| abstract |
A system and method for detecting molten slag in a tap stream between a steel making vessel such as a basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and corresponding ladle. An infrared (IR) imaging or detecting device(s) is used to image/view the BOF-to-ladle tap stream, the stream transmitting energy indicative of whether molten steel and/or slag is in the stream at a given time. Gray scale analysis is performed on pixels viewed from the tap stream to determine the number of steel pixels and the number of slag pixels in the stream at a given time. When the ratio or percentage of slag pixels exceeds a predetermined value or amount, an alarm may be actuated to cause an operator to tilt the converter upward to stop tapping, or the converter may be automatically tilted upward to stop tapping. |