Scheduling system for reducing number of slab re-stacking operations and scheduling method thereof

Abstract

A scheduling method for reducing the number of slab re-stacking operations includes obtaining scheduling information of multiple slabs in a storage area, in which the scheduling information includes a processing order and a storage position of each slab in the storage area; establishing a storage position vector to record the storage position and the processing order of each slab; and generating a re-stacking judgment matrix based on the storage position vector to determine whether the slabs need to be re-stacked and to calculate the number of re-stacking operations required for the slabs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a scheduling system and scheduling method thereof, and more particularly to a scheduling system and scheduling method thereof that can reduce the number of times steel billet turning is performed. Prior Technology

[0002] Steel billets are stored in stacks in the storage area. Before being sent to the heating furnace, the billets need to be prepared to avoid delays in their arrival time. During preparation, according to the process sequence, billets that arrive later are stacked at the bottom and transported to the preparation area using overhead cranes. If a target billet is pressed under other billets, the other billets above it must be moved to other locations before the target billet can be retrieved; this process is called "turning over." However, turning over increases the workload of the overhead crane operations. Furthermore, if hot billets in the insulation pit are being handled, it may cause a drop in their temperature, resulting in energy efficiency losses in hot rolling production. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein provide a scheduling method for reducing the number of times steel billets need to be turned over, comprising obtaining scheduling information of several steel billets in a storage area, wherein the scheduling information includes the process sequence of each steel billet and its storage location in the storage area; establishing a storage location vector to record the storage location and process sequence of each steel billet; and generating a turning over judgment matrix based on the storage location vector, so as to determine whether these steel billets need to be turned over based on the turning over judgment matrix, and calculating the number of times these steel billets need to be turned over.

[0004] According to embodiments disclosed herein, this scheduling method further includes obtaining scheduling constraints for the steel billets from scheduling information; and establishing attribute codes for each steel billet based on these scheduling constraints.

[0005] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the scheduling constraints include steel grade, thickness level, width level, surface grade, and blank properties.

[0006] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the scheduling method further includes classifying the steel billets according to attribute codes to obtain the process order of steel billets with the same attribute code; exchanging the process order of steel billets with the same attribute code to update the storage location vector; and updating the stacking judgment matrix according to the updated storage location vector to re-determine whether the steel billets need to be stacked based on the updated stacking judgment matrix, and calculating the number of times the steel billets need to be stacked.

[0007] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the storage location information includes the stacking partition of each billet in the storage area and the stacking height of each billet in this stacking partition.

[0008] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the steps of determining whether the steel billets need to be flipped based on the flipping judgment matrix and calculating the number of times the steel billets need to be flipped further include: comparing the process order of each pair of steel billets in the stacking partition, wherein each pair of steel billets includes a first steel billet with a higher storage position and a second steel billet with a lower storage position; and when the process order of the second steel billet is earlier than the process order of the first steel billet, determining that the first steel billet needs to be flipped, and accumulating the number of times the first steel billet needs to be flipped.

[0009] The embodiments disclosed herein also provide a scheduling system for reducing the number of times steel billets need to be turned over, for scheduling the turning over of several steel billets in a storage area. This scheduling system includes a processor. The processor is configured to: acquire scheduling information of these steel billets in the storage area, wherein the scheduling information includes the process sequence of each steel billet and its storage location in the storage area; establish a storage location vector to record the storage location and process sequence of each steel billet; and generate a turning over judgment matrix based on the storage location vector, so as to determine whether the steel billet needs to be turned over based on the turning over judgment matrix, and calculate the number of times the steel billets need to be turned over.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor is further configured to obtain scheduling constraints for these billets from scheduling information, and to establish an attribute code for each billet based on these scheduling constraints.

[0011] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the scheduling constraints include steel grade, thickness level, width level, surface grade, and blank properties.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor is further configured to: classify the steel billets according to attribute codes to obtain the process order of the steel billets with the same attribute code; swap the process order of the steel billets with the same attribute code to update the storage vector; and update the stacking judgment matrix according to the updated storage vector to re-determine whether the steel billets need to be stacked and to calculate the number of times the steel billets need to be stacked based on the updated stacking judgment matrix. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0013] To make the above and other features, advantages and embodiments of this disclosure more readily understood, the accompanying drawings are described below: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a scheduling system, control system, storage area, and overhead crane for reducing the number of times steel billets are turned over, according to an embodiment of this disclosure; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a storage area according to an embodiment of this disclosure; Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a scheduling method for reducing the number of times steel billet turning is performed according to an embodiment of this disclosure; Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the process of determining whether steel billets need to be turned based on a turning judgment matrix, and calculating the number of times steel billets need to be turned, according to an embodiment of this disclosure; and Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a scheduling method for reducing the number of times steel billet turning is performed according to another embodiment of this disclosure. Implementation

[0014] The following disclosure provides numerous different embodiments or examples for implementing the various features disclosed. The embodiments of components and configurations described below are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Furthermore, for simplicity and clarity, reference numerals and / or designations are repeated in the examples, but this does not in itself limit the relationship between the various embodiments and / or components discussed.

[0015] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a scheduling system 100, a control system 200, a storage area 300, and an overhead crane 400 for reducing the number of times steel billets need to be turned, according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The scheduling system 100 includes a processor 110, which receives scheduling information from the storage area 300 from the control system 200. Based on the scheduling information, the processor 110 determines whether multiple steel billets in the storage area 300 need to be turned and the number of times these billets need to be turned. Based on the determination result, the processor 110 readjusts the scheduling information of the storage area 300. By further optimizing the scheduling information of the storage area 300 in this way, the number of times these steel billets in the storage area 300 need to be turned can be effectively reduced.

[0016] In the embodiments disclosed herein, the scheduling information includes, but is not limited to, the storage location and process sequence of each steel billet stacked in the storage area 300. As shown in the exemplary storage area 300 in FIG2, the storage area 300 contains multiple stacking partitions A to D, and each stacking partition A to D corresponds to different stacking heights and has multiple storage locations. Taking stacking partition A as an example, the storage locations corresponding to the stacking heights from low to high are numbered A1 to A5, respectively.

[0017] The overhead crane 400 is used to perform turning operations on the steel billets in storage area 300. Before the control system 200 obtains the scheduling information of storage area 300 and calculates the turning results, the overhead crane 400 first picks up each steel billet and moves it to the corresponding storage position according to the scheduling information issued by the control system 200. Before the scheduling information is adjusted, the storage positions of the steel billets are allocated according to the process sequence, with steel billets that enter the heating furnace later being stacked on the lower layer. After the scheduling system 100 calculates the turning results based on the scheduling information and adjusts the scheduling information, the overhead crane 400 will move the steel billets to the new storage position with the fewest turning operations according to the adjusted scheduling information.

[0018] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flowchart illustrating a scheduling method 500 for reducing the number of billet turning operations according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The scheduling method 500 includes steps 510 to 530 and can be applied to the scheduling system 100 shown in Figure 1, or other systems with similar configurations and computational functions. The following description will use the scheduling method 500 in conjunction with the scheduling system 100, control system 200, and storage area 300 shown in Figures 1 and 2 as examples.

[0019] In step 510, the processor 110 first obtains the scheduling information of each steel billet in the storage area 300 from the control system 200. The scheduling information includes the storage location and process sequence of each steel billet in the storage area 300. Specifically, the control system 200 controls the overhead crane 400 to transport the steel billets to the initial storage location according to the process sequence in the scheduling information, and records the process sequence and the number of the initial storage location for each steel billet (e.g., A1~A5, corresponding to stacking partitions A~D and stacking heights 1~5).

[0020] In step 520, a storage location vector is established to record the storage location and process sequence of each steel billet. Taking stacking partition A of storage area 300 as an example, the storage location vector S includes the number of each storage location (A1~An) and the process sequence value of the steel billet at this storage location (S1~Sn), which is represented as follows:

[0021] In step 530, a stacking judgment matrix is ​​generated based on the storage vector S. This matrix is ​​used to determine whether each steel billet needs to be stacked and to calculate the number of times each steel billet needs to be stacked. As shown in Figure 4, step 530 also includes steps 531 to 534. In step 531, the processor 110 sequentially compares the process order of every two steel billets in the same stacking partitions A to D according to the stacking judgment matrix. Taking stacking zone A of storage area 300 as an example, compare the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage location A1 with the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage locations A2 to A5, compare the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage location A2 with the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage locations A1 and A3 to A5, compare the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage location A3 with the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage locations A1 to A2 and A4 to A5, compare the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage location A4 with the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage locations A1 to A3 and A5, and compare the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage location A5 with the process sequence of steel billets stored at storage locations A1 to A4.

[0022] In step 532, it is determined whether the process sequence of the steel billet stored at a lower position (defined as the second steel billet in this disclosed embodiment) precedes the process sequence of the steel billet stored at a higher position (defined as the first steel billet in this disclosed embodiment). When the process sequence of the second steel billet stored at a lower position precedes that of the first steel billet stored at a lower position, step 533 is performed to determine whether the first steel billet stored at a higher position needs to be turned over, and the number of times the first steel billet needs to be turned over is accumulated. After completing step 533, the process sequence is returned to step 531 to re-compare the process sequences between the other two steel billets, until the process sequence relationship between every two steel billets in each stacking partition A~D has been analyzed.

[0023] In step 532, when the process sequence of the second steel billet stored at a lower position is after that of the first steel billet stored at a lower position, step 534 is performed to determine that the first steel billet stored at a higher position does not need to be flipped, and the process sequence is returned to step 531 to re-compare the process sequence between the other two steel billets, until the process sequence relationship between every two steel billets in each stacking partition A~D is analyzed.

[0024] Steps 531 to 534 above describe the entire calculation process of the heap flipping judgment matrix, and the matrix elements in the heap flipping judgment matrix... This can be expressed mathematically as follows:

[0025] In the mathematical expression of the heap-flipping judgment matrix mentioned above, and These represent the storage locations. and storage location The process sequence value. When stored in the location... The value is greater than the storage location The value (representing the storage location) Storage location (above), and storage location process sequence value Larger than the storage location process sequence value (Represents storage location) The steel billet's manufacturing process is later than its storage location. When determining the process sequence of steel billets, the matrix elements in the heap judgment matrix are... The value 1 represents the storage location. The steel billets need to be turned over.

[0026] Conversely, when the storage location The value is less than or equal to the storage location The value (representing the storage location) Storage location (below), or storage location process sequence value Smaller than the storage location process sequence value (Represents storage location) The steel billet manufacturing process precedes its storage location. When determining the process sequence of steel billets, the matrix elements in the heap judgment matrix are... A value of 0 indicates the storage location. The steel billets do not need to be turned over.

[0027] For example (but not limited to), stacking partition A of storage area 300 has five storage locations A1 to A5. The process sequence value S1 of storage location A1 is 31, the process sequence value S2 of storage location A2 is 27, the process sequence value S2 of storage location A3 is 10, the process sequence value S2 of storage location A4 is 50, and the process sequence value S2 of storage location A5 is 18. After calculating the relationship between each pair of billets according to the mathematical expression of the stacking judgment matrix, the calculation result can be represented by a matrix as follows:

[0028] The first to fifth columns correspond to storage positions A1 to A5, and the first to fifth rows also correspond to storage positions A1 to A5. A value of 1 indicates that the billet at storage position A4 is on top of the billet at storage position A4, requiring the billet at storage position A4 to be turned over. Similarly, a value of 1 indicates that the billet at storage position A4 is on top of the billet at storage position A2, requiring the billet at storage position A4 to be turned over. Likewise, a value of 1 indicates that the billet at storage position A4 is on top of the billet at storage position A3, requiring the billet at storage position A4 to be turned over. Finally, a value of 1 indicates that the billet at storage position A5 is on top of the billet at storage position A5, requiring the billet at storage position A5 to be turned over. The above-mentioned piling results can be represented as a piling weight vector G, which accumulates the number of piling operations required for each storage location. In this example, the piling weight vector G is represented as: The first to fifth rows correspond to storage positions A1 to A5, respectively. Storage position A4 is represented as 3, indicating that the steel billet in storage position A4 is pressing down on three steel billets (steel billets in storage positions A1, A2, and A3). Storage position A5 is represented as 1, indicating that the steel billet in storage position A5 is pressing down on one steel billet (steel billet in storage position A3).

[0029] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a flowchart illustrating a scheduling method 600 for reducing the number of billet turning operations according to another embodiment of this disclosure. The scheduling method 600 includes steps 510 to 530 of the scheduling method 500, as well as steps 640 to 680, and can be applied to the scheduling system 100 shown in Figure 1, or other systems with similar configurations and computational functions. The following description uses the scheduling method 600 in conjunction with the scheduling system 100, control system 200, and storage area 300 shown in Figures 1 and 2 as examples. In the embodiments of this disclosure, although steps 640 to 680 are shown to be performed after step 530, they can actually be performed before steps 520 and 530; this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0030] In step 640, the processor 110 is further configured to obtain the scheduling constraints of the steel billet from the scheduling information. In the embodiments disclosed herein, the scheduling constraints of the steel billet include, but are not limited to, steel type, thickness level, width level, surface grade, and billet properties. Steel types include, but are not limited to, interstitial-free steel (IFS), galvanized steel (GAS), electrical steel (ES), and boiler plate steel (BPS). Billet properties include hot-rolled billets and cold-rolled billets.

[0031] In step 650, processor 110 establishes attribute codes for each steel billet based on scheduling constraints. The steel grade, thickness level, width level, surface grade, and billet properties each represent a label, and each label contains multiple label numbers (or codes) to correspond to different types or levels within each label. These labels are then integrated into an attribute code to describe the steel grade, thickness level, width level, surface grade, and billet properties of the steel billet.

[0032] For example (but not limited to), the steel grade label is L1, the thickness grade label is L2, the width grade label is L3, the surface grade label is L4, and the billet property label is L5. The attribute code can be represented as a string consisting of the above labels: L1-L2-L3-L4-L5. It should be understood that the labeling method disclosed herein is not limited to this; any numbering method that can represent or distinguish the attributes of a steel billet is within the scope of this disclosure.

[0033] In step 660, steel billets are classified according to their attribute codes to obtain the process order of steel billets with the same attribute code. In step 670, the process order of steel billets with the same attribute code is swapped to update the storage location vector. In step 680, the stacking judgment matrix is ​​updated according to the updated storage location vector to re-determine whether the steel billets need to be stacked and to calculate the number of times the steel billets need to be stacked.

[0034] Specifically, identical attribute codes mean that the steel billets have the same properties, and their process sequences can be interchanged without affecting the process. However, by exchanging their process sequences, a new repackaging result can be generated, further reducing the number of repackaging operations for the steel billets. In the embodiments disclosed herein, steps 670 and 680 can be repeatedly executed to select the scheduling result with the fewest repackaging operations. In some embodiments, steps 670 and 680 further include applying an optimization algorithm to improve computational efficiency.

[0035] In summary, the scheduling system and method disclosed herein for reducing the number of billet turning operations can further reduce the number of turning operations in the storage area after scheduling. Under the condition that the scheduling already meets both hard constraints (such as process capacity, product quality requirements and equipment capacity) and soft constraints (such as delivery deadlines and production efficiency), the scheduling effect can be effectively optimized, and the energy efficiency loss caused by excessive billet turning can be avoided.

[0036] Although this disclosure has been made above with various embodiments, it is not intended to limit this disclosure. Anyone skilled in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure shall be determined by the appended claims.

[0037] 100: Scheduling System 110: Processor 200: Control System 300: Storage Area 400: Overhead crane 500: Scheduling Method 510, 520, 530: Steps 531, 532, 533, 534: Steps 600: Scheduling Method 640, 650, 660, 670, 680: Steps A, B, C, D: Stacked partitions A1~A5, B1~B5, C1~C5, D1~D5: Storage locations

Claims

1. A scheduling method for reducing the number of times steel billets need to be turned over, comprising: acquiring scheduling information of a plurality of steel billets in a storage area, wherein the scheduling information includes a storage location and a process sequence for each of the steel billets in the storage area; establishing a storage location vector to record the storage location and the process sequence for each of the steel billets; generating a turning over judgment matrix based on the storage location vector, to determine whether the steel billets need to be turned over based on the turning over judgment matrix, and to calculate the number of times the steel billets need to be turned over; classifying the steel billets according to an attribute code to obtain the process sequence of the steel billets with the same attribute code; swapping the process sequence of the steel billets with the same attribute code to update the storage location vector; and updating the turning over judgment matrix based on the updated storage location vector, to re-determine whether the steel billets need to be turned over based on the updated turning over judgment matrix, and to calculate the number of times the steel billets need to be turned over.

2. The scheduling method as described in claim 1 further includes: obtaining a scheduling constraint for the steel billets from the scheduling information; and establishing an attribute code for each of the steel billets based on the scheduling constraint.

3. The scheduling method as described in claim 2, wherein the scheduling constraints include steel grade, thickness level, width level, surface grade and blank properties.

4. The scheduling method as described in claim 1, wherein the storage location information includes a stacking partition of each of the billets in the storage area and a stacking height of each of the billets in the stacking partition.

5. The scheduling method as described in claim 4, wherein the steps of determining whether the steel billets need to be flipped based on the flipping judgment matrix and calculating the number of times the steel billets need to be flipped further include: comparing the process order of each pair of steel billets in the stacking partition, wherein each pair of steel billets includes a first steel billet with a higher storage position and a second steel billet with a lower storage position; and when the process order of the second steel billet is earlier than the process order of the first steel billet, determining that the first steel billet needs to be flipped, and accumulating the number of times the first steel billet needs to be flipped.

6. A scheduling system for reducing the number of times steel billets need to be turned over, for scheduling the turning over of a plurality of steel billets in a storage area, the scheduling system comprising: a processor configured to: acquire scheduling information of the steel billets in the storage area, wherein the scheduling information includes a storage location and a process sequence for each of the steel billets in the storage area; establish a storage location vector to record the storage location and the process sequence for each of the steel billets; generate a turning over judgment matrix based on the storage location vector, and determine whether the steel billets need to be turned over and calculate the number of times the steel billets need to be turned over based on the turning over judgment matrix; classify the steel billets according to an attribute code to obtain the process sequence of the steel billets with the same attribute code; The process order of steel billets with the same attribute code is swapped to update the storage vector; and the stacking judgment matrix is ​​updated based on the updated storage vector to re-determine whether the steel billets need to be stacked, and the number of times the steel billets need to be stacked is calculated.

7. The scheduling system as described in claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain a scheduling constraint from the scheduling information to establish an attribute code for each of the billets based on the scheduling constraint.

8. The scheduling system as described in claim 7, wherein the scheduling constraints include steel grade, thickness level, width level, surface grade and blank properties.

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