Development of Fluidity Measurement Technique and Automation of Measurement Station : Developing the existing Fluidity Measurement Station by automating the operation and measuring the fluidity digitally with MATLAB Image Processing Tools.

Abstract: Bryne AB has invented a device called Loop for measuring the fluidity of molten metal. Loop is made up of refractory fiber material and has a dimension of 196 sq.mm within which there is an engraved spiral shaped runway for the molten metal to flow. The distance traveled by the molten metal in the spiral determines its fluidity and is measured visually by the operator with the help of the spiral scale printed on the Loop. A workstation is used to support the Loop for an easier and better working environment. At present, the entire operation of fluidity measurement is done manually. The aim of the thesis is to develop an automatic workstation for the fluidity measurement and find a technique to measure the fluidity without human visual aid. Further, an attempt has been made to find a way to store and retrieve the measured values for future use.   The automation of the workstation is done with the help of Arduino Uno circuit board for electrical connections and Arduino IDE for programming the circuit. MATLAB image processing tool is used for measuring the fluidity digitally.   The prototype of the automated workstation is built and showcases the ability to reduce the time and operational errors. The automation of the unplugging operation saves up to 7 seconds.  The digital measuring of the fluidity with FLIR thermal camera and MATLAB image processing tool does not show significant improvement in accuracy in measurement, but it reduces the dependency on the expertise of the operator. There is an error of 12.7% from the actual fluidity value.