System and method for measuring cooling plate thickness in a blast furnace

Abstract

A system for measuring a thickness of a cooling plate, including a probe holder unit designed to fit inside a coolant channel of the cooling plate, the probe holder unit having a housing extending along a length axis, an ultrasonic probe being arranged in the housing to be able to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves from a sensor side, a rear housing part being moveably arranged at the rear side, transversally to the length axis, and elastically biased away from the sensor side, thereby permitting the probe holder unit to adapt to the cooling channel size, a drive chain to assist the progression of the probe holder unit through the length of the coolant channel, the drive chain linked to first connecting means at the first end of the housing, where a cable assembly includes electric wires connects the ultrasound probe, and an encoder arrangement is configured to cooperate with the drive chain such as to measure a length of drive chain passing along it, the encoder arrangement having a first gear meshing with the drive chain and coupled to an encoder.