To what extent do thermo physical properties of a metallurgical reactor affect the performance of a virtual sensor used for predicting the ledge profile?

A non-invasive virtual sensor is employed for the inverse prediction of the time-varying ledge profile that forms inside high-temperature metallurgical reactors filled with a load of phase change material (PCM). The virtual sensor is tested for thermo physical properties of the vessel wall and of the PCM that fall outside the range for which it was originally designed. The results are analyzed and presented in terms of the shift of key thermo physical properties from the reference case. Results indicate that the virtual sensor is more sensitive to the variation of the properties of the phase change material than that of the vessel walls. The virtual sensor response remains accurate for reactor loads of high thermal inertia. The virtual sensor may still be used for reactor loads of low thermal inertia provided that thermo physical properties of the PCM are well-known.