Cupola Furnace Computer Process Model

Technical Report · Fri Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/859885· OSTI ID:859885

Katz, Seymour ^[1]

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1. S. Katz Associates, Inc.

The cupola furnace generates more than 50% of the liquid iron used to produce the 9+ million tons of castings annually. The cupola converts iron and steel into cast iron. The main advantages of the cupola furnace are lower energy costs than those of competing furnaces (electric) and the ability to melt less expensive metallic scrap than the competing furnaces. However the chemical and physical processes that take place in the cupola furnace are highly complex making it difficult to operate the furnace in optimal fashion. The results are low energy efficiency and poor recovery of important and expensive alloy elements due to oxidation. Between 1990 and 2004 under the auspices of the Department of Energy, the American Foundry Society and General Motors Corp. a computer simulation of the cupola furnace was developed that accurately describes the complex behavior of the furnace. When provided with the furnace input conditions the model provides accurate values of the output conditions in a matter of seconds. It also provides key diagnostics. Using clues from the diagnostics a trained specialist can infer changes in the operation that will move the system toward higher efficiency. Repeating the process in an iterative fashion leads to near optimum operating conditions with just a few iterations. More advanced uses of the program have been examined. The program is currently being combined with an ''Expert System'' to permit optimization in real time. The program has been combined with ''neural network'' programs to affect very easy scanning of a wide range of furnace operation. Rudimentary efforts were successfully made to operate the furnace using a computer. References to these more advanced systems will be found in the ''Cupola Handbook''. Chapter 27, American Foundry Society, Des Plaines, IL (1999).

• Research Organization: S. Katz Associates, Inc, W. Bloomfield, MI; U. Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, MO; U. Antioquia, Medelin, Columbia
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE - Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE)
• DOE Contract Number: FG36-01GO11034
• OSTI ID: 859885
• Report Number(s): Cupola Furnace Computer Process Model-Final repor
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
ALLOYS
CAST IRON
CASTINGS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COMPUTERS
Cast iron
Computer Model
Cupola furnace
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY ACCOUNTING
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
FURNACES
IRON
MOTORS
OPTIMIZATION
OXIDATION
SCRAP
STEELS