Combustion Control System of a Furnace for Hot Bloom

A computer control system has been developed to save energy in the operation of multi-zone furnace, which heats hot continuously casting blooms. The system determines an optimal temperature trajectory of the bloom so as to minimize total fuel consumption under the actual tracking schedule. The total fuel consumption is predicted by using a heat exchange model. The system regulates the zone temperature so that the bloom temperature coincides with the trajectory. From the actual operation with this system it is found that the temperature deviation of the extracted blooms is less than 15 °C from the desired value and that the avarage fuel consumption is reduced by 10 % from that of manual operation.