Utilizing Digital Twins in Steel Manufacturing
Digital twin technology plays a key role in the progressive digitalization of the process industry for increasing competitiveness and sustainability. Digital technologies are transforming the industry at all levels. Steel has the opportunity to lead all heavy industries as an early adopter of specific digital technologies to improve sustainability and competitiveness.
Hightopo’s core product, HT for Web, uses WebGL technology under the hood, offering users a new, immersive way to visualize, plan, educate and stimulate the steel processing and the whole steel plant. Integrate data into one single web application, which covers 3D digital twin monitoring system, process SCADA, and data board, enabling users to get real-time data and break data silos.
3D Digital Twin
It seems like Digital Twins are everywhere in manufacturing today, but what exactly is a Digital Twin? A Digital Twin is an exact representation of a production process. It allows for easy and quick visualization of all the characteristics that go into a process. Hightopo uses the web front-end visualization framework, HT for Web to build Digital Twins that truly match the production process, and corresponds 100% with the real process. From raw materials to finished products, accounting for every step in between — even if the data lives in different mills or data systems. By analysing such data and monitoring it in a real-time manner, this system leads to reduced cost, risk, and waste.
Raw Material Transportation
After the raw materials are unloaded from the wharf, they are transported to the raw material yard by belts. HT connect data sourced from various IIOT sensors, and real-time rendering the data on a 3d data pannels. HT 3D engine supports the roaming of simulated drones or pedestrians, and enables browsing the raw material factory in all directions without dead ends. Therefore, in the dispatching centre, staff can grasp all angles of the tens of thousands of square meters of raw materials, each piece of equipment, the entry and exit of various raw materials, and the usage in real-time.
Sintering Process
Sintering is an agglomeration process of fine mineral particles into a porous mass by incipient fusion caused by heat produced by combustion within the mass itself. Iron ore fines, coke breeze, limestone and dolomite along with recycled metallurgical wastes are converted into agglomerated mass at the Sinter Plant, which forms 70–80% of iron-bearing charge in the Blast Furnace. Leveraging 3D animation, users can intuitively view the equipment and materials of the process production line, such as sintering machines, annular coolers, etc.
Blast Furnace Visualization
Blast furnace visualization technology is a new technology for monitoring charging and smelting conditions in blast furnace and for guiding blast furnace operation. HT 3D modeling digital twins according to the actual blast furnace, detailed modelling of an entire furnace shell, pipes, etc. Through the special designed, translucent furnace shell, visualize inside of the blast, temperature data etc.
Data panels extend from 3d model are connected with real-time data sourced from sensors located across the equipment, intuitively to monitory the work conditions of pipelines and equipment. Visualize various kinds of data such as CO, CO2 mass fraction, coke ratio, gas flow rate, furnace top pressure, and gas permeability parameters in real-time, and supplemented by a line graph. real-time display of the real-time data change trend of furnace top cross temperature measurement so that operators can timely understand the airflow in the furnace changes in distribution and furnace conditions, and timely detection of abnormal conditions in the furnace, so as to actively control the operation of the blast furnace.
Steel Making Process
The molten pig iron is treated by preparative equipment to separate impurities such as sulfur and phosphorous, then further refined by removing carbon with the use of a steel converter. Once the impurities are removed by these methods, the viscose substance remaining is known as “steel.”
HT enables digital visualization of the whole process of steelmaking, keeps tracing vital data and displays it on the 3d in realt-time. Enables intelligent decision-making, and interactive integration of information systems in each line.
Continuous casting
Using an overhead crane, a ladle of liquid steel is transferred from the BOS Plant to the casters, where it is poured — or teemed — into the casting machine and shaped by water-cooled copper moulds of varying sizes depending on the final product to be made.
HT powerful 3d render engine1:1 photo-realistic modelling physical equipment and display vital data on the data panel. The 2D panel seamlessly work on 3d environment.
Rolling
Rolling is the process by which billets are converted into sheets with thicknesses ranging from less than 1 mm to 400 mm.
Product
A 3d animation to simulate the final product, wire rods. Through the high-precision digital twin models and data integrated from sensors, supplement data such as current, actual operation, and line speed etc.
Shipping
HT engine integrates the smart vehicle terminal and vehicle management system, enabling vehicle scheduling, vehicle tracking, operation monitoring and transportation performance. The 2D panel accesses information such as the total number of vehicles, total weight, etc., to guide the driver to carry out goods. Assist in solving the problems of low visibility of steel logistics management, inability to scientifically and rationally carry out transportation stowage, high vehicle emptying rate, and low transportation efficiency.
Steel Manufacturing Process SCADA
Compared with traditional configuration software such as InTouch/IFix/WinCC, Hightopo’s Web-based platform is more suitable for the general trend of C/S to B/S transformation. The multi-element rich visualization components and fast data binding methods are available for rapid platform creation and deployment.
Data Board Data Visualization
With the maturity of computer technology, the information construction of iron and steel enterprises has developed rapidly. At the same time, the explosive growth of data in iron and steel enterprises becoming a new challenge for enterprises.
HT comes with powerful visualization components, such as line charts, pie charts, bar charts, tables, etc. Brings great value to enterprises to manage the big data and visualize it for sharper insight.
Cross-platform (Mobile Device UI)
Mobile device HT for Web cross-platform feature ensures users access the data on anywhere, at any time. Mobile device access breaks the boundaries of time and space, enables stakeholders to understand production dynamics through mobile phones in real-time, and be aware of production changes. This greatly improved the work and management efficiency of the steel plant.
Conclusion The easiest way for people to understand information is through images. Hightopo visualization solution seamlessly combines 2d graphic and 3d models together, offering a unique, immersive way to visualize vital data.
From the three-dimensional structure of the iron and steel mill to each detailed production line, presents data in a unified manner, and intuitively reflects the information of each piece of equipment, which is conducive to the monitoring of the steel production line equipment and timely detection of equipment problems. Engineers can uncover the root cause of problems and find the data that corresponds to these problems, even if the data lives in different and disconnected sources.