A graphical user interface of a 3D simulation model for a steel-billet reheating process in a walking-beam furnace

In this paper a graphical user interface (GUI) of a three-dimensional simulation model for a steel-billet reheating process in a walking-beam furnace is presented. The real-time simulation model is connected to an industrial network system. The GUI has been developed for the user-friendly presentation of the simulation model results to the furnace operator. The communication between the GUI and the simulation model is based on ASCII files. Two modes of the GUI are presented: the real-time mode allows monitoring of the billet reheating process during the reheating, the archive mode allows the listing of already-reheated billets. For every chosen billet the GUI can show the data for all its position in the furnace. The data relating to individual billet positions in the furnace are described. The 3D temperature field of the billet is presented using three sections of the billet, which can be chosen interactively. The elements in the thermal sections are colored according to a thermal scale. The GUI has been developed using an xforms under Linux/Windows platforms.