Optimal control of heating in a reheating furnace

In this paper a new method is proposed for solving an optimal control problem using the complex model of a reheating furnace that was used to get reference values for the optimal zone temperatures. Validation before using a complex simulation model in optimal control procedure showed that the model worked well for the prediction of thermal behavior. The aim of optimal furnace temperature control is the minimisation of fuel consumption and the minimum deviation between desired and final steel block temperature profiles. The optimisation procedure and some results are described.