Industrial Projects
Corex
- Category: Industrial Projects
Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation of a COREX® Reduction Shaft
Problem:
COREX® is an ecologically beneficial process for iron production, which has been developed by VOEST Alpine Industrieanlagenbau. In a 3D process simulation model of the COREX® reduction shaft, the gas and solid flow, the energy balances, the chemical reactions and the dust deposition are to be calculated. This development was a joint project of Siemens VAI Metals Technologies GmbH & Co, the Industrial Mathematics Institute and MathConsult.
Structural Optimization
- Category: Industrial Projects
Structural Optimization
Problem:
Weight reduction of moving mechanical components leads to considerable energy saving and to other efficiency gains. Preventing the occurrence of high stress areas in an individual component increases average component lifetime and can also have important safety benefits. The aim of this project was to efficiently find the optimum design of a mechanical component subject to given operating and/or manufacturing restrictions.
Blast Furnace
- Category: Industrial Projects
Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation of the Blast Furnace Process
Problem:
The blast furnace process is the most important industrial technology to obtain metallic iron from iron ore. A mathematical and numerical model for the physical and chemical processes in the blast furnace was developed to get more insight into the interactions of the reactions in the blast furnace, to simulate the influence of different raw materials or different operation conditions, and to improve operating behaviour.
Cooling Strategies
- Category: Industrial Projects
Optimal Cooling Strategies in Continuous Casting
Problem:
In the soft-reduction zone of a continuous casting machine the strand thickness is reduced slightly by compression. By doing this, one aims to counter segregation defects arising during solidifiction. A secondary benefit is to compensate for strand shrinkage. Effective soft-reduction requires that the crater end of the solidus isotherm remains positioned within the soft-reduction zone. The problem is to ensure that this happens by controlling solidification with cooling water, sprayed onto the outside of the strand. An additional difficulty here is that the casting speed varies which makes it impossible to use a stationary model.
Reinforcement Bars
- Category: Industrial Projects
Identification of Reinforcement Bars
Problem:
The goal of this project was to develop a non-destructive method to detect the location of reinforcement bars in concrete. The key to the solution was to apply a magnetic field and measure the distortions caused by the bars. The project contributed to the construction of a machine by the HILTI company.