Fuel Costs Minimization on a Steel Billet Reheating Furnace Using Genetic Algorithms

Metallurgy industries often use steel billets, at a proper temperature, to achieve the desired metallurgical, mechanical, and dimensional properties of manufactured products. Optimal operation of steel billet reheating furnaces requires the minimization of fuel consumption while maintaining a homoge...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inModelling and Simulation in Engineering Vol. 2017; pp. 1 - 11
Main Authors Santos, Harley S. O., Almeida, Paulo E. M., Cardoso, Rodrigo T. N.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Hindawi 01.01.2017
Hindawi Limited
Wiley
Subjects
Control
Costs
Energy consumption
Energy use
Furnaces
Genetic algorithms
Heat transfer
Hot rolling
Mathematical models
Steel
Studies
Temperature
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Summary:Metallurgy industries often use steel billets, at a proper temperature, to achieve the desired metallurgical, mechanical, and dimensional properties of manufactured products. Optimal operation of steel billet reheating furnaces requires the minimization of fuel consumption while maintaining a homogeneous material thermal soak. In this study, the operation of a reheating furnace is modeled as a nonlinear optimization problem with the goal of minimizing fuel cost while satisfying a desired discharge temperature. For this purpose, a genetic algorithms approach is developed. Computational simulation results show that it is possible to minimize costs for different charge temperatures and production rates using the implemented method. Additionally, practical results are validated with actual data, in a specific scenario, showing a reduction of 3.36% of fuel consumption.
ISSN:1687-5591
1687-5605
DOI:10.1155/2017/2731902