Case
Steel industry - Industrial application development
Environment
Some years ago, Usinor Group (now ArcelorMittal) decided to install a second continuous casting machine, the CC4, to increase the production of slabs on the Chertal site, near Liège. This project gave rise to the implementation of new technologies applied to production techniques as well as the computing environment in general. At the process and management computing level, an ambitious plan was established to maximise control of the operations, notably by optimising the programming of the two continuous casting machines, the metal flow inside the caster and the flow of slabs coming out of the steel plant. The user-friendliness of the implemented system also had to ease post-treatment of the collected data, always with a view to optimise the manufacturing processes.
Solution
Trasys was assigned as project owner for the design and the implementation of the level 3 “process” part of the project. The new application had to meet production requirements and had to deal with client’s prerequisites such as Cimview as Supervision tool. The software application covers the control of key activities like transport of the steel ladles, functioning of the turret and of the head of the machine (tundish, moulds...), solidification of the strand, control of the last casting operations (flame-cutting, marking...), outlet and slab loading on the wagons, follow-up of the various machines (steel ladles, refractories, ingot moulds...). From the beginning of the implementation, Trasys provides corrective and evolution maintenance of the application and a stand-by assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Benefits
This implementation of new manufacturing processes allows the new Chertal CC4 machine to cover the big need for very high quality steel in a better way. For instance, the verification of the quality of produced slabs is done by the Trasys application and allows hot-rolling performing, without human intervention.