A virtual rolling mill for real time control system tuning, operator training and process simulation

Process simulation is an important topic for control and process engineers. It can be shown that a simplified virtual rolling mill can be adapted for real-time control system tuning, operator training and process simulation. This paper outlines an approach to fully exploit those potentials using an example. Real-time simulation of a mill stand in response to rolling and material transportation and accumulation is presented. Utilization of this model for tuning and testing of a master reference control system developed for a steel mill is described. In addition, operator training was conducted based on the virtual mill developed. Through integration, a complete mill control system and operator training tool and process simulation system based on a virtual mill was developed.