DETECTION OF MOLTEN STEEL LEVEL IN LADLE

PURPOSE:To accurately and automatically detect the molten steel level in a ladle by utilizing the position on the image of the boundary line between the molten steel surface and the inside wall of the ladle and the relative positional relation between a television camera and the ladle. CONSTITUTION:The molten steel level in the ladle 5 is photographed by the television camera 8 after a converter 2 starts tapping. The molten steel 1 in the ladle 5 appears, in most cases, brightest in the down flowing part 1a of the molten steel and the boundary part 1b between the brick of the ladle 5 and the molten steel and relatively blackish in the other molten metal surface part 1c. The image is then subjected to a binarization processing and differential processing in an image processor 9, by which the boundary part 1b or the boundary between the molten metal surface part 1c and the brick part is made white and distinct. The molten steel level is calculated from the positional relation of the linkage of the numerical values of the white picture elements and the camera 8. The molten steel level signal determined by the image processing is then fed to a converter controller 10 by which the amt. of the received steel is determined. This amt. is compared with the max. amt. of the steel received in the ladle to obtain the signal to announce the time for completion of the receiving, the signal to complete the receiving, etc. A converter tilting motor 11 is driven in accordance to the signal to complete the tapping, by which the tapping is stopped.