Furnaces are the most crucial components in the glass and metallurgical industry. Like any other components in an industry, furnaces require periodic maintenance and repair. Today, furnaces are being operated at higher temperatures and for longer periods of time thus increasing the rate of wear and tear on the furnace refractory lining. As a result of the competitive market facing these industries, longer furnace lifetime with shorter maintenance downtime are increasingly required. Higher fuel consumption, low production and safety are issues that accompany delayed maintenance. Consequently, there is a need to know the state of a refractory wall to prevent premature or unnecessary maintenance shutdowns. For many years the observation skills of an experienced operator has been the primary source of evaluating the wear associated with a refractory wall. The rate of regression of a refractory lining depends on the type of the refractory lining, the materials Monitoring of Refractory Wall Recession Using Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave (FM-CW) Radar Techniques: A Proof-of-Concept Study, Final Report, Submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE), September 2003. being melted, seepage, mechanical stresses, and temperature. Moreover, the regression of a refractory lining is also not uniform throughout a furnace and it is more prominent at the metal line along the sidewalls as this region is exposed to hot gaseous byproducts and flowing molten material. Hence, more accurate measurement techniques are required to determine the local residual thickness of a refractory lining so as to utilize the refractory lining to the maximum extent possible. The use of isotope radiators, thermocouples and endoscopes has also been investigated for monitoring regression. These techniques are capable of providing scanned thermal images showing the profile of the refractory wall. However, these techniques can only provide relative profile information and cannot provide absolute thickness measurements. A novel laser technique was also studied for monitoring refractory regression and provided accurate thickness measurements. However, the technique requires the use of bulky equipment and is relatively expensive. Another technique that has been used involves the drilling of holes in a refractory wall at specific locations, known to be prone to high rate of erosion, and inserting a rod to measure the refractory thickness. This technique is destructive and expensive.
