Metal Pass Consulting

For over 15 years, Metal Pass has provided consulting services on Level 2 model development or improvement, steel mill software application development, roll pass design and rolling process improvement, etc. We have over 25 years of experience on rolling mill model development, and over 10 years of experience on mill software development. We can combine our two strengths to serve you.

Need Help? - The Level 2 Model Issues

Check whether your Level 2 system has involved any of the following issues, and whether you are a bit confusing on the Level 2 Model Basics. If any of the answers is Yes, you may need help. We may spend only half an hour for you, by running our remote diagnosis tool against your data and show you the problem(s). Most likely you can fix it yourself; if you want us to do it, we will guarantee our work's quality and your satisfaction.

• Level 2 Model Basics
• Metallurgical Issues in Level 2
• Modeling Issues in Level 2
• Software Engineering Issues in Level 2
• Next-Generation Level 2 System

If you have interest in handling such issues, you may request some technical papers we published in the industry conferences with our work examples. Send us an email and indicating who you are.

Metal Pass Work Areas

Existing Level 2 model improvement

• Improvement on Level 2 Model Force Prediction (see detailed description). Every 1% force error reduction would save a plant about 1 to 2 millions of US dollars per year, assuming the plant has 800 million US dollars of annual sales and 800 million dollars of equipment investment. Most Level 2 systems have a room for 3-10% force prediction accuracy improvement. Many Level 2 force model use simple formula and thus only reach limited accuracy. Some systems are even with design error in adaptive learning. Summaries of the work with 10-page stage reports for a client with a reversing/steckle mill to roll plates and coils are available in this site. See stage 1 report www.metalpass.com/consulting/FceModelRpt.doc and the report for stage 2 www.metalpass.com/consulting/FceModelRpt2.doc.
• Rolling mill Level 2 temperature model improvement. We provide accurate model for heat transfer coefficients for every heat transfer stage. For example, the heat transfer during rolling in the roll gap depends on roll and stock materials, roll RPM, pressure, descaling procedure and roll cooling, etc. The heat transfer coefficients in the inter-pass or during traveling on the run-out table depends on relative speed between stock and air, etc. We also integrate those models into your temperature learning procedure.
• Controlled cooling Level 2 system for water cooling. After evaluation of nearly 10 site testing reports we have developed accurate model on heat transfer coefficients during controlled water cooling. The model can greatly increase prediction accuracy for the controlled cooling system. We also have developed a finite differential method (FDM) model which has great advantage over the traditional slab element method.

Model-based mill application development

• Metal pass has developed a long list of steel mill process model based applications. A summary of the applications is available: www.metalpass.com/consulting/metalpass.doc.
• We develop model-based mill applications for flat rolling and shape rolling, either hot or cold forming. We also develop programs for controlled water cooling, reheating, EAF/LMF steelmaking, and Casting, etc.
• We are developing a program package to predict rolled product properties. Process models and system learning will be combined. For example, the grain size at the entrance of the controlled water cooling in the run-out table can be used as learning parameter. A proposal for the package development is available: Prediction of Rolled Steel Properties.
• We are also looking for industrial partner(s) to develop Enterprise Roll Pass Software. See Proposal Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and  Part 4.
• Microstructure prediction during steel rolling and cooling

Mill automation system development

Mill Process model development

• Rolling Mill, Metal flow: Spread prediction (critical for roll pass design), Forward slip, Roll work diameter, Roll effective diameter, stock speed, etc.
• Rolling Mill, Load and power requirements: Flow stress, Roll separating force, Torque, Power, etc.
• Rolling Mill, Microstructure: Dynamic and static recrystallization, Grain size, Grain growth, etc.
• EAF/LMF Steel making: Temperature prediction, Alloy addition, etc.
• See the list of available process models for steel mill.