JFE Steel Corporation announced the successful demonstration of its innovative radiant tube burner, developed quickly using digital twin technology. Implemented at a cold rolling plant in the Chiba District of the company’s East Japan Works, this burner is projected to have a service life six times longer than conventional radiant tubes. Its design also reduces NOx emissions and saves energy.
Radiant tube burners are crucial for heating steel sheets in continuous hot-dip galvanizing and annealing lines to adjust mechanical properties. These burners operate inside a metal tube, providing radiant heat to the steel sheets, which helps maintain surface quality. JFE Steel uses many such burners due to their efficiency in annealing furnaces. However, the high temperatures inside the tubes can lead to deformation, necessitating special measures.
To address this, JFE Steel used a digital twin to replicate the test furnace virtually. This allowed for the independent development of a new support structure, tube shape, burner environment, heat transfer promoter, and heat exchanger. The resulting burner has a significantly longer service life, reduces NOx emissions by 30pct, and improves energy efficiency by 3pct, while also being deployable in half the time of conventional burners.
Digital twins simulate real-world systems in a virtual space, enabling high-efficiency operations and faster prototype development. This technology is pivotal for the steel industry, especially as it aims for carbon neutrality by 2050. JFE Steel sees digital twin technology as a growth opportunity, aiding in the development of fossil-free combustion and heating technologies and supporting green transformation (GX) initiatives.
