Method of and apparatus for cooling with improved control system

A method of producing a cast metal bar in a continuously advancing casting mold wherein the mold is subjected to a coolant flow for solidifying molten metal in the mold, comprising the steps of:

• a) performing a first operation comprising measuring the coolant flow rate to produce a flow measurand to produce flow measurand data, and measuring a property of the as-cast bar produced according to said coolant flow rate to produce actual cast bar product specification data from cast bar property data associated with said coolant flow rate data;
• b) storing said actual cast bar product specification data, said coolant flow rate data, and the associated cast bar property data in a database;
• c) performing, after said first operation, a second operation in connection with said data to produce proposed coolant flow rate set-point data for producing cast bar of a predetermined property associated with a desired cast bar product specification;
• d) performing, after said second operation, a third operation comprising comparison of said proposed set-point data with known limits including maximum and minimum coolant flow rate limits, casting machine speeds, and variations in the metallurgical composition of the cast bar to produce realtime set-point data;
• e) communicating said realtime set-point data to said casting machine to control the coolant flow rate;
• f) repeating step a) and comparing the cast bar property results with the desired cast bar product specification data;
• and
• g) adjusting the realtime set points to bring the cast bar property within desired cast bar product specification limits if necessary.

Apparatus for producing cast metal bar in a continuously advancing metal casting mold wherein the bar is subjected to cooling from a coolant flow for solidification temperature control, comprising:

• a) means for performing a first operation comprising measuring the coolant flow rate to produce a series of flow measurands to produce flow measurand data, and measuring a property of the cast bar produced according to said coolant flow rate to produce actual cast bar product specification data from cast bar property data associated with said coolant flow rate data;
• b) database means for storing said actual cast bar product specification data, said coolant flow rate data, and the associated cast bar property data;
• c) means for performing, after said first operation, a second operation in connection with said data to produce proposed coolant flow rate set-point data for producing cast bar of a predetermined property associated with a desired cast bar product specification;
• d) means for performing, after said second operation, a third operation comprising comparison of said proposed set-point data with known limits including maximum and minimum coolant flow rate limits, casting machine speeds, and variations in the metallurgical composition of the bar to produce realtime set-point data;
• e) means for communicating said realtime set-point data to said casting machine to control the coolant flow rate;
• and
• f) means for adjusting the realtime set points to bring the cast bar property within desired cast bar product specification limits if necessary,
• wherein said means for performing said second operation, said means for performing said third operation, and said means for adjusting is a computer.

In an apparatus for casting of an elongated metal bar in a continuously advancing casting mod, a cast bar cooling control system comprising:

• means for supplying a flow of coolant to the casting machine;
• a plurality of coolant supply manifolds disposed about the longitudinal axis of the casting mold;
• a plurality of nozzle means for spraying the coolant onto said casting mold, each of said nozzle means being attached to one of said manifolds;
• valve means connected between said supplying means and said nozzle means for regulating the flow rate of coolant sprayed onto said casting mold;
• positioning means coupled to said valve means for positionally controlling an adjustment of said valve means;
• at least one historical data base having stored therein cast bar product specifications and historical process parameters associated with the cast bar product specifications;
• computing means i) for communicating control parameters to said positioning means, ii) for receiving cast bar property values, iii) for maintaining said historical data base, and iv) for performing off-line simulations to determine whether process and control parameter changes will bring the cast bar within said cast bar product specifications;
• and
• historical data generating means communicating with said computing means for providing said computing means with information reflecting a value of at least one cast bar property so that said computer means can correctly position said valve means to obtain a desired predetermined value of said cast bar property;
• wherein said off-line simulation performing means further comprises means for data analysis of coolant flow measurand data and cast bar property data in the form of a seventh-order multivariate polynomial regression of at least one independent variable and at least one dependent variable, and wherein the dependent variable is the cast bar property and the independent variable is the flow measurand, of the form:
• ##EQU3##

A method of producing a cast metal bar in a continuously advancing casting mold wherein the mold is subjected to a coolant flow for solidifying molten metal in the mold, comprising the steps of:

• a) performing a first operation comprising measuring the coolant flow rate to produce a flow measurand to produce flow measuring and data, and measuring a property of the as-cast bar produced according to said coolant flow rate to produce actual cast bar product specification data from cast bar property data associated with said coolant flow rate data;
• b) storing said actual cast bar product specification data, said coolant flow rate data, and the associated cast bar property data in a database;
• c) performing, after said first operation, a second operation in connection with said data to produce proposed coolant flow rate set-point data for producing cast bar of a predetermined property associated with a desired cast bar product specification;
• d) performing, after said second operation, a third operation comprising comparison of said proposed set-point data with known limits including maximum and minimum coolant flow rate limits, casting machine speeds, and variations in the metallurgical composition of the cast bar to produce realtime set-point data;
• e) communicating said realtime set-point data to said casting machine to control the coolant flow rate;
• f) repeating step a) and comparing the cast bar property results with the desired cast bar product specification data;
• and
• g) adjusting the realtime set points to bring the cast bar property within desired cast bar product specification limits if necessary;
• wherein the second operation further includes data analysis of the flow measurand data and the cast bar property data, wherein the data analysis is in the form of a seventh-order multivariate polynomial regression of at least one independent variable and one dependent variable, and wherein the dependent variable is the cast bar property and the independent variable is the flow measurand, of the form:
• ##EQU4##

Apparatus for producing cast metal bar in a continuously advancing metal casting mold wherein the bar is subjected to cooling from a coolant flow for solidification temperature control, comprising:

• a) means for performing a first operation comprising measuring the coolant flow rate to produce a series of flow measurands to product flow measurand data, and measuring a property of the cast bar produced according to said coolant flow rate to produce actual cast bar product specification data from cast bar property data associated with said coolant flow rate data;
• b) database means for storing said actual cast bar product specification data, said coolant flow rate data, and the associated cast bar property data;
• c) means for performing, after said first operation, a second operation in connection with said data to produce proposed coolant flow rate set-point data for producing cast bar of a predetermined property associated with a desired cast bar product specification;
• d) means for performing, after said second operation, a third operation comprising comparison of said proposed set-point data with known limits including maximum and minimum coolant flow rate limits, casting machine speeds, and variations in the metallurgical composition of the bar to produce realtime set-point data;
• e) means for communicating said realtime set-point data to said casting machine to control the coolant flow rate;
• and
• f) means for adjusting the realtime set points to bring the cast bar property within desired cast bar product specification limits if necessary,
• wherein said means for performing said second operation, said means for performing said third operation, and said means for adjusting is a computer, wherein the second operation further includes data analysis of the flow measured data and the cast bar property data, wherein the data analysis is in the form of a seventh-order multivariate polynomial regression of at least one independent variable and at least one dependent variable, and wherein the dependent variable is the cast bar property and the independent variable is the flow measurand, of the form:
• ##EQU5##