IMPROVEMENT OF SLAB REHEATING PROCESS AT USIMINAS THROUGH MATHEMATICAL SIMULATION

Abstract

Basic characteristics and application examples of the mathematical simulator for reheating process in walking-beam type furnaces, that has been developed and applied to Usiminas plate mill line at Ipatinga, are shown in this paper. This is a bi-dimensional mathematical model solved by the finite volume method, validated by temperature measurements inside the slab during heating and coded as a visual tool. Among these applications, the following can be highlighted: (i) determination of suitable furnace zone temperatures and residence times for processing steels by accelerated cooling technology; (ii) determination of slab average temperature at discharging as well as at each zone exit, supplying data to be fed to the automation system at the comissioning stage; (iii) analyses of slab thermal distribution through the reheating process, enabling operational optimization

Keywords

• Reheating furnace; Mathematical simulation; Thermomechanical processing