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AIS Implements BetaPlanner for New voestalpine Stahl Reheat Furnace
10/11/2007 - AIS successfully completed its implementation of the SteelPlanner reheat furnace optimization module for voestalpine Stahl’s new reheat furnace project in Linz, Austria.
AIS has successfully completed its implementation of the SteelPlanner reheat furnace optimization module for the new reheat furnace project at voestalpine Stahl in Linz, Austria.
An existing application of the AIS SteelPlanner solution at voestalpine in Linz, optimizes the schedules of the facility’s casters and hot strip mill. The existing application, which has been in operation for four years, is one of the main components of the facility’s hot-charging solution.
With the addition of a new walking beam reheat furnace, some new optimization possibilities will be exploited using the new furnace optimizer.
The SteelPlanner Furnace Optimization module is part of BetaPlanner, the SteelPlanner suite’s mill-scheduling solution. It optimizes the slab charging and discharging sequence using a combination of a pure thermal and/or a fix charging pattern model. This model considers the reheat time needed for each slab and considers the best furnace to use at a given moment in time. This optimization is done considering the constraints from two pusher-type furnaces and the new walking-beam furnace as well as the process and logistics constraints related to the hot strip mill.
AIS achieved the project’s main goal of using the full capacity of the new reheat furnace by reducing the furnace and/or mill bottlenecks as well as by providing better support for voestalpine Stahl’s hot-charging objectives.
BetaPlanner’s furnace optimizer closes the gap between the level 3 schedulers and the level 2 furnace optimization facilities. The project was finalized on time (June 2007).
Headquartered in Linz, Austria, the AIS Group is a leading supplier of planning and scheduling systems for the metals industry. Solutions from AIS increase the efficiency of expensive heavy equipment through the optimization of capacity planning and production schedules.
