Early detection of fire back in refine combine burner of electric arc furnace

Challenge Details

In the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF), the Refine Combine Burner (RCB) sustains damage from fire back. Fire back occurs when flames or hot gases flow back into the burner, damaging the Refine Combine Burner (RCB), resulting in a shortened lifespan and water leaks. Improper burner operation, blockages in the burner, incorrect air-fuel mixture, and high-pressure buildup within the furnace could lead to fire back. Currently, this issue is addressed through periodic inspections and reactive repairs. Past efforts involved manual monitoring. Unfortunately, these approaches have proven ineffective in preventing damage or enabling early detection. The RCB usage life can shorten if a fire back happens and there is a need to take out the refractory to repair and reuse, which results in downtime. 

There are some constraints in the line and are listed below.

• Limited space for additional protective systems.
• Need to maintain continuous operation with minimal disruption.
• Harsh environment with extreme temperatures make it difficult to implement certain protective measures.
• Existing system has cooling water temperature measurement to detect temperature increase. If the temperature hike is too fast than fire back might have happened, however it cannot guarantee 100% prevention all the time. 

We are looking for a solution which can prevent fire back incidents. In case the fire back incidents cannot be prevented completely, we also are looking for a solution which can effective protect RCB from fire back along with a reliable early detection system for fire back incidents.