Blast Furnace Charging Control System
IPACT revamped the Level I and Level II automation systems for two skip-charged blast furnaces, one containing a fully automated stockhouse, and the other containing automated hoppers for coke and a scale car for ores and fluxes.In both systems, the Level I PLCs were responsible for all discrete control actions concerning raw material (stockhouse) management, skip controls, valve and bell controls, stockrods, and moveable armor. Level I control was optimized to allow charging to proceed at the highest possible rate. The systems were designed so that Level I could charge any round (of up to 40 steps) independent of Level II. Color graphic HMI's were also tied directly into the PLC LAN, so that mimic displays showed process information in real time.
The Level II charging programs provided for a sequence of rounds to be charged. Using this feature, a very long and precise charging sequence could be pre-defined and executed automatically with no intervention. The Level II systems also contained the functions of historical data collection and analysis, alarm logging, and report generation.
Integrated Process Automation & Control Technologies