SBIR Phase II: Structural Imaging of High Temperature Furnace Walls

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目旨在开发一种用于玻璃行业高温炉的原型3D成像传感器。这些炉也用于许多其他行业，包括水泥，焦炭，钢铁和纸浆造纸工业。这种3D成像传感器可以创建炉壁的内部图像，以便维护人员可以识别炉壁侵蚀以及通过炉壁接缝泄漏的任何熔融材料。 第二阶段的目标是开发一个原型传感器系统，可以形成炉壁和熔融玻璃之间的界面的3-D图像。为了实现这一目标，将开发高性能的传感器硬件和相应的成像软件。整个原型系统将使用内部窑炉在高温炉壁上进行测试，然后在操作玻璃炉上进行测试。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力在于，它将根据真实的炉况实现维护计划。 这将延长高温炉的使用寿命，并能够在不造成生产重大中断的情况下进行明智的本地维护。这为玻璃制造业节省了大量资金，并提高了安全性，因为由于熔融玻璃从熔炉中泄漏而发生了几起灾难性事故。 传感器技术还提供了一个平台，可以在其上构建许多其他应用，包括微波医学成像，考古探索和制造过程中耐火材料内部的缺陷检测。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a prototype 3-D imaging sensor for high temperature furnaces used in the glass industry. These furnaces are also used in many other industries, including cement, coke, iron & steel, and pulp & paper industries. This 3-D imaging sensor creates an interior image of the furnace wall so that maintenance personnel can identify wall erosion, and any molten material leaking through the wall joints. The objective in Phase II is to develop a prototype sensor system that can form 3-D images of the interface between the furnace wall and molten glass. To achieve this, a high performance sensor hardware and corresponding imaging software will be developed. The entire prototyped system will be tested on high temperature furnace walls using in-house kilns followed by tests at an operational glass furnace. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is that it will enable maintenance programs based upon real furnace conditions. This will allow longer life span of high temperature furnaces and the ability to make informed local maintenance without a major interruption in production. This translates to significant financial savings for the glass manufacturing industry and improved safety, as several catastrophic accidents have occurred due to molten glass leaking from the furnaces. The sensor technology also offers a platform on which many other applications can be built, including microwave medical imaging, archaeology explorations, and defect detection inside refractories during manufacturing.