CIVS Blast Furnace Research Featured in Manufacturing x Digital
CIVS research was recently featured on MxD (Manufacturing x Digital) website with an article titled “How Digital Twin Technology — and a Virtual Blast Furnace — Are Helping to Bridge the Manufacturing Skills Gap”. The article is focused on blast furnace research, more specifically the Integrated Virtual Blast Furnace (IVBF). CIVS Director Chenn Zhou was interviewed about the next-generation physics-based, data-driven, interactive, Integrated virtual blast furnace simulators, which has evolved from more than 20 years of blast furnace research at PNW. With U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding, the CIVS team is using the IVBF to find methods to improve steelmaking efficiency and develop a virtual training model to provide critically needed workforce development within the steel industry. The IVBF mirrors a blast furnace, enabling an unprecedented interior view and providing an example of how manufacturing is embracing digital twin technology. Touted for its transformative impact on quality, agility, and competitiveness, digital twin technology is also helping to bridge the gap between a shrinking skilled workforce and the increasing complexity of modern manufacturing processes.
With the IVBF, we can not only mimic the structure of a blast furnace, but we can mimic the physics, see the flow, know what the temperature is at any location inside the furnace. Using it for design, optimization, troubleshooting, scaling up of new technologies, and real-time monitoring, we can do more efficient furnace operation and more effective worker training to save money and reduce downtime.
Dr. Chenn Zhou, CIVS Director
This tool — a window into the blast furnace — draws upon the wealth of data collected by sensors and combines it with physics-based CFD modeling to optimize the process. It also opens doors to lower-emission operating conditions using new technologies like hydrogen injection or partial electrification.
Dr. Tyamo Okosun, CIVS Associate Director for Research and the IVBF project’s Principal Investigator
MxD (Manufacturing x Digital) advances economic prosperity and national security by strengthening U.S. manufacturing competitiveness through technology innovation, workforce development, and cybersecurity preparedness. In partnership with the Department of Defense, we convene an ecosystem to solve critical manufacturing challenges by accelerating digital adoption, empowering a skilled workforce, and modernizing supply chains. MxD is also the National Center for Cybersecurity in Manufacturing as designated by DoD.