Optimal control of multiphase steel production

An optimal control problem for the production of multiphase steel is investigated, where the state equations are a semilinear heat equation and an ordinary differential equation, which describes the evolution of the ferrite phase fraction. The optimal control problem is analyzed and the first-order necessary and second-order sufficient optimality conditions are derived. For the numerical solution of the control problem reduced sequential quadratic programming (rSQP) method with a primal-dual active set strategy (PDAS) was applied. The numerical results were presented for the optimal control of a cooling line for production of hot rolled Mo-Mn dual phase steel

Optimal control of multiphase steel production

An optimal control problem for the production of multiphase steel is investigated that takes into account phase transformations in the steel slab. The state equations are a semilinear heat equation coupled with an ordinary differential equation, that describes the evolution of the steel microstructure. The time-dependent heat transfer coefficient serves as a control function. Necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for the control problem are derived. For the numerical solution of the control problem, a reduced sequential quadratic programming method with a primal-dual active set strategy is developed. The numerical results are presented for the optimal control of a cooling line in the production of hot-rolled Mo–Mn dual phase steel. © 2019, The Author(s)

Identification of the thermal growth characteristics of coagulated tumor tissue in laser-induced thermotherapy

We consider an inverse problem arising in laser-induced thermotherapy, a minimally invasive method for cancer treatment, in which cancer tissues is destroyed by coagulation. For the dosage planning numerical simulation play an important role. To this end a crucial problem is to identify the thermal growth kinetics of the coagulated zone. Mathematically, this problem is a nonlinear and nonlocal parabolic heat source inverse problem. The solution to this inverse problem is defined as the minimizer of a nonconvex cost functional. The existence of the minimizer is proven. We derive the Gateaux derivative of the cost functional, which is based on the adjoint system, and use it for a numerical approximation of the optimal coefficient

On the evaluation of dilatometer experiments

The goal of this paper is a mathematical investigation of dilatometer experiments to measure the kinetics of solid-solid phase transitions in steel upon cooling from the high temperature phase. Usually, the data are only used for measuring the start and end temperature of the phase transition. In the case of several coexisting product phases, lavish microscopic investigations have to be performed to obtain the resulting fractions of the different phases. In contrast, we show that the complete phase transition kinetics including the final phase fractions are uniquely determined by the dilatometer data and present some numerical identification results

Identification of the thermal growth characteristics of coagulated tumor tissue in laser-induced thermotherapy

We consider an inverse problem arising in laser-induced thermotherapy, a minimally invasive method for cancer treatment, in which cancer tissues is destroyed by coagulation. For the dosage planning numerical simulation play an important role. To this end a crucial problem is to identify the thermal growth kinetics of the coagulated zone. Mathematically, this problem is a nonlinear and nonlocal parabolic heat source inverse problem. The solution to this inverse problem is defined as the minimizer of a nonconvex cost functional. The existence of the minimizer is proven. We derive the Gateaux derivative of the cost functional, which is based on the adjoint system, and use it for a numerical approximation of the optimal coefficient

Optimal control of a cooling line for production of hot rolled dual phase steel

In this article, the optimal control of a cooling line for production of dual phase steel in a hot rolling process is discussed. In order to achieve a desired dual phase steel microstructure an optimal cooling strategy has to be found. The cooling strategy should be such that a desired final distribution of ferrite in the steel slab is reached most accurately. This problem has been solved by means of mathematical control theory. The results of the optimal control of the cooling line have been verified in hot rolling experiments at the pilot hot rolling mill at the Institute for Metal Forming (IMF), TU Bergakademie Freiberg

Identification, simulation and optimal control of heat transfer in cooling line of hot strip rolling mill

The numerical simulation of mechanical properties of hot-rolled products has a major significance for material characterisation as well as material development. The basis for these is the knowledge about the material-specific phase transformations in combination with the initial microstructure from the deformation steps before entering into the cooling line. Additionally, the technological conditions in the run-out table (ROT) are essentially for transformation kinetics. In order to simulate these processes, the plant-specific heat transfer coefficient must be measured. Therefore, steel samples with thermocouples inside are transported with defined velocities through the cooling line of the continuous pilot plant at the Institute of Metal Forming in Freiberg. Furthermore, the material and its movement must be taken into account as characteristics of the ROT (e.g. amount and distribution of the cooling medium, the streaming situation in several segments, the nozzle geometry and, as a consequence, the water jet shape, and the impact pressure of the cooling medium on the surface of the rolled material) as influencing parameters. This paper describes the possibilities for determining and simulating the heat transfer in the cooling line with industrial conditions. Moreover, this paper discusses the optimal control of the cooling line to achieve the desired temperature and phase distribution on the run-out table. The resulting information contributes to new technology and material developments at the pilot plant, as well as for the transfer of results into the industry

Numerical cooling strategy design for hot rolled dual phase steel

In this article, the Mo-Mn dual phase steel and its process parameters in hot rolling are discussed. The process window was derived by combining the experimental work in a hot deformation dilatometer and numerical calculation of process parameters using rate law models for ferrite and martensite transformation. The ferrite formation model is based on the Leblond and Devaux approach while martensite formation is based on the Koistinen-Marburger (K-M) formula. The carbon enrichment during ferrite formation is taken into account for the following martensite formation. After the completion of the parameter identification for the rate law model, the evolution of phases in multiphase steel can be addressed. Particularly, the simulations allow for predicting the preferable degree of retained strain and holding temperature on the run out table (ROT) for the required ferrite fraction

Numerical cooling strategy design for hot rolled dual phase steel

In this article, the Mo-Mn dual phase steel and its process parameters in hot rolling are discussed. The process window was derived by combining the experimental work in a hot deformation dilatometer and numerical calculation of process parameters using rate law models for ferrite and martensite transformation. The ferrite formation model is based on the Leblond and Devaux approach while martensite formation is based on the Koistinen-Marburger (K-M) formula. The carbon enrichment during ferrite formation is taken into account for the following martensite formation. After the completion of the parameter identification for the rate law model, the evolution of phases in multiphase steel can be addressed. Particularly, the simulations allow for predicting the preferable degree of retained strain and holding temperature on the run out table (ROT) for the required ferrite fraction

Phase transformation modeling and parameter identification from dilatometric investigations

The goal of this paper is to propose a new approach towards the evaluation of dilatometric results, which are often employed to analyse the phase transformation kinetics in steel, especially in terms of continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagram. A simple task of dilatometry is deriving the start and end temperatures of the phase transformation. It can yield phase transformation kinetics provided that plenty metallographic investigations are performed, whose analysis is complicated especially in case of several coexisting product phases. The new method is based on the numerical solution of a thermomechanical identification problem. It is expected that the phase transformation kinetics can be derived by this approach with less metallographic tasks. The first results are remarkably promising although further investigations are required for the numerical simulations