phiOptimation is Regulator Optimization

Within the ORmatiC GmbH, phiOptimation is the branch that optimizes your technical processes (regulator optimization). Our entire know-how about regulatory process optimization is concentrated in this department. Our services in this area include optimization of sensor technology, actuator technology, regulator structure and regulator parameters, as well as implementation of model illustrations of various process parameters. Studies have shown an enormous potential for cost reduction especially in the optimization of regulatory production processes. What are the reasons for these reduced costs?

Product phiOptimation

There are various reasons for potential cost reduction:

  • Increase of production efficiency
  • Increase of product quality (fewer losses)
  • Smaller plant dimensions at the same projected output (realization only possible during the planning phase)
  • Reduction of required amount of additives at unchanged quality levels
  • Replacement of expensive constructive measures for the compensation of disturbance variables (environmental factors) with inexpensive software model

Service phiOptimation

We offer the following services for regulator optimization:

  • Replacement of control algorithms with regulators (see example pump-regulator coupling station)
  • Consideration of non-linearities through actuators or/and processes (e.g., neutralization)
  • Adjustment of actuator layout
  • Compensation of disturbance variables through modeling (e.g., temperature compensation)
  • Optimization of regulator parameters
  • Expansion of regulator structure with additional process information

As independent observers, we can inspect your processes with  “open eyes“, analyze them in an unbiased fashion and develop new solutions in collaboration with you. This is where ORmatiC’s “Time to Solution“ strategy comes in. We will analyze your process, develop new solutions with you and implement them. If required, we will also collaborate with your automation partners.

 

Berechnung

Application phiOptimation

Regulation with a 3-gas mixture in a Cowper plant (EKO Stahl GbR)

In a Cowper plant the air blown into the furnace is heated with a burner using a mixture of air and combustion gases. Due to cost pressure it is necessary to use a combustion gas mixture consisting of two process waste products, furnace gas and CO gas. To this effect, we have realized a 3-gas mixture regulation that adds natural gas to the combustion gas whenever the waste gas mixture does not reach the optimal caloric value. In order to minimize emission of pollutants and to enable optimal combustion, we implemented a λ-regulation, which adjusts the air/gas mixture to an optimal ratio, based on oxygen measurements in the chimney. The optimal air/gas ratio calculated by the gas analyzer based on the caloric value is set as the nominal value.

Due to the utilization of the two process waste gases, CO gas and furnace gas, almost no natural gas is needed for the production of crude iron, while quality levels remain the same.

Therefore, the investment will be amortized after only a few months.

Information/ Regulation: phiOptimation

Regulation means that a system possesses a feedback loop with information about the system’s behavior. That means that the system’s reaction to any manipulated variable is monitored and evaluated directly by comparing this reaction to a preset nominal value. The determining factor for the regulator’s structure and the values of the regulator parameters is the process that needs to be regulated. Various routes can be distinguished, based on different criteria such as linearity, time variance, static and dynamic transfer behavior. The literature on the basics of regulator technology normally assumes a linear system with no time variance, since this is the only system that can be handled through relatively simply mathematical equations.