Seamless Pipe Billet Length Optimization for Furnace Filling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for producing seamless pipes face challenges in determining billet lengths for large orders, leading to reduced billet filling factors in heating furnaces, increased energy loss, and decreased productivity due to constraints in furnace width and conveyor transfer.
Innovation Solution
A method that optimizes billet lengths by using formulas to determine the minimum and maximum lengths of parent and child billets, ensuring a billet-heating-furnace filling factor of at least 60%, allowing for efficient cutting and rolling processes, and adjusting the number of child billets from a parent billet to maximize furnace utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If the billet length is determined according to the minimum length constrained by conveyor transfer for small lot products, then the yield loss is suppressed, but the billet filling factor in the heating furnace deteriorates when large lot products are produced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention dynamically adjusts the billet length determination strategy based on product lot size. For small lot products, it uses minimum constrained lengths to reduce yield loss. For large lot products, it switches to optimized lengths that maximize the heating furnace filling factor, thereby improving energy efficiency and productivity without causing yield loss in either scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the billet length parameter based on production conditions. By calculating optimal billet lengths that satisfy both the minimum constraints and the heating furnace capacity requirements, it adjusts the length parameter to maximize the filling factor for large lot products while maintaining yield efficiency for small lot products.
2Ease of operation
If the billet filling factor in the heating furnace is low, then the conveyor transfer constraints are satisfied, but energy loss increases and productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the billet length parameter to maximize the heating furnace filling factor, which directly improves energy efficiency and productivity. By calculating the optimal length that fits the furnace capacity while meeting minimum constraints, it ensures high filling factors for large lot products, thereby improving productivity without compromising conveyor transfer operations.
3Loss of energy
If the billet length is optimized for heating furnace capacity, then energy efficiency improves, but the minimum length constraints for conveyor transfer may be violated
Solution Approach 1:
The invention determines optimal billet lengths that satisfy both the minimum length constraints for conveyor transfer and the maximum capacity constraints of the heating furnace. By calculating lengths within the feasible range that maximize the filling factor, it improves energy efficiency while ensuring conveyor transfer operations remain viable.
Data Source
AI summary
Seamless pipes are produced by using billets for which the length L of a parent billet, the lengths l of child billets and the number nB of the obtainable child billets are determined on the basis of predetermined tolerances and the conditions of a billet-heating furnace and billet-rolling facilities. In this way, energy saving in the production of seamless pipes can be realized and the productivity in the production of seamless pipes can also be improved.