Managing Anneal Cycles for More Profit0 pages

"ANNEALING nnManagingAnnealing Cycles ManagingAnnealing Cycles nn

A suite of process control modules can be used in asingle-stack or multi-stack shop, using any atmospheric
gas, to anneal sheet, wire, and nonferrous products. The modules are ideal for new starts, or can be retrofitted
easily into an existing configuration.

BY WALLACE D. HUSKONEN, contributing editor >

nnfor More Profit for More Profit nn

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n October, when California Steel In-dustries reported the best quarterly
results in the companys 20-year his-tory, the announcement was noted with
considerable satisfaction at Entec Inc.,
a software company specializing in
control systems for annealing steel.ThatҒs because when the Fontana,CA-based steel processor decided in
1998 to replace its annealing facili-
ties, it assigned the turnkey project toRad-Con Inc. At that time, Entec wasworking closely with Rad-Con and
supplied the process-management
system for the entire annealing opera-
tion. Since then, Rad-Con has pur-
chased Entec and incorporated it as
an operating division.The CSI project was a two-phase ef-fort. The first phase involved installing
eight new bases in a coil-storage area
near a strip-cleaning line. These were
installed in such a way that CSI was
able to use its existing furnaces in two
separate shops, so that no production
capacity was lost. The new equipment
then replaced the 310,000-tons/year ca-
pacity of the existing furnaces, which
were removed, and 12 more bases in-
stalled in the second phase. When the
installation was complete, CSI had new
annealing capacity totaling 360,000
tons/year for producing commercial-
and drawing-quality steels. >

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A suite of programs

Annealing shops need dependableand timely control of all aspects of the
process. According to McDonald, CAPS
Suite includes an array of modules and
models that can be integrated to con-
trol the various elements of the process
into one seamless package. They in-
clude inventory management, alarm
recognition, process trending, base op-
eration, data archiving, and reporting.CAPS is specifically designed for theneeds and requirements of the anneal-ing operation. It can be used in a singlestack or multi-stack shop, using any at-
mospheric gas, for sheet, wire, and non-
ferrous products. CAPS can be adopted
as part of a new shop start-up or it can
be retrofitted easily into an existing
configuration.
Above all, CAPS is a supervisory con-trol system for the anneal shop. ItsShop Overview screen displays the cur-
rent shop activity, including critical in-
formation like status, control tempera-
ture, and event time for each base.Data is entered into screens usingpull down menus and check boxes.
Temperature tables and graphs for
current and completed runs are
viewed in CAPS to monitor the
process efficiently and effectively.
And, the operator is notified of alarm
conditions that require attention.CAPS with optional H.60.SC inte-grates Level 1 HMI functions for equip-
ment control and operation to provideone seamless Level 1+2 package. Thisapproach streamlines communications
and provides a single user interface for
all shop operations. Connecting CAPS to the plant-wideInventory Management System allows
the operator to view and edit coils
available to anneal. Scheduling infor-
mation, such as priority, ship week, or
anneal late-start date, can be down-
loaded for use in building loads. This in-
formation can be used manually or by
the Stacking Model option. CAPS allows designated operators,or metallurgists, to enter cycles, or
recipes, into the system. Multiple steps
with different temperatures, gas-flow
rates, ramp rates, and hold times can be
entered for each cycle. The operatorchooses the cycle to run for each load,dependent upon the coils in the load.
Level 1 communication provides auto-
matic download of setpoints to the PLC
or controller at the beginning and dur-
ing the cycle. >

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Process management

Michael McDonald, Rad-Con vicepresident and general manager of the
Entec division, recalls, We were adapt-
ing our systems to existing furnaces,
sort of an after-market ӑadd on. With
the CSI job, our system was included
with the installation. It was something
of a change.ҔOver the years, Entec has developedproprietary models to maximize the ef-
fectiveness of gas flows and heating
and cooling phases, as well as monitorcoil conditions like cleanliness. Its
foundation is a relational database ac-
cessible from the operators PC
through EntecҒs Computerized Anneal-
ing Process System (CAPS). The models take into account thecoils hot and cold spots during anneal-
ing to modify cycle parameters asneeded to achieve the desired result in
the most efficient way. As McDonaldpoints out, ғThe models are more ana-
lytical than empirical, so they adapt
very effectively to the circumstances.The CSI installation also featured aninventory-management function that
determines how to mix and arrange the
coils in a charge, based on information
from the plant data network. Thus, cer-
tain coils can be rushed or delayed,
based on delivery needs. The annealing
operation can combine or recompose
charges based on order fulfillment de-
mands, and mix or separate coils ac-
cording to compatibility for an anneal-ing cycle. >
Process models maximize gas flow and heating andcooling phases for California SteelԒs recentlyinstalled annealing operation.

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Stacking and heating

Determining the bestӔ coils to beannealed in a particular load is a com- >
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