Optimised furnace control
Swerim has developed the furnace control system FOCS, which helps industry to boost productivity and strastically reduce energy use.
FOCS, which stands for Furnace Optimization Control System, is an advanced control system that has been used in steel reheating furnaces for more than 20 years. The system is a result of a successful project within Swerims’s joint research programme. FOCS helps steel companies to reduce energy use by 5–20 percent, depending on existing furnace-control equipment, furnace type and operating parameters.
System for increased productivity and quality
Precise control of billet, bloom or slab temperature improves reproducibility and gives a higher product quality, for example, in the production of ultra-high-strength steel with improved surface quality. With smart functions for controlling transfer speed, bottlenecks can be avoided and productivity can be increased by up to 28 percent.
The steel industry uses FOCS
About 90 percent of all steel manufactured in the Nordic countries is treated in furnaces that are controlled using a FOCS. The system allows fuel optimization in the manufacture of complex steel grades.
Steel companies that use FOCS include, for example, SSAB, Outokumpu Stainless, Ovako and Sandvik Materials Technology. The system is now sold worldwide, under licence, by Prevas and ABB.
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