KNOWLEDGE

Glass International - In-Furnace Thermal Imaging for Hot Refractory Inspection

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Read our latest article in Glass International where Philippe Kerbois and Neil Simpson discuss in-furnace thermal imaging for hot refractory inspection.

"The Near Infrared Borescope [NIR-B] originated from the efforts of AMETEK Land’s Director of Technology, Peter Droegmoeller, more than a decade ago.

In 2012, the inaugural NIR installation took place in a Steel Reheat Furnace, followed by the first installation in a Glass Furnace in 2013. In 2014, Neil Simpson established Simpson Combustion & Energy. Subsequent years witnessed the collaboration between AMETEK Land and Simpson C&E, with notable achievements, such as the Glass Focus Innovation Award in 2017.

The year 2018 marked the installation of the 50th NIR-B-2K-Glass unit, while 2019 saw the launch of the NIR-B thermal survey as a new service, accompanied by a published patent application.

The unveiling of the High Definition 2k with dedicated NIR-B IMAGEPro and IMAGEPro Glass occurred in 2020. By 2021, the installation of over 100 NIR-B units in glass, some featuring two per furnace, underscored the technology’s widespread adoption. Recent years have witnessed the NIR B technology in aluminium reverb and cement applications.

When discussing the unexpected temperature profile on a glass furnace, the customer commented: “Neil, Infrared does not lie! We have just never been able to see it before!”.

The reality is that this is still just the start of a journey as we start to diagnose thermal data in terms of operation, emissions and refractory inspection."

Click here to read the full article