TLS 'Million Tonnes' Project

Terrestrial laser scanning is providing dense 3D information over the external surfaces of ladles at BlueScope Steel to provide a base input into deformation analysis. Engineers, for the first time, can see the ladles changing shape over their operating life.

Torpedo ladles carrying molten iron around the steelworks are an expensive asset. BlueScope Steel seeks to stretch the lifespan of each ladle to exceed one million tonnes. The ladles are already reaching the 800,000 tonnes mark, partly owing to survey monitoring of the interior refractory lining of the ladles managed by Mick Breunig, AAM Surveyor.



As the ladles go through their campaigns, they are subject to numerous fillings of molten iron and their interior refractory lining (the protective coating for the ladle shell) gradually wears away. As the lining erodes, the overall ladle structural stability also decreases.

The deformation is one of the unknowns that engineers, who are working towards increasing the lifespans, need to understand so they can make decisions about the management of this particular asset group.



Above: The ladle monitoring process