Intelligent control method and intelligent control system for iron ladle dust removal

Abstract

The invention relates to an intelligent control method and an intelligent control system for iron ladle dust removal, and the method comprises the following steps: iron ladle in-place identification: identifying the state of an iron ladle in a blast furnace tapping area, determining whether the iron ladle moves in place or not, and sending out an in-place signal as a first condition for starting a fan after the iron ladle moves in place; flue gas concentration online detection: after it is determined that the iron ladle moves in place, the flue gas concentration of the iron receiving position is continuously detected online, and a wind speed real-time control instruction is sent out according to the flue gas concentration to serve as a second fan starting condition; and fan control: in the production process, based on the first condition and the second condition, automatically and dynamically controlling the rotating speed of the dust removal fan according to the wind speed real-time control instruction so as to ensure that the flue gas concentration is in a safe range. The on-demand control of the dust removal fan is realized, the workload of on-site post personnel is greatly reduced, the waste of electric resources of iron and steel enterprises is reduced, and meanwhile, the service life of the dust removal fan is prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of metal smelting technology, and more specifically, to an intelligent control method and intelligent control system for dust removal from ladles. Background Technology

[0002] In blast furnace production, on-site operators need to promptly discharge the molten iron produced within the blast furnace through the taphole. The molten iron flows through the taphole, tapping channel, skimmer, slag skimmer, ferrule, and oscillating spout before entering the ladle—a special container for holding the molten iron. Therefore, blast furnace tapping is a crucial operational step. To prevent dust from the ladle, a dust collector hood is installed above it. This hood, connected to a dust collector fan, uses a dust collection pipe to promptly remove the smoke and dust generated during the blast furnace's iron-receiving process. Currently, most blast furnaces in China are large blast furnaces (with furnace volumes generally around 1000 m³). 3 The above (usually with more than 2 tapping ports) accounts for more than 70% of the total time of the blast furnace iron receiving operation. In daily operation, when the blast furnace starts receiving iron, the blast furnace front operator turns on the ladle dust collector through the on-site button switch, and turns off the ladle dust collector switch when the iron receiving operation ends.

[0003] However, due to the significantly increased workload of on-site personnel, traditional dust control methods are no longer sufficient to meet actual needs. In actual production, to prevent dust from the molten iron ladle, the ladle dust collector is activated even before the ladle arrives. Some even set the ladle dust collector to a constantly running state, operating the dust collector fan continuously for 24 hours a day. This not only wastes a large amount of electricity but also severely affects the lifespan of the ladle dust collector fan. Patent CN115111925A discloses an automatic control method and system for a tapping dust collector fan based on changes in the weight of the molten iron ladle. By installing a weighing sensor on the ladle track to monitor changes in the weight of the molten iron ladle in real time, the system automatically determines the tapping status (no ladle, pre-operation, tapping in progress, removed) and controls the fan to automatically switch between three modes: standby, low-power pre-operation, and full-load operation, achieving so-called "on-demand dust removal." However, to increase the iron-to-steel ratio, most steel companies choose to add scrap steel before the ladle receives iron, making the above solution ineffective in solving the dust problem. Since the scrap steel added to the ladle is added before the molten iron is received, the weight of the molten iron will not increase in the early stage when the ladle is pulled to the bottom of the blast furnace to receive the iron. However, the problems of smoke and dust still exist. At this time, it is obviously inappropriate for the blower to be in standby mode or switch to low power operation as instructed.

[0004] Therefore, this invention proposes an intelligent control method and intelligent control system for dust removal from iron ladles to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the purpose of this invention is to provide an intelligent control method and intelligent control system for dust removal in ladles, which realizes on-demand control of dust removal fans, not only significantly reducing the workload of on-site personnel, but also reducing the waste of electricity resources in steel enterprises, and at the same time, helping to extend the service life of dust removal fans.

[0006] The above-mentioned technical objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solution: A method for intelligent control of dust removal in iron ladles includes: Ladle positioning identification: Identify the status of the ladle in the blast furnace tapping area to determine whether the ladle has moved into position. When the ladle has moved into position, a positioning signal is sent as the first condition for starting the blower. Online flue gas concentration detection: After confirming that the iron ladle has moved into position, the flue gas concentration at the iron receiving position is continuously detected online. Based on the flue gas concentration, a real-time wind speed control command is issued as the second condition for starting the fan. Fan control: During the production process, based on the first and second conditions, the speed of the dust removal fan is automatically and dynamically controlled according to the real-time wind speed control command to ensure that the flue gas concentration is within a safe range.

[0007] In one embodiment, during the step of identifying the location of the metal bag, visual recognition is used to determine whether the metal bag has moved into position. Identification markings are installed on the sides of the ladle racks facing the railway line, with each ladle's marking associated with its ladle number. A camera is installed in the blast furnace tapping area. The imaging device is aimed at the iron receiving position in the blast furnace tapping area to capture image information. Based on the image information, it identifies whether there is a marker in the iron receiving position. When a marker is identified and matches the preset ladle number, it is determined that the ladle has moved into position and a positioning signal is issued.

[0008] In one embodiment, when analyzing image information, the acquired image is first converted to grayscale, denoised, contrast-enhanced, and perspective-corrected to eliminate some interference. Then, the marked positions are precisely outlined in the image, and the cropped digital regions are identified.

[0009] In one embodiment, in the step of online detection of flue gas concentration, a corresponding preset wind speed is obtained based on the online monitored flue gas concentration, which is used as a real-time control command.

[0010] In one embodiment, when the flue gas concentration is 0, the preset wind speed is 0, and the dust removal fan does not start at this time; When 0 ≤ flue gas concentration ≤ 20 mg / m³ 3When the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the preset wind speed is low speed (taking a 50Hz variable frequency motor as an example, the power corresponding to low speed is 0~15Hz, such as 12Hz). When 20 < flue gas concentration ≤ 50 mg / m³ 3 When the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the preset wind speed is medium speed (taking a 50Hz variable frequency motor as an example, the power corresponding to medium speed is 15~50Hz, such as 35Hz). When the flue gas concentration is >50 mg / m³ 3 When the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the preset wind speed is high speed (taking a 50Hz variable frequency motor as an example, the power corresponding to high speed is greater than 50Hz, such as 60Hz).

[0011] In one embodiment, the preset time t is 20-60 s.

[0012] In one embodiment, the intelligent dust removal control method for ladles also includes anomaly control; When the automatic control of the dust collector fan malfunctions or is under maintenance, the dust collector fan switches to manual control, allowing manual control of the start / stop or speed of the dust collector fan.

[0013] A smart control system for dust removal from ladles includes a control module and a ladle identification module, an online flue gas detection module, and a dust removal fan module connected to the control module; The iron bag identification module includes an industrial camera, whose field of view is directed at the iron-bearing area, and is used to identify markings on the side of the iron bag. The online flue gas detection module includes a flue gas detection device, which is installed above the ladle dust collector hood or on the dust collection duct. The dust removal fan module includes a dust removal fan, which is located at the iron receiving position.

[0014] In summary, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: This invention determines whether to start or stop the dust collector fan based on whether the iron ladle has entered the iron receiving position and by real-time detection of the flue gas concentration at the iron receiving position. It also dynamically adjusts the frequency of the dust collector fan according to changes in the flue gas concentration, truly realizing on-demand control of the dust collector fan. This not only significantly reduces the workload of on-site personnel but also reduces the waste of electricity resources in steel enterprises. At the same time, it helps to extend the service life of the dust collector fan. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the embodiments.

[0016] It is worth noting that the directional terms such as "up" and "down" used in this article are relative to the perspective and are only used for ease of description. They should not be interpreted as limitations on the technical solutions.

[0017] This invention proposes an intelligent control method for dust removal from iron ladles, including iron ladle positioning identification, online detection of flue gas concentration, and fan control, as detailed below: Ladle positioning identification: Identify the status of the ladle in the blast furnace tapping area to determine whether the ladle has moved into position. When the ladle has moved into position, a positioning signal is sent as the first condition for starting the blower. Online flue gas concentration detection: After confirming that the iron ladle has moved into position, the flue gas concentration at the iron receiving position is continuously detected online. Based on the flue gas concentration, a real-time wind speed control command is issued as the second condition for starting the fan. Fan control: During the production process, based on the first and second conditions, the speed of the dust removal fan is automatically and dynamically controlled according to the real-time wind speed control command to ensure that the flue gas concentration is within a safe range.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention does not maintain the dust removal fan in a state of constant operation, but removes dust on demand. The present invention can automatically determine the iron discharge status (no ladle, pre-operation, iron discharge in progress, ladle removed) and link the control to automatically switch the dust removal fan between three modes: standby, low-power pre-operation, and full-load operation, effectively solving the problem of the dust removal fan always operating at full load in the prior art.

[0019] The ladles of iron enter the blast furnace tapping area sequentially, and are pre-numbered within the production system. In the ladle positioning identification step, visual recognition is preferred to determine whether the ladle has reached its designated position. A suitable visual recognition method is proposed below: Identification markings are set on the side of the ladle rack facing the railway line. The markings consist of one or more of numbers, letters and symbols. Each ladle's marking is associated with its ladle number. A camera is set up in the blast furnace tapping area. The imaging device is aimed at the iron receiving position in the blast furnace tapping area to capture image information. Based on the image information, it identifies whether there is a marker in the iron receiving position. When a marker is identified and matches the preset ladle number, it is determined that the ladle has moved into position and a positioning signal is issued.

[0020] In this invention, each iron ladle has a different marking. Based on the identification of the marking, it can also be determined whether the iron ladle has left the iron receiving position after being ironed, ensuring that production proceeds normally.

[0021] It is easy to understand that the present invention takes the arrival of the ladle as the first condition for the blower to start. Only when it is determined that there is a ladle that meets the requirements in the blast furnace tapping area can the blower be started. Otherwise, the blower will remain in standby mode to avoid the blower running idle unnecessarily.

[0022] Furthermore, when analyzing image information, the acquired images are first converted to grayscale, denoised, contrast-enhanced, and perspective-corrected to eliminate some interference. Then, ROI (Region of Interest) bounding boxes or deep learning-based object detection models (such as YOLOv5) are used to accurately outline the marked locations in the image. For the cropped digital regions, an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) engine or a dedicated digital recognition deep learning model is used for recognition.

[0023] In the online detection of flue gas concentration, the corresponding preset wind speed is obtained based on the online monitored flue gas concentration, which serves as a real-time control command.

[0024] When the flue gas concentration is 0, the preset wind speed is 0. At this time, the dust removal fan does not start and is in standby mode. This state also corresponds to the situation where the iron ladle has not entered the iron receiving position or the situation where the iron ladle has completed the iron receiving and has left the iron receiving position.

[0025] Where 0 ≤ flue gas concentration ≤ 20 mg / m³ 3 When the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the preset wind speed is low speed (taking a 50Hz variable frequency motor as an example, the power corresponding to medium speed is 15~50Hz, such as 35Hz). At this time, the dust removal fan is running at a low frequency, which corresponds to the situation where the iron ladle enters the iron receiving position.

[0026] Among them, when 20 < flue gas concentration ≤ 50 mg / m³ 3 When the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the preset wind speed is medium speed (taking a 50Hz variable frequency motor as an example, the power corresponding to medium speed is 15~50Hz, such as 35Hz). At this time, the dust removal fan is running in medium frequency state, which corresponds to the situation where the iron ladle enters the iron receiving position. At this time, the iron ladle may be in the initial or final stage of iron receiving, and the smoke begins to increase or gradually decreases.

[0027] Among them, when the flue gas concentration is >50 mg / m³ 3 When the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the preset wind speed is high speed (taking a 50Hz variable frequency motor as an example, the power corresponding to high speed is greater than 50Hz, such as 60Hz). At this time, the dust removal fan is running at a high frequency, which corresponds to the situation where the iron ladle enters the iron receiving position and is in the iron receiving process, and the smoke is maintained at a high concentration.

[0028] Furthermore, the preset time t is 20-60 s, such as 20 s, 25 s, 30 s, 35 s, 40 s, 45 s, 50 s, 55 s, and 60 s.

[0029] This invention controls the frequency of the dust removal fan by controlling the state of the iron ladle and the flue gas concentration at the iron-receiving location, thereby achieving automated and intelligent dust removal. This enables the dust removal system to be linked with the production rhythm, effectively reducing energy consumption while ensuring that the flue gas concentration meets the requirements.

[0030] The intelligent control method for dust removal in ladles of the present invention also includes abnormal control. Specifically, when the automatic control of the dust removal fan malfunctions or is under maintenance, the dust removal fan is switched to manual control, and the start-up, shutdown or speed of the dust removal fan is directly controlled manually.

[0031] Based on the above-mentioned intelligent control method for dust removal of iron ladles, the present invention also proposes an intelligent control system for dust removal of iron ladles, including a control module and an iron ladle identification module, an online flue gas detection module and a dust removal fan module connected to the control module; The ladle identification module includes an industrial camera, i.e., an imaging device. The industrial camera is preferably a global shutter industrial camera with at least 2 megapixels, paired with a lens of appropriate focal length. The industrial camera is installed on one side of the railway line, with its field of view facing the area receiving the ladle, for identifying markings on the side of the ladle. The ladle identification module also includes conventional computing and communication units. The computing unit uses an industrial edge computing box (equipped with a high-performance CPU and GPU), installed nearby in the electrical room, responsible for running the identification algorithm. The communication module is equipped with Ethernet ports and digital I / O modules according to the computing unit's requirements for signal transmission.

[0032] The online flue gas detection module includes a flue gas detection device, such as a flue gas detection sensor. The flue gas detection device is installed above the dust collector hood of the ladle or on the dust collection duct, or other areas where the flue gas concentration is easily detected.

[0033] The dust removal fan module includes a dust removal fan, which is located at the iron-receiving position. As is easily understood, the dust removal fan is connected to the dust removal duct, and the extracted flue gas is discharged and collected along the duct.

[0034] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions falling within the scope of the present invention's concept are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, any improvements and modifications made without departing from the principles of the present invention should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A smart control method for dust removal from iron ladles, characterized in that, include: Ladle positioning identification: Identify the status of the ladle in the blast furnace tapping area to determine whether the ladle has moved into position. When the ladle has moved into position, a positioning signal is sent as the first condition for starting the blower. Online flue gas concentration detection: After confirming that the iron ladle has moved into position, the flue gas concentration at the iron receiving position is continuously detected online. Based on the flue gas concentration, a real-time wind speed control command is issued as the second condition for starting the fan. Fan control: During the production process, based on the first and second conditions, the speed of the dust removal fan is automatically and dynamically controlled according to the real-time wind speed control command to ensure that the flue gas concentration is within a safe range.

2. The intelligent control method for dust removal from iron ladles as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In the step of identifying the location of the metal bag, visual recognition is used to determine whether the metal bag has moved into position. Identification markings are installed on the sides of the ladle racks facing the railway line, with each ladle's marking associated with its ladle number. A camera is installed in the blast furnace tapping area. The imaging device is aimed at the iron receiving position in the blast furnace tapping area to capture image information. Based on the image information, it identifies whether there is a marker in the iron receiving position. When a marker is identified and matches the preset ladle number, it is determined that the ladle has moved into position and a positioning signal is issued.

3. The intelligent control method for dust removal from iron ladles as described in claim 2, characterized in that, When analyzing image information, the collected images are first converted to grayscale, denoised, contrast-enhanced, and perspective-corrected to eliminate some interference. Then, the marked positions are precisely outlined in the image, and the cropped digital areas are identified.

4. The intelligent control method for dust removal from iron ladles as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In the online detection of flue gas concentration, the corresponding preset wind speed is obtained based on the online monitored flue gas concentration, which serves as a real-time control command.

5. The intelligent control method for dust removal from iron ladles as described in claim 4, characterized in that, When the flue gas concentration is 0, the preset wind speed is 0, and the dust removal fan will not start. When 0 ≤ flue gas concentration ≤ 20 mg / m³ 3 When the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the power corresponding to the preset wind speed is 0~15Hz. When 20 < flue gas concentration ≤ 50 mg / m³ 3 When the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the power corresponding to the preset wind speed is 15~50Hz. When the flue gas concentration is >50 mg / m³ 3 Furthermore, when the flue gas concentration is maintained for a time ≥ the preset time t, the power corresponding to the preset wind speed is > 50Hz.

6. The intelligent control method for dust removal from iron ladles as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The preset time t is 20-60 s.

7. The intelligent control method for dust removal from iron ladles as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes exception control; When the automatic control of the dust collector fan malfunctions or is under maintenance, the dust collector fan switches to manual control, allowing manual control of the start / stop or speed of the dust collector fan.

8. An intelligent control system for dust removal from iron ladles, characterized in that, The intelligent control method for dust removal of iron ladles according to any one of claims 1-7 includes a control module and an iron ladle identification module, an online flue gas detection module, and a dust removal fan module connected to the control module. The iron bag identification module includes an industrial camera, whose field of view is directed at the iron-bearing area, and is used to identify markings on the side of the iron bag. The online flue gas detection module includes a flue gas detection device, which is installed above the ladle dust collector hood or on the dust collection duct. The dust removal fan module includes a dust removal fan, which is located at the iron receiving position.