What is Intelligent Steel Plant?
Intelligent development is one of the powerful levers for the high-quality development of the steel industry in the new era and the core of technological progress. An intelligent steel plant is also an overall, dynamic, and continuous operation of the whole process and its intelligent management and control. As a digital-physical fusion system, knowledge of physical systems (including processes, devices, system integration, engineering design, materials, etc.) is required. , environmental protection, ecology, etc.) and information system knowledge go hand in hand, integrating and promoting each other.
The development direction of smart manufacturing in the steel industry in the future is based on automation and digitization, and the extensive application of big data and artificial intelligence technology to realize the intelligence and intelligence of steel manufacturing. The construction of intelligent chemical factories is the core and foundation of the combination of IT, OT, and CT technologies. Through intelligent equipment, intelligent manufacturing, intelligent operation and maintenance, intelligent management and control, and intelligent services, it promotes big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, 5G communication, 3D visualization, and other technologies that will be widely used in future steel companies.
The manifestation of steel plant intelligence should be to systematically integrate informatization, digitalization, and network technology into the steel manufacturing process, production operation, operation decision-making, and management execution, so as to realize digital R&D and production, network collaborative manufacturing, and management and control models. and business innovation, so it is a process of comprehensive integration-collaborative innovation.
By building an intelligent centralized control centre and an intelligent management and control center, it can play a role in reducing staff and increasing efficiency, improving the communication efficiency and synergistic effect among various positions; the intelligent management and control center integrates production, energy, equipment, security, logistics, and other management and control In one, establish a dynamic monitoring system for the main production links of the factory, concentrate on quickly analyzing and solving problems, and form a new mode of centralized control of intelligent steel factories.
The intelligent steel plant is embodied in:
(1) Improve product quality, improve the stability, reliability, and applicability of bulk steel and key steel quality, and realize the branding of enterprise product quality.
(2) Reduce resource and energy consumption, reduce process emissions, realize clean production, be environmentally friendly, and promote green development.
(3) Form an intelligent business model including procurement, production, sales, logistics, customer service, etc.
(4) Improve capital utilization efficiency, speed up enterprise capital flow, and further increase value.
(5) Extend the industrial chain and promote the development of a low-carbon economy and circular economy.
(6) Promote the transformation and upgrading of the iron and steel industry.
What systems does an intelligent steel plant consist of?
Intelligence is a huge engineering system that requires the concept of system engineering. Iron and steel enterprises have complex manufacturing process systems. In order to realize intelligent manufacturing, control, supply, and service, they must have concepts such as integrity, globality, coordination, and dynamics. So what are the main systems of an intelligent steel plant?
1) Integrated Situation Monitoring System
Based on the self-developed digital map Sovit3D product relies on digital twin technology to visualize and display multiple production lines from three dimensions: the steelmaking process, cockpit, and animation. “Numbers” are “things”, and various data resources of the factory are highly integrated, and key indicators in the fields of factory assets, facilities, energy efficiency, and safety are comprehensively monitored and analyzed. Realize more efficient and scientific factory management, and comprehensively improve the factory management level.
2) Video surveillance system
Support seamless integration of video surveillance functions, 24-hour security and dynamic monitoring of factories and surrounding installations, comprehensive integration of steel plants and surroundings without dead angle monitoring, and fire alarm, access control system, personnel management system linkage, accurate positioning of video cameras for viewing, and support for multiple cameras Windows side-by-side view monitoring. Integrating with the video security monitoring system, the management personnel can view the on-site situation through real-time video, and the operation and maintenance personnel can manage the factory in real-time, transparently, in process, and globally.
3) Electronic fence system
In the three-dimensional system, electronic fences are set up in key areas of the factory or important equipment to realize video linkage tracking and monitoring to avoid illegal intrusion or entry into illegal control areas, and it is linked with the alarm system. When there is an abnormal intrusion or abnormal situation, color alarms gather abnormal areas, and pop up a prompt to indicate the abnormal state, so as to fully ensure the safety of factory production.
4) Automatic inspection system
In the 3D system, several routes can be preset in advance, and the monitoring equipment on the route can be polled through the third-person mode, so as to achieve the purpose of online inspection. At the same time, on the inspection route, the operating status of the equipment and the real-time data of the storage yard can be viewed in real time. Transportation managers can check online in real time without having to go to the factory site. Through the global inspection route, avoid overlapping or missing inspection areas, and improve inspection efficiency and effectiveness.
5) Fire management system
Connect with the fire protection system through the API interface to monitor smoke, probes, sprinklers and other equipment in real time. When an abnormal situation (fire, explosion, gas diffusion, etc.) occurs, the pop-up window of the camera near the alarm point can be connected to display the real-time monitoring screen, retrieve the escape route of personnel, and evacuate in an orderly manner to ensure the safety of personnel and property loss.
6) Data big screen system
Use visualization technology to display and analyze a large amount of sales data of iron and steel enterprises, including sales information, financial information, procurement information, logistics information, etc., and make correct decisions based on the analysis results. Start with a general overview, zooming and filtering as needed to see the effect of the details.
7) Process control system
a. Firing Visualization
The sintering process is one of the main production processes in the steel industry. The device and transmission animation of the sintering machine are visualized, and the equipment and materials of the process production line can be visually inspected through the 3D scene. The focus of the panel is furnace temperature, furnace pressure, speed and current, and business personnel can analyze and predict the energy consumption of the sintering process based on the data.
b. Ironmaking visualization
Based on high-precision modeling of digital twin technology, 1:1 reduction adds iron ore, coke and flux from the top of the blast furnace to the furnace, and then blows the blower under the furnace into high-temperature hot air to generate reducing gas and reduce iron ore , molten iron and slag. A variety of intelligent technologies are used in each process, which greatly improves production efficiency and ensures production safety. Combined with the blast furnace overhaul project, the application of on-site robots is increased to realize the reduction and unmanned production operations and equipment operations.
c. Blast Furnace Visualization
According to the layout of the blast furnace process, the loading and smelting conditions of the blast furnace are monitored and modeled, including the furnace body, furnace shell, pipes, furnace base refractories and water-cooled wall materials. Each material corresponds to a temperature measurement point. Focus on the three areas of the blast furnace body, furnace roof roll-on, and hot blast stove, reflecting the real-time status of materials and gases.
d. Steelmaking visualization
Through the 3D animation effect, monitor the whole process information of molten iron and molten iron tank car from the molten iron pretreatment station to the steel rolling production line, furnace, LF information monitoring of the state of refining furnace, continuous casting machine and other equipment, and the integration scene of digital twin steelmaking process . It enables digital visualization of the whole process of steelmaking, intelligent decision-making, and interactive integration of information systems in all links.
Of course, the most important thing for the realization of an intelligent steel factory is the participation of various intelligent equipment and robot systems specific to each production process, such as the unmanned driving system produced by our company, the automatic slag adding robot system for continuous casting, and the automatic bar counting system, billet marking robot, bar and wire rod welding robot, bar automatic sampling robot, laser diameter measuring instrument, etc. Each intelligent device and system can operate independently, which can greatly improve production efficiency, save labor, improve the working environment of workers, and lay the foundation for the realization of intelligent unmanned steel factories.
References
[1] Sui Jingbo, “A New Mode of Centralized Control and Management of Intelligent Steel Plants”
[2] Yin Ruiyu, “Understanding of Intelligent Steel Plants”