Building a digital twin of a rolling furnace

A digital twin models furnace behavior to understand billet temperature, gas consumption and process optimization opportunities.

Challenge

Continuous rolling furnaces involve high temperatures, several zones and moving billets. Operators need to understand how process settings affect billet temperature and energy consumption.

Data

The model used furnace-zone temperatures, gas-flow information, billet properties, speed and process geometry, combining physical knowledge with measured plant data.

Solution

Artelnics developed a digital twin based on differential-equation models and data validation, comparing modeling approaches and relating furnace settings to process behavior.

Results

The digital twin gives engineers a practical tool to study furnace operation, evaluate scenarios and identify opportunities to reduce energy use while preserving product quality.

Illustrations