TY - JOUR
T1 - Real-time, model-based spray-cooling control system for steel continuous casting
AU - Petrus, Bryan
AU - Zheng, Kai
AU - Zhou, X.
AU - Thomas, Brian G.
AU - Bentsman, Joseph
N1 - Funding Information:
Ron O’Malley, Matthew Smith, Terri Morris, and Kris Sledge from Nucor Decatur are gratefully acknowledged for their unwavering support and help with this work. The TCP/IP programs in CONON-LINE were written by Rob Oldroyd from DBR Systems on behalf of Nucor Decatur. We are grateful for work on CON1D calibration for the Nucor Decatur steel mill by Sami Vahpalahti and Huan Li from the University of Illinois. We are also very grateful for their work on CONONLINE. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DMI 05-00453 and CMMI-0900138 as well as the Continuous Casting Consortium at UIUC.
PY - 2011/2
Y1 - 2011/2
N2 - This article presents a new system to control secondary cooling water sprays in continuous casting of thin steel slabs (CONONLINE). It uses real-time numerical simulation of heat transfer and solidification within the strand as a software sensor in place of unreliable temperature measurements. The one-dimensional finite-difference model, CON1D, is adapted to create the real-time predictor of the slab temperature and solidification state. During operation, the model is updated with data collected by the caster automation systems. A decentralized controller configuration based on a bank of proportional-integral controllers with antiwindup is developed to maintain the shell surface-temperature profile at a desired set point. A new method of set-point generation is proposed to account for measured mold heat flux variations. A user-friendly monitor visualizes the results and accepts set-point changes from the caster operator. Example simulations demonstrate how a significantly better shell surface-temperature control is achieved.
AB - This article presents a new system to control secondary cooling water sprays in continuous casting of thin steel slabs (CONONLINE). It uses real-time numerical simulation of heat transfer and solidification within the strand as a software sensor in place of unreliable temperature measurements. The one-dimensional finite-difference model, CON1D, is adapted to create the real-time predictor of the slab temperature and solidification state. During operation, the model is updated with data collected by the caster automation systems. A decentralized controller configuration based on a bank of proportional-integral controllers with antiwindup is developed to maintain the shell surface-temperature profile at a desired set point. A new method of set-point generation is proposed to account for measured mold heat flux variations. A user-friendly monitor visualizes the results and accepts set-point changes from the caster operator. Example simulations demonstrate how a significantly better shell surface-temperature control is achieved.
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U2 - 10.1007/s11663-010-9452-7
DO - 10.1007/s11663-010-9452-7
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79951508466
VL - 42
SP - 87
EP - 103
JO - Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B: Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science
JF - Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B: Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science
SN - 1073-5615
IS - 1
ER -