PROJECT LEAD

ArcelorMittal

PARTNERS

Purdue University, Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Absence of predictive maintenance and real-time quality prediction tools increases the overall energy intensity of the steelmaking process via increased unplanned turnarounds (UPTA) and product defects.

TECHNICAL APPROACH

• Employ the CESMII-based SM/big-data platform to capture process and quality data
• Extend and scale-up the in-house caster condition monitoring application “Caster Health Monitor” (CHM) into this new SM platform for predictive tools
• Develop real-time hybrid predictive models for slab defects and quality using the SM platform
• Build an interactive, SM-platform-tethered, VR-based interface of a digital twin prototype of the continuous casting process for shop-floor deployment by integrating all the above developments

KEY TASKS/MILESTONES:

• Define CESMII-directed platform specification (M3)
• Configure CESMII-based SM PlatformTMfor project use (M9)
• Implement and prove effectiveness of new advanced sensors in the pilot caster (M12)
• Extend, scale-up and demonstrate a first running version of CHM application on the new SM PlatformTM(M15)
• Complete, deliver and validate an enhanced version of the CHM application as a true predictive maintenance tool (M21)
• Deliver a hybrid (data-driven/machine learning based + physics-based such as CFD) slab quality prediction model (M24)
• Deliver and deploy a first version of a digital twin of the pilot caster on the shop floor (M24)

POTENTIAL IMPACT:

• A 0.2% savings in yield (from reduction of defects) is equivalent to an annual savings of $90M for the whole US steel industry (plus 2.68 PJ of energy savings per year equivalent to about 22 million gallons of gas savings, enough to power ~ 70,000 typical American homes for a year).
• Predictive maintenance tools alone could save at least $2M per caster strand per year (there are hundreds of strands in the US)

BENEFIT TO CESMII:

• Transversal application of the developed technologies (available as SM Apps from the SM Marketplace) from this project would impact numerous other industries faced with similar problems and challenges
• The outcome of this project is expected to trigger a paradigm shift (e.g., from quality-by-inspection to quality-by-design) in the current manufacturing practices of how preventive maintenance is done, how product quality is looked at and how dispositioning of products is performed in real time