Diagnostic system and method for metallurgical reactor cooling elements

A diagnostic system for a cooling element of a metallurgical reactor, the system comprising:

• at least one sensor located in or proximate the cooling element for sensing an operating condition of the cooling element at a plurality of time intervals;
• at least one processor in communication with the at least one sensor for receiving measurement data corresponding to the sensed operating condition and for processing the data to determine a relative condition indicator representing accumulated wear of the cooling element, relative to an initial condition of the cooling element, at each time interval over a period of time comprising at least one metallurgical heating and cooling cycle of the cooling element;
• and
• at least one display in communication with the at least one processor for displaying the relative condition indicator to a user of the diagnostic system,
• wherein the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors and wherein the at least one processor is programmed to process the data to determine whether a fault condition exists in at least one of the sensors.

A diagnostic method for a cooling element of a metallurgical reactor, comprising:

• sensing an operating condition of the cooling element at a plurality of time intervals;
• receiving measurement data corresponding to the sensed operating condition;
• processing the received measurement data to determine a relative condition indicator representing accumulated wear of the cooling element, relative to an initial condition of the cooling element, at each time interval over a period of time comprising at least one metallurgical heating and cooling cycle of the cooling element;
• and
• displaying the relative condition indicator to a user,
• wherein the relative condition indicator is determined at least in part by determining an area condition indicator for each of a plurality of areas of the cooling element and determining the relative condition indicator based on the area condition indicators.