CIVS Researchers Visit Steel Plants for Collaborative Projects

On October 17, CIVS research staff visited Gerdau at Monroe, MI, as part of efforts for the Reheating Furnace project funded by DOE in collaboration with SMSVC member companies. During the visit, they were able to get inside the furnace while it was down for maintenance, which gave them first-hand experience with the furnace’s inner structures and burner locations.

Currently, CIVS is conducting CFD simulations of the furnace to investigate the impact of flex fuels with a retrofitted burner on the process and energy efficiency, production rate, product quality, and others. In addition, there was a working session for ongoing development for the Reheat Furnace workforce and safety training materials were also being developed for the same projects. Discussions and feedback from engineers and operators at Gerdau will be used to improve the modeling and training efforts going forward. Gerdau is a key team member of the DOE reheating furnace project.

In October and December, CIVS research staff visited Charter Steel in Saukville, WI to provide a new build for the virtual crane project.

In August, CIVS research staff visited U. S. Steel Gary Works to do camera work for the blast furnace project.

Gerdau, Charter Steel, and U. S. Steel are member companies of the SMSVC.