Modeling and Scheduling a Continuous Casting System - a Logistics Perspective

This paper presents a mathematical model that schedules the activity of a continuous casting system supplied with steel from a workshop located at some distance from the casting machine. The main objective of the development work was to create a model as realistic as possible. Therefore, it included all critical activities of the casting process flow. It considered the use of a crane, the rotation of the turret and the uncertainty in the supply of molten steel. The schedule provided by the model showed how the crane and the ladle furnace should be used to manage the casting process given an expected steel delivery plan. The set of activities to be scheduled have been identified by modelling the casting machine and the crane as finite state automata.