WISCO’s ironmaking and rolling goes state-of-the-art

WISCO’s intelligent centralised ironmaking and rolling centres went operational in January.

WISCO’s two intelligent centres uphold the “All in One” concept – making production simple and enable centralised control of all manufacturing operation rooms, robots on operational posts, remote operations management and online services.

Built by CISDI to an EPC mode, they are the second reference for the CISDigital Integrated Control Centre (ICC) in China and an upgrade of the first reference, which has been operating at Baowu Group’s Shaogang since the end of 2018.

IMAP, an intelligent ironmaking philosophy, has also been introduced at WISCO, an industry first.

The integrated centralised control centre has transformed conventional centralised controls. The integrated system covers the operation, control and management of seven procedures – ironmaking, sintering, coking, stockyard, energy, rotary hearth furnace and environmental protection.

Mass integration of major production procedures and mass optimisation of technological processes has been achieved.

The plant has been made safer and management is more organised as a result.

Based on big data decision-making expertise, the intelligent ironmaking centre collects a mass of data and puts online new-generation intelligent applications for monitoring, identification and diagnosis. As a result, production becomes self-adaptable, self-diagnostic and self-optimised.

“One Map” control, based on remote sensing visualisation and artificial intelligence expertise, is innovatively applied to the pan-ironmaking areas where a wide variety of dispersed information has been very difficult to manage.

The three-dimensional dynamic “map” roams around those areas, acquiring and accurately positioning the information and data needed for production, equipment, staff, safety, environmental protection, video and pre-alarm.

The WISCO pan-ironmaking plant is working as a Digital Factory.

WISCO’s intelligent centralised rolling centre is the industry’s first creation of an integrated control for multi-mill operations, production and maintenance.

The centre successfully passed its hot-commissioning with remote controls at the end of 2019 and has since been smoothly and continuously producing wide strips by remote rolling.

Application of the internet of things, fault diagnosis and big data analysis enables comprehensive data acquisition and intelligent analysis for the rolling lines. Equipment status can be pre-alarmed, a fault can be accurately positioned and rolling quality be optimised.

3D visualisation, digital coil warehousing and big data analysis are all contributing to the creation of a smart, safe, green and highly-efficient digital hot rolling line.

WISCO’s intelligent centralised ironmaking (left) and rolling (right) centres, which were built by CISDI to an EPC mode

FACT FILE:

Construction of WISCO, the first large steel complex founded after China’s liberation, began in 1955 and was completed by 1958.

WISCO merged with Baosteel into Baowu Group in 2016.

Current production capacity is around 40 million tonnes and the complex is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for mining, coking, ironmaking, steelmaking, rolling, logistics and utilities.