feeder. Further, the system includes an image capturing unit positioned in the feeder and configured to capture images of the illuminated region of the feeder and the shadows in the feeder. Furthermore, the method includes a processing unit communicatively coupled to the image capturing unit, wherein the processing unit is configured to receive and process the captured images and shadows to determine the size distribution of the particles in the feeder.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the particles in the feeder are sinter particles.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the image capturing unit is a camera.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the system includes an adjustable mount configured to accommodate and adjust an angle of the image capturing unit.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the image capturing unit is enclosed in an enclosure for ingress protection.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the system includes an air purging nozzle positioned proximal to the image capturing unit. The air purging nozzle is configured to clean and dedust the image capturing unit. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the system includes a heat dissipation unit associated with the image capturing unit. The heat dissipation unit is configured to dissipate heat from the enclosure of the image capturing unit.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processing unit is configured to crop the captured images by performing image geometry correction, fuse the cropped images, define boundaries between each particle and thereby determining the size distribution of the particles based on defined boundaries between each particle.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a method for determining real time size distribution of particles in a feeder. The method includes, selectively illuminating a region of the feeder, by a plurality of illuminating devices to create shadows of the particles in the feeder. Further, the method includes capturing, by an image capturing unit, images of the illuminated region of the feeder and the shadows of the particles. Furthermore, the method includes, processing by a processing unit, the captured images and the shadows to determine size distribution of the particles in the feeder.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, processing of the captured images and the shadows of the particles includes cropping the captured images by performing image geometry correction, fusing the cropped images and define boundaries between each particle and determining the size distribution of the particles based on defined boundaries between each particle.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the method includes calculating weight of the particles based on determined size distribution of the particles.

It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES The novel features and characteristics of the disclosure are set forth in the appended description. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

Figure. 1 is a schematic representation of a sinter transportation assembly to a blast furnace, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure. 2 is a schematic view of a system for size distribution of particles in the feeder, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure. 3 is a magnified view of portion ‘A’ of Figure. 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure. 4 is a schematic view of an image capturing unit positioned on an adjustable mount, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure. 5 is a schematic view of the adjustable mount, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure. 6 is a schematic view of the image capturing unit position that different orientations on the adjustable mount, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure. 7 is a flow chart depicting a method for determining size distribution of particles in the feeder, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the description of the disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent system and method do not depart from the scope of the disclosure. The novel features which are believed to be characteristics of the disclosure, as to method of operation, together with further objects and advantages maybe better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof has been shown by way of example in the figures and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a system and a method that comprises a list of acts does not include only those acts but may include other acts not expressly listed or inherent to such method. In other words, one or more acts in a system and a method proceeded by “comprises... a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other acts or additional acts in the method.

The following paragraphs describe the present disclosure with reference to Figures. 1 to 7. In the figures, the same element or elements which have similar functions are indicated by the same reference signs. Figure. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a sinter transportation assembly (300) to a blast furnace [not shown in Figures]. The sinter transportation assembly (300) may include a hopper

(117), which may be configured to store sinter particles. In an embodiment, the hopper (117) may be a weight hopper, which may be configured to weigh the sinter and supply predetermined quantity of the sinter. Further the transportation assembly may include a feeder

(118) and a conveyor belt (119). The feeder (118) may be configured to receive the sinter from the hopper (117) and vibrate such that, the sinter stored in the feeder (118) is conveyed on to the conveyor belt (119) through a discharge chute (120). Upon, conveying a predetermined quantity of sinter on to the conveyor belt (119) the feeder (118) may stop vibrating and thereby stop conveying of the sinter onto the conveyor belt (119). Further, as apparent from Figure. 1, the sinter transportation assembly may include a system (100) for real time size distribution of particles (thus, sinter particles) in the feeder (118). In an embodiment, the system (100) may be disposed in the feeder (118) or may be disposed proximal to the feeder (118).

Turning now to Figure. 2, the system (100) may include a housing (104) which may be configured to accommodate various components of the system (100). The housing (104) may be positioned within the feeder (118) or proximal to the feeder (118) such that, the system (100) may illuminate and capture images of the particles inside the feeder (118). The system (100) may include plurality of illuminating devices (102) which may be positioned at predetermined locations in the housing (104). As apparent from Figure. 2, one of the plurality of the illuminating devices (102) may be positioned at a top, a bottom, a right and a left portion of the housing (104), which are spaced apart at 90 degrees with each other. However the same cannot be construed as a limitation since the system (100) may include more than or less than four illuminating devices (102), which may be positioned at desired angles based on the requirement. In an embodiment, each of the plurality of illuminating devices (102) may be configured to selectively illuminate a region of the feeder (118), thereby creating shadows of the particles in the feeder (118). In an embodiment, one of the plurality of illuminating devices (102) may be activated to illuminate the feeder (118) based on desired location at which shadows are to be created in the feeder (118). As an example, activating the illuminating device at top portion of the housing (104) or proximal to the top portion of the feeder (118), may illuminate the feeder (118) such that, the shadow may be created in a bottom portion of the feeder (118). Likewise, different illuminating device of the plurality of illuminating devices (102) may be activated to create shadows of the particles at desired location in the feeder (118). Referring to Figure. 3, the system (100) may include an air purging supply device (114), which may be adapted to provide purging air on to the illuminating devices (102) for cleaning the illuminating devices (102). The purging air may flow through the air nozzles (115) to clean dust particles adhered to the plurality of illuminating devices (102) via a tube (116). When the air purging supply device (114) is operated, the air purging supply device (114) may supply air of certain pressure through the tube (116) which is encircling each of the illuminating devices (102) and comes out of nozzles (115) for cleaning each of the plurality of illuminating devices (102).

Turning now to Figure. 4, in an embodiment, the system (100) may further include an image capturing unit (103) and an adjustable mount (105). The adjustable mount (105) may be configured to accommodate and adjust an angle of the image capturing unit (103). As an example, the image capturing unit (103) may be a camera. As apparent from Figure. 5, the adjustable mount (105) may include an arm (106) which may be coupled to a wall of the feeder (118) or other any other structure proximal to the feeder (118). Further, the adjustable mount (105) may include a mount plate (107), which may be movably coupled to the arm (106) and configured to support the image capturing unit (103). That is, the image capturing unit (103) may be mounted on the mount plate (107). The mount plate (107) may configured to rotate in two axes, thereby adjusting the position of the image capturing unit (103) based on the requirement. In an implementation, the mount plate (107) may be inscribed with angular scales (121). The angular scales (121) aids in indicating the angle of inclination or rotation [thus, adjustment] of the image capturing unit (103). Figure. 6 shows various positions of the image capturing unit (103). Adjusting position of the image capturing unit (103) aids in improving image quality and capturing desired portion of the particles in the feeder (118). As seen in Figure. 6, the arm (106) aids in adjusting positions of the image capturing unit (103) in ZX plane (around Y axis) and XY plane (around Z axis).

Referring again to Figure. 4, the image capturing unit (103) may be disposed in an enclosure (109), for ingress protection, thereby preventing the image capturing unit (103) from dust and other foreign particles. Further, the system (100) may include a transparent plate shutter (110) which may be coupled to the enclosure (109) and slidable between an open position and a closed position. The transparent plate shutter (110) in its closed position aids in avoiding dust or other foreign particles from entering into the enclosure (109). Furthermore, the system (100) may include an air purging nozzle (108) which may extend from the enclosure (109), proximal to the transparent plate shutter (110). In an illustrated embodiment, a pair of air purging nozzles are depicted and the same cannot be construed as a limitation, as the system (100) may include one or more than two air purging nozzles. Additionally, the system (100) may include a heat dissipation unit (111) disposed in the enclosure (109). The heat dissipation unit (111) may be configured to dissipate heat generated by the image capturing unit (103) and thereby cooling the image capturing unit (103). Cooling the image capturing unit (103) may increase operational efficiency of the image capturing unit (103).

Referring back to Figure. 2 in relation to Figure. 1, the system (100) may include a processing unit (112) which may be communicatively coupled to the image capturing unit (103). The processing unit (112) may be configured to receive and process the images captured and shadows to determine the size distribution of the particles in the feeder (118). Hereinafter, working of system (100) to determine the size distribution of particles in the feeder (118) is described. To determine the size distribution of particles in the feeder (118), one of the plurality of illuminating devices (102) may be activated to illuminate the feeder (118). As an example, each of the plurality of illuminating devices (102) may be activated sequentially to illuminate the feeder (118) and corresponding images of the particles along with shadows may be captured by the image capturing unit (103). Based on the desired region to be captured, position of the image capturing unit (103) may be adjusted and desired images of the particles and shadows may be captured. Further, the captured images may be received by the processing unit (112). The processing unit (112) upon receiving the images from the image capturing unit (103), may crop the captured images to region of interest by performing image geometry correction. In an embodiment, the images are cropped to region of interest [only particles] and geometry correction is done to bring it to the original X and Y geometry ratio, thereby improving quality of the images. Upon cropping the images, the processing unit (112) may fuse the cropped images to gather every shadow details from all the captured images. In an embodiment, upon fusing the images, the processing unit (112) may perform image segmentation to define boundaries of the particles. Based on the determined boundaries, the processing unit (112) may determine size of the particles and thereby determines size distribution of the particles in the feeder (118). The determined size distribution of the particles may be displayed on a display screen (113). In an embodiment based on the determined size of the particles weight of the particles may be calculated. In an embodiment, the system (100) aids in real time prediction of the particle size distribution of the sinter (that is charged as burden in the blast furnace). Further, the system aids in effective particle size distribution based on image processing. This will improve the total gas permeability. The improvement in total gas permeability has direct relation with the coke rate and hence productivity of the blast furnace.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processing unit (112) may be implemented by any computing systems that is utilized to implement the features of the present disclosure. The processing unit (112) comprise at least one data processor for executing program components for executing user or system generated requests. The processing unit (112) may be a specialized processing module such as integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, graphics processing modules, digital signal processing modules, etc. The processing unit (112) may include a microprocessor, such as AMD Athlon, Duron or Opteron, arm’s application, embedded or secure processors, IBM PowerPC, Intel’s Core, Itanium, Xeon, Celeron or other line of processors, etc. The processing module may be implemented using a mainframe, distributed processor, multi-core, parallel, grid, or other architectures. Some embodiments may utilize embedded technologies like application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[054] In some embodiments, the processing unit (112) may be disposed in communication with one or more memory devices (e.g., RAM, ROM etc.) via a storage interface. The storage interface may connect to memory devices including, without limitation, memory drives, removable disc drives, etc., employing connection protocols such as serial advanced technology attachment (SATA), integrated drive electronics (IDE), IEEE-1394, universal serial bus (USB), fiber channel, small computing system interface (SCSI), etc. The memory drives may further include a drum, magnetic disc drive, magneto-optical drive, optical drive, redundant array of independent discs (RAID), solid-state memory devices, solid-state drives, etc.

Turning now to Figure. 7 which is a flowchart depicting method of determining size distribution of the particles in the feeder (118).

The order in which the operation is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

As shown in block 201, the method includes selectively illuminating the feeder (118), by a plurality of illuminating devices (102) creating shadows of the particles in the feeder (118). In an embodiment, selectively illuminating the feeder (118) includes sequentially activating each of the plurality of illuminating devices (102) creating shadows at desired locations in the feeder (118). Upon, illuminating the feeder (118) by one of the illuminating devices (102), at block 202, images of the illuminated feeder (118) and the shadow may be captured by the image capturing unit (103).

At block 203, the method includes processing by the processing unit (112), the captured images and the shadows to determine size distribution of the particles in the feeder (118). In an embodiment, processing by the processing unit (112) includes cropping the captured images by performing image geometry correction. In an embodiment, the images are cropped to region of interest [only particles] and geometry correction is done to bring it to the original X and Y geometry ratio. Upon cropping the images, the processing unit (112) may fuse the cropped images to gather every shadow details from all the captured images. In an embodiment, upon fusing the images, the processing unit (112) may perform image segmentation to define boundaries of the particles. Based on the determined boundaries, the processing unit (112) may determine size of the particles and thereby determines size distribution of the particles in the feeder (118). The determined size distribution of the particles may be displayed on a display screen (113). In an embodiment based on the determined size of the particles weight of the particles may be calculated.

It is to be understood that a person of ordinary skill in the art may develop a system (100) of similar configuration without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Such modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure covers such modifications and variations provided they come within the ambit of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Equivalents:

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system (100) having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances, where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system (100) having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.” While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral numerals:

Claims

The Claims:

1. A system (100) for determining size distribution of particles in a feeder (118), the system (100) comprising: a plurality of illuminating devices (102) positioned in the feeder (118) and configured to selectively illuminate a region of the feeder (118) creating shadows of the particles in the feeder (118); an image capturing unit (103) positioned in the feeder (118) and configured to capture images of the illuminated region of the feeder (118) and the shadows in the feeder (118); and a processing unit (112) communicatively coupled to the image capturing unit (103), wherein the processing unit (112) is configured to receive and process the captured images and shadows to determine the size distribution of the particles in the feeder (118).

2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the particles in the feeder (118) are sinter particles.

3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image capturing unit (103) is a camera.

4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 , comprising an adjustable mount (105) configured to accommodate and adjust an angle of the image capturing unit (103).

5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image capturing unit (103) is enclosed in an enclosure (109) for ingress protection.

6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising an air purging nozzle (108) positioned proximal to the image capturing unit (103), the air purging nozzle (108) is configured to clean and dedust the image capturing unit (103).

7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a heat dissipation unit (111) associated with the image capturing unit (103), the heat dissipation unit (111) is configured to dissipate heat from the enclosure (109) of the image capturing unit (103).

8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit (112) is configured to: crop the captured images by performing image geometry correction; fuse the cropped images and define boundaries between each particle; and determining the size distribution of the particles based on defined boundaries between each particle.

9. A method for determining size distribution of particles in a feeder (118), the method comprising: selectively, illuminating a region of the feeder (118), by a plurality of illuminating devices (102) to create shadows of the particles in the feeder (118); capturing, by an image capturing unit (103), images of the illuminated feeder (118) and the shadows of the particles; and processing, by a processing unit (112), the captured images and the shadows to determine size distribution of the particles in the feeder (118).

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the selectively illuminating the region of the feeder (118) comprises illuminating one of a plurality of illuminating devices (102) for illuminating the feeder (118) and creating the shadow of the particles.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein processing of the captured images and the shadows of the particles, comprising: cropping, the captured images to consider the region of interest by performing image geometry correction; fusing, the cropped images and define boundaries between each particle; and determining the size distribution of the particles based on defined boundaries between each particle.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprising calculating weight of the particles based on determined size distribution of the particles.