A Review of Thermal Spectral Imaging Methods for Monitoring High-Temperature Molten Material Streams

Real-time closed-loop control of metallurgical processes is still in its infancy, mostly based on simple models and limited sensor data and challenged by extreme temperature and harsh process conditions. Contact-free thermal imaging-based measurement approaches thus appear to be particularly suitable for process monitoring. With the potential to generate vast amounts of accurate data in real time and combined with artificial intelligence methods to enable real-time analysis and integration of expert knowledge, thermal spectral imaging is identified as a promising method offering more robust and accurate identification of key parameters, such as surface temperature, morphology, composition, and flow rate.