Overview of steel heat treatment control problems in the flexible production of galvanized sheet metal

Abstract

Background. The object of the research is the modes of heat treatment of steel strip on continuous hot-dip galvanizing units. The complexity of controlling the heat treatment of steel is one of the main reasons why guaranteed heat treatment modes have become widespread in enterprises. In such modes, interference in the operation of furnaces and the metal cooling system is minimized. This leads to a number of negative consequences, such as: reduced productivity; limited range of products for a particular unit; difficulties in determining rational modes for new types of products. In an unstable market situation, enterprises can miss out on benefits due to insufficient production flexibility, when, instead of switching to the efficient production of new types of products, units are temporarily decommissioned. The purpose of this work is to systematize the reasons for the spread of guaranteed heat treatment modes and to identify measures aimed at ensuring production flexibility. Production flexibility is understood as the possibility of producing a wide range of products at different capacities on a separate unit. Materials and methods. The conducted studies are based on a review of known proposals in the field of improving the heat treatment control of steel strip. Results. The problems of controlling the heat treatment of steel in the flexible production of galvanized sheet metal with varying productivity were formulated. The authors reviewed the proposals in the field of improving the heat treatment control of steel strip and assessed them from the standpoint of ensuring production flexibility. Problems requiring further solution were formulated. Conclusions. The paper shows that the main difficulties in the flexible production of galvanized strip with varying productivity are associated with the creation of models adequate to the tasks of predictive control of the steel heat treatment.

Keywords

• galvanizing; steel strip; heat treatment management; flexible production; performance/ productivity