Distributed Temperature Sensing in the Spray-Cooled Shell of a 150-Ton DC Electric Arc Furnace using Brillouin Optical Fiber Technology

Author

Farhan Mumtaz, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Yeshwanth Reddy Mekala
Koustav Dey
Rony Kumer Saha
Ogbole Collins Inalegwu
Manoj Kumar Pullagura
Bohong Zhang, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Muhammad Roman
Nicholas Dionise
Zane Voss
Jeffrey D. Smith, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Ronald J. O'Malley, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Rex E. Gerald, Missouri University of Science annd TechnologyFollow
Jie Huang, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

This paper presents the deployment and validation of a Brillouin - distributed temperature sensing (DTS) system for real-time thermal monitoring of the spray-cooled upper shell of a 150-ton direct current Electric Arc Furnace (DC EAF) at Big River Steel Plant, Osceola, AR, USA. A four-channel Brillouin DTS system from OZ Optics was employed, with one active channel instrumented using an in-house-fabricated Brillouin scattering-depressed single-mode optical fiber (SMF28e+). The 60 m optical fiber sensor was fabricated, with 20 m allocated for thermal measurement and 40 m used as lead-in fiber to isolate the interrogator from the furnace environment. The fiber was nested in stainless steel (SS) tubing and bonded to the hot-face surface of the shell using thermally conductive epoxy. The system captured transient thermal events including burner activation and process-induced heating over multiple furnace cycles. DTS-acquired data were validated against resistance temperature detector (RTD) measurements, confirming consistent thermal trends and system accuracy. Prior to the industrial deployment, several mock-up tests were conducted. Laboratory calibration demonstrated a linear Brillouin frequency shift with temperature, with a sensitivity of approximately 1.19 °C/MHz up to 515 °C and R² = 0.9988. Additional mock-up trials confirmed spatial resolution between 0.5 m and 1 m, with transmission and reflection spectra showing hotspot detection over sensing lengths up to 130 m. An averaging spatial step of 0.04 m was used, and acquisition sweep time was set to 1 min with a 10 MHz frequency step size and 10,000 averages. Monitoring the spray-cooled shell is critical in EAF operations due to its exposure to high thermal loads and susceptibility to localized overheating. Real-time hotspot detection and localization support proactive maintenance, reduce the risk of shell failure, and improve energy efficiency and operational safety. These findings underscore the potential of Brillouin - DTS systems to enable intelligent process control and predictive maintenance in next-generation steelmaking facilities.

Recommended Citation

F. Mumtaz and Y. R. Mekala and K. Dey and R. K. Saha and O. C. Inalegwu and M. K. Pullagura and B. Zhang and M. Roman and N. Dionise and Z. Voss and J. D. Smith and R. J. O'Malley and R. E. Gerald and J. Huang, "Distributed Temperature Sensing in the Spray-Cooled Shell of a 150-Ton DC Electric Arc Furnace using Brillouin Optical Fiber Technology," IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Jan 2026.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TIM.2026.3664551

Department(s)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Second Department

Materials Science and Engineering

Publication Status

Early Access

Keywords and Phrases

Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA); Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR); Distributed Sensing; Electric Arc Furnace (EAF); Optical Fiber Sensor; Thermal Mapping

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1557-9662; 0018-9456

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2026