Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB 
Project aims
The aim of the project is to develop a new type of tempering line for ultra-thin stainless martensitic precision strips. The focus of the new quenching and tempering line is on a significant improvement in energy efficiency, for example by using the waste heat from the hardening furnace to partially heat the tempering furnace, and on an improved product quality of the precision strips - which is also the focus of the work at Fraunhofer IOSB. The use of imaging sensor technology, model-based control and higher-level AI-based optimization is intended to increase the flatness of the steel strip compared to conventional production systems.
Current project results
As the tempering line is currently still under construction, a simulation model of the cooling process for the precision strip was first developed. This was used, for example, to determine the nozzle shape used to cool the precision strip and the required temperature of the individual cooling gas zones. A laboratory process at the Institute for Industrial Furnace Construction and Heating Technology (IOB) has also begun to develop the temperature control system. This control system is designed to set a specified temperature profile as precisely as possible. A thermal camera was used as an imaging sensor to measure a spatio-temporal temperature profile of the precision strip. As the strip edges in particular have different thermal properties to the rest of the strip, temperature control through the nozzle field is particularly relevant here. Current work is concerned with the implementation of this complex, spatially distributed control so that the specified temperature profile is maintained as precisely as possible.
Project partners
- Zapp Precisions Metals GmbH, Unna (Coordinator)
- Fraunhofer IOSB, Karlsruhe
- Fraunhofer IOSB-INA, Lemgo
- WSP GmbH, Aachen
- RWTH Aachen – Institut für Industrieofenbau und Wärmetechnik, Aachen