Managing quality in continuous casting process using product quality model and simulated annealing

This paper proposes an approach using quality loss functions and multicriteria optimization procedure to determine appropriate process parameter values for producing quality products in a continuous casting system. Quality of a continuously cast product depends on the process conditions during the casting process. From the information available in the literature and industry, 17 critical quality conditions have been identified which have to be satisfied to prevent defect formation during casting. Each of these process conditions are connected to one or more than one process parameters and the process parameter values are to be selected such that all these 17 quality conditions are satisfied simultaneously. The optimization procedure suggested in the present study involves representing the relationship between the responses and the process variables in the form of an objective function and finding the best set of values for the process variables. The objective function is formulated as a loss function, which establishes a functional relationship between the input variables or process parameters and the quality criteria. The optimum values of the process parameters were obtained by minimizing the loss function using simulated annealing optimization algorithm. The details are presented in this paper with the help of a specific case. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.