According to the project contractor Primetals Technologies, a new, comprehensive level-2-process automation system which includes a dynamic process model is successfully installed. After running the old and new systems in parallel, the hot commissioning of the new level-2-system from Primetals Technologies was completed successfully in just two weeks. This has led to an increase in process stability and improvement in the accuracy for the calculation of the development of carbon and temperature in real time during production.
Jindal Stainless Ltd issued the final acceptance certificate for the new level-2-process automation on AOD converter #1 to Primetals Technologies in April 2019. The AOD converter was equipped with a level-1-system and brought into operation by a third party in 2010. Jindal Stainless Ltd. subsequently developed its own solution to optimize the implemented level-2-system. This has now been replaced by a new, comprehensive level-2-system from Primetals Technologies which includes a dynamic process model.
Peter Juza, head of Electrical Systems & Automation at Primetals Technologies in Linz, expressed his satisfaction with the result and said, “The professional preparation and constructive cooperation between experts from Jindal Stainless Ltd., Primetals Technologies India and Primetals Technologies Austria enabled the hot commissioning to be completed successfully in just two weeks.”
The dynamic process model allows both advance calculation and an online simulation of the process. Calculating the melts in advance enables errors to be avoided because the input materials are prepared in good time. The model is based on dozens of metallurgical equations, which use a cyclic online calculation to calculate the chemical reaction in the AOD converter both currently in real-time and at a point in the future. The precise, real-time calculation of the development the temperature and carbon during production improves both process accuracy and the quality of the stainless steel produced.
One of the important advantages is that all significant process data is collected by the digital twin from Primetals Technologies, which creates a valuable knowledge database for use in future optimizations and new developments which digitalizes the know-how of many experts at Jindal Stainless Ltd. This digitalized knowledge is now equally available to all levels, which makes a major contribution towards maintaining the stainless steel produced by Jindal Stainless Ltd. at a consistently high quality.
