Metallurgist, Vol. 47, Nos.

78, 2003

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS IN THE METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY (Survey)*

A. D. Chertov

The seminar Computerization and Automation in Ferrous Metallurgy: Problems and Possibilities in the New Millenium was held on February 2628, 2003 at the RDCIS (in Ranchi, India). The program included seven sessions on the following topics: computerization and automation in the production of raw materials and pig iron; automation of hot-rolling mills; automation of steelmaking and cold-rolling mills; computerization of business systems and enterprise control systems; AI and expert systems in metallurgy; modern software for metallurgy; strategy for using computerization and automation in metallurgy. The seminar involved the participation of specialists in the computerization of metallurgical plants and representatives of companies that make control systems based on different platforms. The success of the seminar was in part due to the high degree of professionalism evident in the preparation of the various reports, which drew on the latest advances worldwide in the design and use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems to optimize and control production processes in ferrous metallurgy. More than 50 papers were presented, and the presentations given by specialists from China and India merit special mention. The government still plays a large role in the metallurgical industry in those countries and sets the priorities in scientific research, thus making it unnecessary for them to have to adapt to existing global automation systems and allowing them to assume a leadership role through the introduction of efficient AI technologies at the local level. The work of the seminar was focused on qualitative improvements in metallurgical production. Experts who spoke about developments and improvements in metallurgy showed that those goals could be achieved only by employing modern means of computerization to control production equipment. The presenters emphasized that achievement of the desired results can be guaranteed on the basis of computer planning. We should mention the most general conclusions and recommendations from the seminar. The speech given by U. Bhaskar and representatives of RDCIS and SAIL (U. Bhaskar, R. Kamal, R. S. Kumar, S. Mazumdar, et al.) was devoted to the advantages of several new methods neural networks, fuzzy logic, hybrid and genetic systems, etc. Specialists from a factory owned by the company Vizikkhapatnam (Vizag) (N. Sethi, K. Sarkar, S. Ali Hussain) noted that the electronics revolution and the invention of semiconductors make it imperative that slow, expensive, and unwieldy technologies be transformed into technologies based on microprocessors. Experience shows that only by automation and computerization can production methods satisfy the needs of the manufacturers and consumers of metal products. Our report to the seminar focused on the theme Parallel Engineering with a Continual Improvement in Business Processes and Enterprise Control Systems in Metallurgy. One conclusion we reached in this report was included in the expert recommendations made at the end of the meeting. Metallurgical companies are urged not to hurry and introduce costly hard resource-planning systems and high-speed computers, since computer hardware and software quickly become obsolete. It is instead necessary to opt for open AI systems that are easy to use and maintain. S. Jha, the director of RDCIS and SAIL stated that Darwins theory (survival of the fittest) also applies to the metallurgical industry. He urged metallurgical companies to use three- and four-level automation systems at their factories. S. Kumar noted that the concept of manual labor is still part of the mindset of operations managers even when automated control systems are being introduced, and this slows progress. D. P. Sharma says that before a company changes over to Central Scientific Research Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy (TsNIIchermet). Translated from Metallurg, No. 7, pp. 3237, July, 2003. 0026-0894/03/0708-0257$25.00 2003 Plenum Publishing Corporation 257

new technologies, it should study all of the requirements that must be met by control systems for the conditions that presently exist at the factory. N. Neogi, General Director of Automation at RDCIS and SAIL, summarized the results of the meeting at its final session. AI Technologies in Metallurgy and Their Refinement. Rapid advances have recently been made in the mathematical foundation of AI soft computing. The concept of soft computing is now being incorporated directly into the framework of industrial automation. A substantial growth in the use of AI systems in the main industrial processes including metallurgy is being predicted for the near future. Metallurgical production includes a wide range of complex distributed operations from preparation of raw materials to manufacture of the metal product. Each operation is characterized by a certain degree of imprecision (uncertainty). It is in such cases that the use of soft computing is effective. It can be said with confidence that soft computing has already been responsible for a great deal of progress in the metallurgical industry. The road taken by soft computing from the professors classroom to the factory floor has been a long one. The factors that have helped make that transition possible have roots in various academic disciplines. In addition to the results of theoretical studies, success in this area has been tied to advances made in VLSI Very Large Scale Integration. This is an area of engineering that focuses on improving the sensitivity of transducers, developing open technologies that combine different computer platforms, and related matters. VLSI devices make it possible to realize the enormous computing potential of microprocessors in real time. For example, VLSI has made real-time control in the interactive regime a possibility. It has also been used to develop unique transducers that not only introduce AI into peripherals, but also significantly boost the speed of control operations which employ task delegation and distributed intelligence. The contribution of open technologies is no less important. A system administrator can now chose any combination of available databases and obtain the necessary level of control software (SCADA Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition; ERP Enterprise Resource Planning, etc.). and the appropriate architecture and equipment configuration (PLC Programmable Logic Controller/DCS Distributed Control System, etc.). With the progress that has been made in the areas of neural networks and fuzzy logic, soft computing has become a leading trend in industry and includes the following fields: fuzzy sets; genetic algorithms; evolutionary computing; chaos theory; artificial intelligence; modeling systems; probabilistic reasoning; study of the principles of mechanisms; study of AI control algorithms; image and pattern recognition; self-adaptation of complex systems; fuzzy databases; fuzzy data searches, etc. While it was obvious from the beginning that soft computing was advancing on different fronts, it is still not generally recognized that those different avenues of progress complement rather than conflict with one another. Findings in the above-mentioned fields have found applications in metallurgy both separately and in concert. The areas in which they are being put to use are diverse: evaluation and prediction of process parameters; optimization and planning of results; modeling of processes and interactive modeling in the dialog regime [1]. Definite successes have been achieved in particular in predicting the silicon content of pig iron during blast-furnace smelting, predicting the hydrogen content of steel during vacuum degassing, monitoring laser welding operations, checking the quality of welds, finding hidden defects in rails, optimizing hot rolling and monitoring the deformation of the semifinished product during rolling, modeling the solidification of a continuous-cast semifinished product, modeling cold rolling, monitoring the change in the temperature of the strip during hot rolling and monitoring the thickness of the coating on steel in a hot galvanizing line, checking the level of the steel in a tundish during continuous casting, etc. It has been nearly a half century since the first AI models were constructed. Artificial intelligence was originally based on strict, precise computing. Later, when real-world inaccuracies were taken into account, researchers emphasis shifted to soft computing. The reason for the paradigm shift was an understanding that traditional exact binomial logic systems and studies in set theory and the theory of probability are inadequate to the task of dealing with imprecision, uncertainty, and the complexity of the real world. Soft computing is based on neural networks (NN), fuzzy logic (FL), and probabilistic reasoning (PR). The functions of neural networks are to examine the degree of correspondence between sets of data and to indentify parameters, images, and systems. Fuzzy logic (FL) deals with imprecision and probabilistic descriptions of processes. Recently, FL has been merging with information genetics. It is now being used to evaluate uncertainty, systematize random searches, and aid in optimization. 258

At the beginning of the 1980s, these methods were confined mainly to academia and did not go beyond the scope of laboratory studies. At the end of the 1980s, there was a sharp jump in the growth and use of these methods (more than 2500 patents were issued just in Japan). Soft computing has also fostered commercial success in the production of consumer goods video cameras, air conditioners, and washing machines and in the manufacture of mobile robots, automobiles, and subway trains. AI systems (MIQ Machine Intelligent Quotient) have rapidly become a component part of many products that are in everyday use. By combining established methods and technologies, intelligent systems make it possible to design practical systems in automation and information science by employing the most efficient solutions based on analyses of the initial data. The Use of Fuzzy Logic Coke-Oven Batteries. The control system that is used to heat coke-oven batteries is continually being studied and improved. The first-generation system was a statistical model of heating (19871991). The operation of the second-generation (dynamic) system was based on the principle of calculating the energy balance. It employed feedforward and feedback control in determining the temperature at the end of the coking operation and was used during the period 19911995. The third-generation system was augmented by fuzzy logic controllers. Their use made it possible to reduce the scatter of the end-point temperature to 15C. The reliability of the system was also improved significantly [2]. Cold Rolling. On a cold-rolling mill, the thickness of the strip decreases in succession after each reduction. Thus, the control problem reduces to optimizing the reduction while minimizing the power associated with the load and satisfying certain restrictions. Since the properties of the materials and the friction coefficient are not precisely known, they are regarded as fuzzy numbers. Fuzzy set theory is used to determine the optimum reduction. A graph is usually used to attain the largest possible reduction in thickness after the initial passes while minimizing the compressive load. However, the reliability of such control is not great. Optimizing the process by using fuzzy set theory provides a solution which satisfies the requirements for reproducing reduction regimes with a high degree of reliability while minimizing the load [3]. Another fuzzy control system was developed to obtain the specified thickness on steel strip. The system consists of a fuzzy output controller and an adaptive controller with a neural-network output that performs a parallel modeling of the rolling operation. The fuzzy output controller generates the control signal, while the adaptive neural-network model prevents delays in generating the output signal and ensures that the structure and accuracy of the control operation are as prescribed. This control scheme works superbly [4]. Coating Lines. The thickness of the coating applied to products on galvanizing lines is regulated by monitoring the weight of the coating based on the balance between the total weight of the metal and the weight of the electrolyte in the bath. Since the efficiency of the process is a nonlinear function of the input variables, the latter are especially important for smooth operation of the line. The efficiency of the galvanizing operation as a whole depends on the condition of the electrolyte. The optimum control point must be calculated in such a way that the values are constantly adapted to the actual process and take changes in the specified weight of the coating into account. Special monitors are installed in the line due to the substantial distance between the measurement gage and the control transducers. The system reduces the consumption of metal for galvanizing to a minimum. The efficiency of the galvanizing line is based on the use of a fuzzy interactive system, and the interactive process by which the system is informed constantly adapts the mathematical model to the actual operating conditions of the equipment. The use of such integrated control systems makes it possible to have the actual weight of the coating almost exactly match the specified weight [5]. Neural networks are being used more and more frequently in galvanizing lines. Use of Neural Networks Refining and Continuous Casting of Steel. In the oxygen converter shop of a factory in Great Britain (Port Talbot Basic Oxygen Steelmaking Plant), automated neural networks make it possible to accurately predict the temperature and carbon content of the molten steel at the end of the blow, as well as the consumptions of oxygen and coolants during the blowing operation. The data file used to inform the system about the course of the process consists of actual measurements of temperature and the carbon content of samples taken at the end of the blow. These measurements have been used as the input to a neural network model in order to predict the consumption of additional oxygen or coolants and obtain the desired results at the end of the blow [8]. A factory in Italy (Danieli Automation) uses neural networks to control continuous casting based on the level of the metal in the mold. In one variant, the system determines the level of the liquid metal and a fuzzy logic controller corrects it [9]. In another case, it was important to keep the level of the metal stable in order to ensure the neces259

sary quality of the semifinished product. It was difficult to use conventional methods to achieve the desired degree of control due to the nonlinear characteristics of the process. A neural network model that is trained on the basis of a time series of the input parameters controls the operation of the stopper through the use of AI in the main control circuit [10]. The company Siemens has used these types of controllers to calculate the temperature of continuous-cast slabs, calculate the withdrawing force, and model casting speed during continuous casting at the Hoesch factory in Dortmund. Nippon Steel has used a fuzzy model to automatically control the rate of withdrawal and the cross section of cast slabs [11]. In another case, a feedback-based neural network was installed to predict temperature and control the secondary cooling zone. A pilot model used to monitor an open primary cooling zone was built on the basis of a TS fuzzy neural network. The structure of the model was improved by using a fuzzy control system for the primary cooling zone and feedback to check system accuracy [12]. The hydrogen content of the steel of railroad rails is an important indicator of the rails quality. The use of a neural-network-based classification system to control the production equipment makes it possible to accuracy predict hydrogen content during degassing in a vacuum degassing unit [13]. If internal defects in rails go undiscovered, they can lead to accidents on railroads. Thus, neural networks have been trained to identify possible hidden defects in the metal by recognizing the readings of ultrasonic transducers [14]. During the solidification of continuous-cast semifinished products, neural networks are used to model the effects and parameters of the metals hardening and are designed to control their variable reaction during the casting operation [15]. A German factory has used neural networks to realize a 2% reduction in energy use and a 5% increase in productivity by efficiently controlling the steelmaking process in electric arc furnaces [16]. Rolled-Products Manufacture. Evaluating the loads on rotating rolls, predicting the parameters of coils during the rolling of metal, etc. these are some of the areas of application of neural networks. The use of a neural network and analysis of the final product made it possible to optimize the rolling of a semifinished product of irregular shape in order to make the properties of the metal uniform. One sheet shop alleviated fluctuations in the width of its finished rolled products by using a feedback-based algorithm that made it possible to accurately predict product width from the width of the semifinished product and adjust the degree of compression and temperature, the width/thickness ratio, and other parameters. Neural networks have been used to determine the effects of different parameters (reductions, loads, and torque) during rolling. One network was trained by using experimental data measurements of the loads during cold rolling. The properties of the lubricant (the friction coefficient) were used as the input variables. The main purpose of the model was accurate prediction of the load and the torque during cold rolling with changing reduction regimes. The recommendations of the system were compared with calculated values of each parameter. This project confirmed the predictive capability of neural network models [17]. For each stand of a rolling mill, the control algorithm is a nonlinear function of several parameters (the thickness of the semifinished product, the loads and the torque, the average draft, the friction coefficient, etc.) Any change in any of the parameters leads to changes in the other parameters. An automated neural network chooses the control algorithm from three control parameters, including the length of the coil [18]. Coating Lines. For controlling the thickness of the coating on galvanizing lines, standard control models have certain limitations and fail to meet the following requirements: adequate calculation of time intervals; rapid adaptation to changes in strip speed; optimization with a change in the parameters of the process. Researchers have attempted to overcome these obstacles by using process models based on neural networks. This approach has made it possible to achieve a uniform coating thickness (satisfying ISO 10142) at minimal cost. For example, Thyssen Stahl has made use of the possibilities of neural networks to identify the coating operation on the basis of recordable parameters of the operating regime of the given coating section. The process model that was developed using this procedure considers the greatest advantage to be gained from a certain course of action. The size of the advantage in a given case depends on the operating regime required to obtain a uniform coating. The neural network that was used was trained interactively, and the process model was adapted to the continuously changing needs of the factory. The parameters that helped determine the thickness of the coating but could not be incorporated into the model were automatically examined by the neural network and thus compensated for. The network automatically sorts through the values of the parameters on a continuous basis. It eliminates the need for automat260

ic control and monitoring-measurement equipment. A fuzzy function instantaneously executes output control. The neural network and the fuzzy control system were adapted through a PLC [6]. A similar system was developed in 2001. In this case, the neural network determines the optimum horizontal and vertical positions of the air knives. The network used is a multilayered perceptron with extensive feedback [7]. The Use of Genetic Algorithms (GA). The main philosophy behind genetic algorithms is optimization based on the evolutionary principles of natural chromosomes, i.e., selection, cross breeding, and mutation of populations of parameters in accordance with the principle of Darwins survival of the fittest theory. As a first step, the probability of selection is used for reproduction. Intersecting operators are used for exchange and repeated combination of the initial data, and mutation operators modify the resulting information to combine separate solutions. Genetic algorithms were originally considered an investigative tool suitable only for academic purposes. However, they quickly provided useful solutions to a wide range of problems in industry and even more importantly they are easily corrected in accordance with the problems being solved and the attendant constraints. The only obstacle to the use of genetic algorithms is the mental hurdle of becoming comfortable with the artificiality of coding optimization problems into genetic information. Genetic algorithms have great potential and are already being widely used to optimize production processes and to plan and manage metallurgical plants. There are two processes in any optimization problem based on genetic algorithms. First it is necessary to construct a set of genetic algorithms. Then model tests are performed and an evaluation is made. The boundary conditions are determined by the parameters of the process being studied. The structure of the factorys main files of production data are analyzed to formulate an optimization problem so as to achieve the main goal. Possible alternatives are also conceived. The genetic algorithm uses a certain initial file to represent the production data. If a model with constraints has to be used to adapt that preliminary file to the actual production conditions, then we return to the the set of genetic algorithms. If the correspondence function is satisfied, the we obtain the solution to the problem. In the second generation, the set of genetic algorithms is used to analyze the first parameter population and create a new list of parameters while continuing to search for necessary mutations until either the final variant satisfies the correspondence function or the time of operation of the algorithm specified by user is exhausted. This type of system, together with Siemens-built instruments and genetic algorithms, has been introduced at Megasteel (in Malaysia), Zhuijang (China), Thyssen Krupp Stahl (Germany), and other factories. Hybrid Applications of Soft Computing Neural-Fuzzy Control Systems. The main problem encountered with the use of fuzzy logic output is that an inadequate state function sometimes cannot guarantee the required operation of the system, while the fuzzy rules used for the system are based largely on the experience of the developer. It is necessary to create a symbiosis with neural networks in order to adapt the state function and the rules to the actual conditions of operation. Also, in pure applications, the weights of neural networks synapses the sites where neurons interact with one another must sometimes undergone convergence or optimization. The results that are obtained are significantly better if the weights are fuzzy. Industry employs combination neural-fuzzy variants of control systems. A self-adaptive control system based on a neural network with serial links between the neurons and a fuzzy output (artificial intelligence AFC) was realized to improve the production of cold-rolled strip and the quality of finished product. The rolling operation was regarded as a complex nonlinear process with the defects intrinsic to traditional linear control models. The results of the modeling showed that the AFC system performs quite well and can be used to improve the quality of finished rolled products and increase the productivity of rolling mills [20]. The process of making skelp or strip is very complex and nonlinear with respect to the parameters being controlled. It is difficult to construct a sufficiently accurate multivariate mathematical model of this process. In keeping with the special characteristics of the process, in order to automatically control the change in the thickness of the semifinished product we devised a system of neural networks and a fuzzy control procedure which employs a fuzzy coding controller. Results of tests of the model under factory conditions showed that a neural network with a fuzzy control system is feasible for the given application and affords more accurate control of the process than other, traditional methods [21]. Fuzzy Genetic and Neuro-Genetic Control Systems. Genetic calculations are effective for multivariate optimization in cases in which such optimization cannot be achieved by standard methods. The use of linguistic terms in the form of lists 261

of nominal variables makes it possible to use fuzzy data-coding techniques [2]. Coding makes it easier to determine the degree of detail needed in the information, makes it possible to search for solutions by using models based on genetic algorithms, and allows efficient calculation of correspondence functions. The behavior of the genetic algorithms is based on the study/use ratio maintained for the duration of the genetic cycle. Fuzzy outputs guarantee the adaption of genetic algorithms and influence this ratio in such a way as to prevent premature convergence. The intelligent support of a factory can be used to efficiently fill orders from buyers of the factorys products for different types of equipment. The product support system built for a wide-strip mill by Voest Alpine (Austria) with the use of neural networks to allow more accurate description of the metal-shaping operation surpasses the capabilities of ordinary mathematical models. In this case, genetic algorithms were used to optimally adapt the model to the customers requirements [22]. Hybrid Soft Computing. The following examples illustrate how soft computing models synergism (congruence) with standard mathematical models to achieve the best possible results. Fuzziness with Conventional Floating Control. A fuzzy self-adaptive floating (ensuring continuous flexible feedback) controller with derivative control action can be used to control the coiling temperature of a coil. In accordance with the temperature deviations that take place and the prescribed norm for this parameter, a self-adaptive fuzzy PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) controller can be made with a fuzzy reasoning capability which ensures that all of the changes caused by a change in the state parameters of the process will remain within a narrow range of values [23]. The method developed by Pawelski, Rasp, et al. was designed to cut strip and coil with allowance for the properties of the metal. The load and deformation can be calculated for each strip by using an analytic approach based on the soft Ford-Ellis model and Hitchcocks formula to determine the distorted radius of the coil. The effects of bending, cutting, and flattening are calculated with the use of influence coefficients. The program is run repeatedly. A large amount of time is needed to calculate the matrix of influence coefficients for the flattening operation. The program is improved by replacing the inputs of the model by a trained neural network that functions as an equal partner with the existing outputs in the complete mathematical model. The neural network can also be trained in the opposite direction, which makes it possible to quickly invert the smoothing matrix. The latter is very important for metal-rolling shops that use more than two coils. The combined model is more accurate, since it is no longer a black box. Instead, it is based on neural networks and can be adapted to interactive control of the production process. Data is analyzed considerably more quickly without loss of accuracy, since the smoothing step in the calculation replaces a polynomial sum with its corresponding activation function [24]. Fuzziness and the Quality of the Finished Product. Success in the production of hot-rolled coils of constant thickness depends on different parameters of the process the grade of steel, the number of rolling stages, the draft, rolling speed, friction, etc. To obtain rules for fuzzy control, we modeled the plastic deformation of an element on the basis of production data. Empirical relations obtained for the steady-state rolling operation were used to determine the thickness of the strip. It was established that fuzzy control is fully capable of regulating the thickness of hot-rolled products [25]. Fuzzy reasoning techniques and fuzzy systems have been widely used to optimize the control of dynamic production processes, but not for metal-shaping. Another new technique that have been developed for optimizing coil-rolling cycles and improving product quality combines empirical knowledge, the modeling of emission microscopes, and fuzzy analysis. The new method has been used to plan the intermediate passes that form diamond-shaped semifinished products, squares, and rounds. The method, applicable to a rolling operation in which seven passes are executed, also determines the sequence of the reductions that will be made. The method is based on Lendls rule, rather than purely empirical findings. The fuzzy technology has demonstrated its clear advantages over empirical rules. Also, the system can be computerized to automatically plan the passes for forming the coil, which is a distinct advantage over the methods currently employed [26]. The physical microstructure of metal is modeled by neural networks in order to accurately calculate mechanical properties ultimate strength, hardness, etc. Among the input parameters for the model are the actual temperature and stress, normalized values of stress and cooling rate, chemical composition, and rolling speed. The company Siemens has tested such a model for different factories that make hot-rolled sheet Salzgitter AG, Rautaruukki Stal, etc. [27]. Steel Dynamics (Indiana, U.S.) is using a neural network to predict the mechanical properties of metal. The network operates in parallel with a mathematical model to accurately calculate graphs of rolling cycles [28]. 262

Conclusion. As a result of the rapid progress being made in industry worldwide on the introduction of fuzzy systems to control, optimize, monitor, and analyze production processes, the metallurgical industry is evaluating the potential of soft computing for improving product quality, process parameters, and the efficiency of industrial operations. The proprietary research being done on soft computing was originally customer-focused and thus by nature competitive. However, it soon became clear that the best results can be achieved if there is some crossover from the different avenues of research. The effectiveness of both of the analytical models discussed here is enhanced by the use of fuzzy models. Most of the systems that have been introduced are hybrids, and the use of soft computing techniques has significantly improved the parameters of processes that are already being controlled with the use of conventional models.

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