Developed a new aluminum furnace aluminum water measurement technology in the UK

MQP Co., Ltd. in the United Kingdom has developed a new measurement technology for aluminum water storage and outflow in aluminum furnaces, called the BatchPilot technology. The engineers concerned believe that this new technology is expected to be extended to the entire metallurgical industry.

The principle of BatchPilot is based on the measurement of the hydraulic pressure change produced when the furnace master cylinder is tilted. A major feature of this technology is the ability to detect the accumulation of aluminum ash on the lining and is used as a reference to determine the exact weight in the furnace.
Since the Batch Pilot technology was used in aluminum furnaces, it has been applied in the furnaces of Allelis and Talum companies and has achieved excellent results. By reducing the number of castings of short aluminum ingots and extra long aluminum ingots to increase production, the required accuracy has been improved. Furnace labor productivity has achieved excellent return on investment.

At present, there are 20 aluminum foundry plants in the world that use BatchPilot technology. By the end of 2006, 11 sets of aluminum furnaces used BatchPilot technology, and the foreground application of BatchPilot technology was in Canada. The second application of BatchPilot technology was Allelis. By the end of 2007, there were 10 more aluminum furnaces equipped with BatchPilot. There are also 30 aluminum furnace manufacturers in the process of negotiations, of which 15 aluminum furnaces are expected to be installed this year.

BatchPilot features:

(1) The measurement system can accurately measure the weight of aluminum water remaining in the furnace, reach the 0.5% accuracy range of the nominal furnace capacity, and the aluminum furnace water weight accuracy of the entire furnace capacity is 1%. For a 50-ton furnace, the weight error of aluminum water remaining in the furnace is plus or minus 250 kg, and the total weight of aluminum water in the furnace is plus or minus 500 kg.

(2) The installation of the BatchPilot measurement system does not affect the normal operation of the furnace and does not require production stoppages. The BatchPilot system is usually delivered 1 to 2 months before the prescribed test date, and there is enough time before the test engineer arrives at the site. The commissioning engineer needs 5 days to inspect, calibrate and install the test of a BatchPilot system, and sign and accept it later;

(3) The BatchPilot system is stable and reliable. Only when some materials in the molten aluminum fixed weight change in the furnace, or need to be recalibrated after every 12 months of operation, the recalibration work is completed by the factory personnel;

(4) Accurately storing the weight of aluminum water in the furnace, the discharge weight, and the total weight of aluminum water in the furnace can achieve a better number of furnace indicators and achieve the following goals:

Increased the percentage of "preceding time" analysis and reduced the number of sampling spectral analysis;
Reduce or avoid casting for a short time;
Some products increase the number of ingots that can be cast;
By reducing the casting of long aluminum ingots, the yield is improved;
The end result is to increase labor productivity by reducing furnace time and ultimately increase production.

Many batches of aluminum furnaces in the world have the BatchPilot system installed, and the casting shop is equipped with a PLC process control system. The BatchPilot system has become an indispensable part of the entire system. There are currently two furnaces that are testing the equipment for automatic weighing. The weight of aluminum water remaining in the furnace is measured. At the completion of casting, the furnace PLC triggers a signal to measure the weight of aluminum water remaining in the furnace. The future batch furnace BatchPilot system will PLC integrated operation.