Successful implementation of the BetaPlanner Furnace Optimisation extension at voestalpine Stahl in Linz

AIS has successfully completed the implementation of the SteelPlanner reheating furnace optimisation module.

This project was awarded to AIS in the framework of the new reheating furnace project at voestalpine Stahl in Linz, Austria. The existing implementation of the AIS SteelPlanner solution at voestalpine in Linz, which has been in operation for 4 years, is optimising on a daily basis the schedules of the casters and the hot strip mill and is one of the main components of the hot charging solution in place. With the addition of a new walking beam reheating furnace, some new optimisation possibilities are exploited using the new furnace optimiser.

The SteelPlanner Furnace Optimisation module is part of BetaPlanner, the mill scheduling solution of the SteelPlanner suite. It optimises the slab charging and discharging sequence using a combination of a pure thermal and/or a fix charging pattern model. This model considers the reheating time needed for each slab and considers the best furnace to use at a given moment in time. This optimisation 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 HSM.

AIS succeeded in realising the main goal of the project of using the full capacity of the new reheating furnace by reducing the furnace and/or mill bottlenecks as well as to provide better support for the hot-charging objectives of voestalpine Stahl.