On October 23 and 24, 2024, the kick-off meeting for the RFCS research project SUNSHINE took place in Rome. This ambitious project with the full title “SUstainable New casting and rolling process monitoring/sensoring approach aimed at proper surface quality and SHape IN flat and long products, enabling Energy savings and smart management in the casting/rolling operations” has set itself ambitious goals: it aims to help increase efficiency and sustainability in the casting and rolling sectors through innovative monitoring and sensor technologies.
The project aims to detect unfavorable process conditions, which often lead to casting defects, at an early stage. Modern sensors and advanced modeling approaches will be used to identify potential shape and quality problems in the cast product. These problems can often go undetected with conventional methods, but they lead to undesirable complications later during the rolling processes. SUNSHINE aims to proactively detect and prevent defects and irregularities so that the final quality of the products is significantly improved.
Central components and technologies
A central component of the project is the development of guidelines and rules that are specifically aimed at predicting and preventing defects. Among other things, this is done by using state-of-the-art AI tools, in particular machine learning methods that can recognize and analyse patterns and anomalies based on large amounts of data. The knowledge gained through machine learning is incorporated into recommendations and guidelines to ensure that uniform and optimal conditions for shell growth prevail during casting. In this way, the occurrence of mould and surface defects should be minimized as far as possible.
The SUNSHINE project relies on a combination of different innovative technologies to achieve these goals, including:
- Process modelling to accurately simulate and optimize production conditions,
- Sensor technology, such as fiber optic temperature sensors, which enable precise monitoring of the casting and rolling processes,
- process control to continuously adapt and optimize operating conditions.
The project is funded by the “Research Fund for Coal and Steel” of the European Union, based on the RFCS Grant Agreement No101157885. In addition to the BFI (consulting and research institute), other renowned partners are involved in this project. The main players include Rina Consulting - Centro Sviluppo Materiali, which is acting as coordinator, as well as SIDENOR I+D, the University of Oulu (Oulun Yliopisto) from Finland, the company Feralpi, Acciaieri d'Italia and AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke.
Outlook
With this bundled expertise and the interplay of state-of-the-art technological approaches, the partners hope to achieve sustainable optimization of production processes in the metal and steel industry in the long term. The SUNSHINE project promises not only to improve product quality, but also to significantly reduce energy consumption and resource requirements in the casting and rolling processes.
