Steel facilities use blast furnace, coke oven, and Linz-Donawitz gases in the production process, the primary component of which is carbon monoxide CO, which is harmful to the environment and life-threatening to workers.
The Flir GF346 uses a filtered thermal detector to visualise CO and other harmful gases. The camera can be used to scan for gas across wide areas and from a safe distance without interrupting a plant’s production process. The Flir GF346 scans potential leak points rapidly from a distance and allows the user to pinpoint their source in real-time. By ensuring there is sufficient Delta T (temperature difference between the ambient temperature at the leaking component and the background scene), technicians can achieve the image contrast needed to detect the lowest level of gas emissions using the GF346’s high sensitivity mode.
The camera uses optical gas imaging (OGI), which utilises leak detection and repair (LDAR) technology.
Using an OGI camera for LDAR inspections can help the steel industry streamline their shutdown processes and procedures. The FLIR GF346 can show operators what needs to be repaired, allowing maintenance teams to plan for repairs and avoid unexpected shutdowns. There is a safety element as well: adding a telescopic lens to the FLIR GF346 allows operators to look for dangerous leaks from a safe distance, keeping them out of confined/hot work permit areas. The Flir GF346 is said to reduce downtime by allowing operators to identify areas of interest during regular operations and then schedule closer inspections for planned shut downs.
The FLIR GF346 OGI camera is claimed to help inspection crews identify problems before they become catastrophic and conducting surveys without shutting down operations. The GF346 is suitable for monitoring plants where it is difficult to reach components with handheld contact measurement tools such as gas sniffers.
According to Flir, inspectors can scan thousands of components per shift without the need to interrupt the process. Optical gas imaging cameras also allow operators to detect profuse leaks and find their source while working from a safe distance outside the gas cloud. Using the Flir GF346, steel companies can improve work safety, reduce environmental impact, and help them maintain regulatory compliance while increasing efficiency as this technology can operate without interrupting a plant’s production process.
A primary use for the Flir GF346 is finding elusive leaks near the casting floor. Often, technicians are unable to detect the CO gas leak source in the casting floor area. Leaks occasionally begin in the late evening hours, so a lack of sunlight and the frequent change in natural airflow direction make it difficult to trace the source of leakage. With the help of a Flir GF346 optical gas imaging camera, inspectors can scan possible sources of the leakage point near gas piping both inside and outside the steel-making units. The GF346 is claimed to find leaks in a variety of scenarios which can be up to 60 meters away from the casting floor. Gas can escape from a flange joint in a line that supplies gas to the hot strip mill reheating furnace from the gas mixing station. One remedy would be to close off and secure the area and communicate the findings for immediate corrective action, preventing an unsafe incident and closing off the source of the leak.