MONITORING METHOD FOR A CONTINUOUS CASTING MOULD INCLUDING BUILDING UP A DATABASE

• US 20150314368A1
• Filed: 10/29/2013
• Published: 11/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Primetals Technologies Austria Gmbh
• Original Assignee: Primetals Technologies Austria Gmbh
• Inventors: LANG, Oliver, ORTNER, Christian, SCHUSTER, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 10,052,684 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 11/114 by using agitating or vibrating means B22D11/117 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 11/122 using magnetic fields
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 11/16 Controlling or regulating processes or operations
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 11/165 for the supply of casting powder
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 11/166 for mould oscillation
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 11/22 for cooling cast stock or mould

Abstract

A monitoring device (6) records variables that are characteristic of operating parameters of a continuous casting mold (1) for casting a metal strand (2). The monitoring device (6) records at least some of the characteristic variables by independently performing measurements during the casting of the metal strand (2). The monitoring device (6) forms groups (G1, G2) of operating parameters and independently tests whether the operating parameters of the respective group (G1, G2) satisfy a respective predetermined stability criterion. The monitoring device (6) accepts the operating parameters into a database (12). The monitoring device (6) determines those data records (11) contained in the database (12) that coincide in their input variables with the basic operating parameters and determines admissible operating parameter ranges for supplementary operating parameters. The monitoring device (6) independently tests whether the supplementary operating parameters lie within the admissible operating parameter ranges.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring for a continuous casting mold for casting a metal strand, using monitoring equipment which performs the steps of:

detecting quantities;

automatically detecting metrologically at least some of the quantities during the casting of the metal strand;

determining operating parameters of the continuous casting mold by reference to the quantities detected;

forming groups of operating parameters, wherein each of the operating parameters includes at least one basic operating parameter and at least one supplementary operating parameter;

automatically copying the operating parameters for the group into a database as a data record if the operating parameters of the group satisfy a relevant first predefined stability criterion over a relevant evaluation time period;

assigning the basic operating parameters to the data record as input quantities, and the supplementary operating parameters as output quantities;

determining for which of the data records which are held in the database the input quantities match the basic operating parameters, and using these data records, determining permissible operating parameter ranges for the supplementary operating parameters; and

issuing to an operator of the continuous casting mold a warning message, and/or outputting a note as to which of the supplementary operating parameters lies outside its permissible range, and how the supplementary operating parameter can be brought back into the appropriate permissible operating parameter range, and/or immediately executing a corrective intervention by means of which the basic operating parameter of the continuous casting mold is altered, or communicates an applicable report to a control device for the continuous casting mold if the supplementary operating parameters lie outside the permissible operating parameter ranges.

2. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

cooling the continuous casting mold by a volume flow of a liquid coolant into and out of the mold, wherein

when the coolant enters the continuous casting mold, the liquid coolant has an entry temperature and on emerging from the continuous casting mold has an exit temperature;

metrologically detecting during the casting of the metal strand the quantities which include the volume flow, the entry temperature and the exit temperature; and

also detecting

the operating parameters include a heat flow determined from the volume flow, the entry temperature and the exit temperature.

3. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the continuous casting mold has a plurality of sidewalls, and the method further comprises:

detecting the volume flow, the entry temperature and the exit temperature separately for each of the sidewalls; and

determining the heat flow separately for each of the sidewalls.

4. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 2, wherein one of the predefined groups of operating parameters includes, as the supplementary parameter, the heat flow and, as the basic operating parameters, the operating parameters which are relevant for the heat flow.

5. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

vibrating the continuous casting mold during the casting of the strand by a vibration mechanism with a vibration frequency and a vibration amplitude,

metrologically detecting during the casting of the metal strand the quantities which include the vibration frequency, the vibration amplitude and the displacement forces required to vibrate the continuous casting mold; and

determining the operating parameters including a friction parameter from the vibration frequency, the vibration amplitude and the displacement forces for friction arising between the metal strand and the continuous casting mold.

6. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 5, wherein one of the predefined groups of operating parameters includes as a supplementary parameter the friction parameter, and includes as basic operating parameters the operating parameters which are relevant to the friction parameter.

7. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 1, wherein the basic operating parameters include a material of the metal strand, a format of the metal strand, a casting powder used in the casting of the metal strand, a casting speed and/or a level of the surface of the cast material.

8. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

the monitoring equipment, performing the further steps of;

accepting through a data input, time sequences of quantities in addition to the quantities which it has detected;

forming groups of operating parameters, including by reference to quantities it has accepted through the data input, each of the operating parameters including at least one basic operating parameter and at least one supplementary operating parameter;

if the operating parameters for the relevant groups which it has formed by reference to the quantities accepted through the data input satisfy a relevant predefined first stability criterion over a relevant evaluation time period, copying into the database, as data records, those operating parameters it has determined by reference to the quantities it accepted through the data input; and

assigning to the data record the basic operating parameters, as input quantities, and the supplementary operating parameters as output quantities.

9. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

using the monitoring equipment for determining the permissible operating parameter ranges for the supplementary operating parameters if and only if those data records held in the database, for which the input quantities match the basic operating parameters, satisfy a completeness criterion.

10. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

using the monitoring equipment for satisfying the completeness criterion if the database contains sufficiently many data records for which the input quantities match the basic operating parameters and/or if supplementary operating parameters, for those data records for which the input quantities match the basic operating parameters, satisfy a relevant predefined statistical second stability criterion.

11. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

the monitoring equipment suppressing the copying of the data records into the database if an operator of the continuous casting mold issues a blocking command to it, or removes data records which have already been copied into the database from the database again if the operator issues a negative assessment of the data record.

12. The method of monitoring as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

using the monitoring equipment for checking whether the operating parameters in the group concerned satisfy the relevant predefined first stability criterion over the relevant evaluation time period, and copying of a data record into the database which is based on it, the foregoing effected cyclically at regular time intervals wherein the time interval is substantially shorter than the evaluation time period for the at least one supplementary operating parameter.

13. A computer program which incorporates machine code, and which is directly executed by monitoring equipment used for a continuous casting mold and the execution of the program by the monitoring equipment has the effect that the monitoring equipment carries out a monitoring method with all the steps of a monitoring method as claimed in claim 1.

14. The monitoring equipment for a continuous casting mold, wherein the monitoring equipment is configured to carry out a monitoring method including all the steps of a monitoring method as claimed in claim 1.

15. A continuous casting mold for casting a metal strand further comprising monitoring equipment as claimed in claim 14 assigned to the continuous casting mold.