Project OpTwinFlow

As part of OpTwinFlow, a digital twin is being developed for a process in secondary metallurgy in steel production. This is made possible by a combination of improved sensor data and real-time flow simulations. This results in better process control, which in turn allows a reduction of used resources and energy. OpTwinFlow is an important building block in the transformation to green steel production processes.

The expected outcome of OpTwinFlow is a more accurate monitoring of the Ruhrstahl-Heraeus (RH) process, which will help reduce process times. This reduction results in lower energy consumption, lower CO₂ emissions and reduces the number of RH systems required to meet the increased demands.

In addition, fundamental knowledge about flow-based digital twins and their integration into complex industrial processes is created on a cross-sectorial basis. In particular, the developed models and the used methods can be beneficial for other energy-intensive processes that involve gas-liquid flows and are also difficult to monitor.

The overall goals of this 36-months project are:

• Creation of a digital twin of a key steelmaking process and synchronizing the twin with real-time plant data
• Extraction of process-relevant parameters including estimation of the prediction quality
• Minimization of the process time while maintaining the product quality
• Saving of CO₂ emissions and energy
• Better process understanding
• Transferability to other flow-based processes in resource-intensive industry