PROCESS SIMULATION MODELLING FOR INDUCTION AND CRUCIBLE FURNACES WITH SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FOR INDUCTION FURNACE MELTING OPERATION

Abstract

For optimization in foundry practice and meeting the demands for quality and cast products in the cast iron and steel manufacturing sector, the CastMELT Simulator research was designed. In this research, theoretical models for charge calculation, heat balance and cost computation were developed for induction and crucible melting. Owing to actual state analysis of the induction furnace from two different plants in Lagos, Nigeria (Universal Steels Limited and African Foundries Limited), theoretical models were developed to handle the Make-To-Order (MTO), Charge Optimization Planning (COP), Bath-Melt Correction/Alloying (BMC), Heat Energy Consumption (HEC), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) of the melting operation. Empirical validation was carried out using real time production data from melting operation in Nigerian Foundries Limited (NFL) for Special Order Cast Iron Melting (1 and 2 Tons Furnace Capacity) and Standard Metallurgical Company (SMC) for Commercial Cast Steel Product (10 Tons furnace capacity). Statistical analyses were carried out to evaluate the functionality and predictability of the program. Validation effort revealed 97.5-99% correlation and confidence in charge calculation functionality, an average of 97.5% in material optimization and final melt modification accuracy, and 97-98% in energy consumption calculation and melting time estimation. Standard error analysis stood at an average of 0.04- 0.06 for both Cast Iron and Steel melting charge calculation analysis. Pearson’s Correlation obtained stood 0.975-0.99 for prediction of alloy addition and final melt chemistry prediction. Melting time prediction gave significance confidence of over 99% for both melting time in the two Foundries that was understudied. Overall standard error usage of the application program is less than 6% compared to final melt analysis limit/allowance in the industry, usually between 10-40% deviations. An overall savings of 1.5-4.5% per Ton of alloy addition is possible in the use of CastMELT compared to the current practice obtainable in the industry