Metallurgical processes take place at temperatures of 1,500 degrees Celsius or more. “You cannot imagine everything that is going on at that temperature,” says Yang. “You are unaware of a lot of phenomena that are occurring, or of their physical parameters.”
In 2016, ABB launched Optimold Monitor, a device that collates 4,000 monitoring points over a complete mold, giving a resolution more than 20 times better than conventional measuring systems. Beyond the capabilities of existing fiber-optic measuring technologies, it tracks not only mold-plate temperature in slab casting, but local thermal and flow events, as well as detecting “stickers” and cracks.
Using
ABB Ability™ Optimold Monitor software, data is processed and visualized as a heat distribution image of the mold copper plate, allowing the operator to zero in on areas of concern or interest: for example, factors such as real-time meniscus profile, flow speed, mold cooling, taper control and submerged entry nozzle clogging.
Used in tandem with
ABB Ability™ Optimold Control, this technology closes the loop between electromagnetic actuators and sensors, allowing real-time automatic online control of mold fluid flow.
The challenge was to develop measuring techniques that would function under very high temperatures to deliver reliable insights into metallurgical processes. “ABB had the vision and technology partnerships to use optical fiber sensors at a very early stage in their development,” says Yang. “Paired with ABB’s capacity for analyzing the big data generated, monitoring and control of conditions in the mold became far more precise.”
Logging historical data and outcomes enables a more robust, repeatable casting process, reliably high-quality output and a safer, more predictable working environment that requires less manual intervention in processes. Automatic and accurate process control also results in improved productivity and optimized energy consumption.
ABB first installed Optimold Monitor at Tata Steel in Ijmuiden, Holland, in 2015. The optical fiber system has shown almost fault free functioning since the very beginning. “When real-time high-resolution temperatures were visualized and analyzed, they revealed many secrets that metallurgists have worked for years to uncover,” says Yang. For example, using this system, paired with big-data analysis, ABB and Tata Steel for the first time demonstrated the correlation between real caster meniscus speed and final product quality. In 2022, ABB completed the world's first installation of Optimold Control with a steelmaker in Asia. “The integration of Optimold Control dictates demands that are in line with ABB’s new competencies, showing that we’re right on target,” says Yang.