Intelligent control of cupola melting

Conference · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1997

OSTI ID:484517

Larsen, E D; Clark, D E ^[1]; Moore, K L ^[2]; King, P E ^[3]

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1. Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
2. Idaho State Univ., Pocatello, ID (United States)
3. Department of Energy, Albany, OR (United States)

The cupola is a furnace used for melting steel scrap, cast iron scrap, and ferroalloys to produce cast iron. Its main energy source is coal coke. It is one of the oldest methods of producing cast iron, and it remains the dominate method because of its simplicity and low fuel cost. Cupolas range in size from 18 inches to 13 feet in diameter, and can produce up to 100 tons per hour of cast iron. Although cupola melting has a long history, automatic control has been elusive because the process has been poorly understood. Most foundries rely on the intuition of experienced operators to make control decisions. The purpose of this work, which has been underway for three years of an anticipated four year program, is to develop a controller for the cupola using intelligent and conventional control methods. The project is a cooperative effort between the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, the Department of Energy Albany Research Center, Idaho State University, and the American Foundrymen`s Society.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Engineering Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States); Department of the Interior, Washington, DC (United States); National Technology Transfer Center (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-94ID13223
• OSTI ID: 484517
• Report Number(s): INEL/CON--97-00018; CONF-970767--1; ON: DE97052961
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
AUTOMATION
CAST IRON
CONTROL SYSTEMS
FURNACES