Dynamic estimation of electrical demand in hot rolling mills

This paper proposes a method capable of reproducing the particular operating conditions of a hot strip mill and predicting the evolution of the main electrical variables that are involved from both the characteristics of the steel to be milled and the specific features of the rolling mill. The method analyses the load torque and the motor speed evolution in the stands of the roughing and finishing mill drives from the steel to be milled. In this study three types of carbon alloy steel are considered, thus involving dissimilar hardness characteristics. The main stands of the mill, the power network and the filter banks have been modeled. The relationship between the grade of steel and both the electrical demand and various power quality parameters is discussed. The results can be used as a part of an expert system for the automatic estimation of the electrical demand in a hot rolling mill.