The global steel industry’s first intelligent, autonomous hot metal transport system is now running at Baowu Zhanjiang Steel.

Eight unmanned locomotives and 28 torpedo ladle cars are operating stably.

This is an important advancement for the sector.

Hot metal transport is the only way to link blast furnace tapping and steelmaking.

Traditionally, operators have played a key role at this crucial interface. They are needed to drive the locomotives and carry out de-coupling, parking and aligning procedures, path planning and ladle allocation.

But there are many dangers present in their working environment and daily tasks. In addition, because temperatures of hot metal being transported must be reduced when manual parking and intervention occurs, there is an increase in production costs.   

New developments in iron and steel-making pose challenges, but they also present opportunities to improve safety and efficiency.

Hot metal transportation is a prime example. This process has been greatly improved by increasing automation and intelligence levels.

CISDI began its research and development of autonomous locomotive systems in 2017 and was ready to commission its first individual locomotives in July 2019. They were connected into Zhanjiang Steel’s intelligent logistics centralised control platform at the end of December 2019.

The CISDI team overcame many difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of this year to successfully start up the entire autonomous locomotive system at Zhanjiang. This achievement marked a new chapter in intelligent manufacturing for the global steel sector.

Operating indicators have reached, and even surpassed, industrial standards:

✔         Torpedo ladle car turnover rate: 4.3

✔         Locomotive daily output: over 4,500 tonnes per set

✔         Safety incidents: 0

✔         Manpower at posts subjected to high temperatures, noise and dust reduced by approximately 70 per cent

Placing this system online via the intelligent logistics centralised control platform has resulted in cost savings for Zhanjiang Steel and brought about an expansion in production.

 

✧         First intelligent implementation for steel logistics

An intelligent conveyor equipment is the basis of the autonomous transport system and the actuator for intelligently-made decisions.

A locomotive drags a torpedo ladle car, a heavy duty vehicle built to withstand high temperatures. It operates at low speed and has no brake.

Zhanjiang Steel has eight 80 tonne locomotives and 28 torpedo ladle cars each weighing 380 tonnes.

CISDI’s efficient and stable intelligent transport system features a driverless locomotive and is equipped with moving object detection and tracking sensors, communication and power supply systems.

The autonomous system integrated into the control software controls the locomotive’s forward and backward movements and brake, the centimetre-level precise positioning/aligning, and automatic parking and coupling/decoupling. This is a world steel sector first.

 

✧         Decision making by Artificial Intelligence

The intelligent scheduling of CISDI’s system relies on artificial intelligence comprised of four subsystems – intelligent scheduling, digital twin, equipment support and data analysis.

The AI-based system enables machine-learning and makes decisions on the shortest route for locomotives, optimal tasking times and fastest routes.

Greater scheduling plan accuracy and a reduction in the torpedo ladle car’s one-way travel time is achieved. The temperature of hot metal can be maintained, thus reducing production costs downstream.

 

✧         People and safety first

The intelligent locomotive system puts safety first.

The moving object detection and tracking system guarantees safe operation of the driverless locomotive in any weather condition and in complicated and severe production environments.

 

An autonomous locomotive drags a fully-loaded torpedo ladle car out of the blast furnace area at Baowu Zhanjiang Steel

 

An autonomous locomotive runs along the track

 

 

At the plant’s intelligent logistics centre, an operator monitors the system at Zhanjiang Steel’s intelligent hot metal scheduling centre

 

CISDI engineers providing technical solutions onsite

 

CISDI research team and the customer meet for a brainstorming session