Energy-saving optimal control over heating of continuous cast billets

This paper describes a solution to the problem of energy-saving optimal control over heating of continuous cast billets in a transient operation of high-performance hot rolling mills. We set forth a technique for forecasting a total time of heating by the moment of charging billets into a furnace and suggested a technique for prompt calculation and optimal control following the surface temperature of heated billets subject to generation of set points for temperature controllers in heating areas and objective control of a thermal state of every heated billet before its discharge from the furnace and forecast of expected temperature of the feedstock after roughing mills. All studied techniques focus on software implementation entailing insignificant economic costs and guaranteed success.