A fine ratio measuring device that measures the fine ratio of fines adhering to the surface of the material in the form of lumps includes: an illumination unit that illuminates the material in the form of lumps; an imaging unit that captures an image of the material in the form of lumps and produces image data; and an arithmetic unit including a computation unit that computes a characteristic quantity of the image data produced by the imaging unit and a conversion unit that converts the characteristic quantity computed by the computation unit to the fine ratio.

A fine ratio measuring device that measures the fine ratio of fines adhering to the surface of the material in the form of lumps includes: an illumination unit that illuminates the material in the form of lumps; an imaging unit that captures an image of the material in the form of lumps and produces image data; and an arithmetic unit including a computation unit that computes a characteristic quantity of the image data produced by the imaging unit and a conversion unit that converts the characteristic quantity computed by the computation unit to the fine ratio.

A residual molten material amount detection method and detection apparatus that can detect a residual amount of molten material in a vertical furnace and a method for operating a vertical furnace by using the detection method. The residual molten material amount detection method detects a residual amount of molten material remaining in a bottom portion of a vertical furnace after end of discharge of the molten material. The method includes detecting the residual amount of the molten material by using a difference between a production speed of the molten material and a discharge speed of the molten material that is calculated by using a discharge acceleration, a discharge period, and an initial discharge speed of the discharge of the molten material through a taphole.

A residual molten material amount detection method and detection apparatus that can detect a residual amount of molten material in a vertical furnace and a method for operating a vertical furnace by using the detection method. The residual molten material amount detection method detects a residual amount of molten material remaining in a bottom portion of a vertical furnace after end of discharge of the molten material. The method includes detecting the residual amount of the molten material by using a difference between a production speed of the molten material and a discharge speed of the molten material that is calculated by using a discharge acceleration, a discharge period, and an initial discharge speed of the discharge of the molten material through a taphole.

A molten material liquid level detection method that can detect a liquid level of molten material from a residual amount of the molten material with high accuracy and a method for operating a vertical furnace by using the detection method. The molten material liquid level detection method detects a liquid level of molten material remaining in a bottom portion of a vertical furnace after end of discharge of a molten material. The molten material liquid level detection method includes calculating a void fraction of the solid-filled structure, and detecting a liquid level of the molten material after the end of the discharge by using the calculated void fraction and a residual amount of the molten material after the end of the discharge.

A method for producing pig iron using a blast furnace containing a tuyere, including stacking a first layer including an iron ore material and a second layer including coke alternately in the blast furnace, charging the coke to a central portion of the blast furnace, and reducing and melting the iron ore material in the first layer while injecting an auxiliary reductant into the blast furnace by hot air blown from the tuyere. In the stacking, the charging of the coke is carried out once or a plurality of times during one charge of stacking a stacking unit composed of one of the first layer and one of the second layer, and a ratio R of a mass (ton/ch) of the coke accumulated in the central portion to a mass of the iron ore material charged in the one charge is greater than or equal to a predetermined value a.

A surface detection apparatus for a blast furnace is provided. An antenna is fixed to a side of a container attached to an opening portion of the blast furnace and having a bottom surface opened in correspondence to the opening portion. A reflection plate is disposed in the container immediately above the opening portion so as to face the opening portion and the antenna. A tilt angle varying mechanism and a rotation mechanism for the reflection plate are configured as a double pipe structure and are provided at an anti-antenna side of the reflection plate.

A surface detection apparatus for a blast furnace is provided. An antenna is fixed to a side of a container attached to an opening portion of the blast furnace and having a bottom surface opened in correspondence to the opening portion. A reflection plate is disposed in the container immediately above the opening portion so as to face the opening portion and the antenna. A tilt angle varying mechanism and a rotation mechanism for the reflection plate are configured as a double pipe structure and are provided at an anti-antenna side of the reflection plate.

A cooling system for a metallurgical furnace includes a plurality of cooling arrangements having each a set of cooling elements arranged to extract heat from the furnace, the cooling elements having each at least one internal cooling channel for a coolant fluid, where the cooling elements are fluidly connected within each cooling arrangement; at least one discharge piping associated with each cooling arrangement for discharging the coolant fluid towards a main collector, where a flow regulating arrangement is serially mounted with the discharge piping and configured to control a flow rate of the coolant fluid therethrough and hence through the cooling arrangement, where the flow regulating arrangement includes a calibrated orifice defining a default, minimal flow cross section for the coolant fluid and a regulating valve selectively operable to define a variable, additional flow cross-section.

A supplied heat quantity estimation method includes an estimation step of estimating a change in carried out sensible heat by in-furnace passing gas and a change in carried in sensible heat supplied by a raw material preheated by the in-furnace passing gas, and estimating a quantity of heat supplied to pig iron in a blast furnace in consideration of the estimated changes of the carried out sensible heat and the carried in sensible heat. The estimation step includes a step of estimating a quantity of heat supplied to pig iron in consideration of heat dissipated from the blast furnace during an air blowing break, and a step of estimating a quantity of heat held in deadman coke present in the blast furnace, and estimating the quantity of heat supplied to pig iron in consideration of the estimated quantity of heat held in deadman coke.