Facing the challenges of increasing demand for steel products, voestalpine steel producer decided to rise its production volumes and invest more than 5 mld. Euro to build a brand new steel production facility on the Black Sea cost (the project was codenamed Edelweiss). At the time of the study, the final location of the facility had not yet been determined. The proposed plant was expected to produce 5 million tonnes of steel per year.
Country
Unknown (not existing yet)
Client / Owner
voestalpine
Timeframe
2008
Terminal type
Steelworks
Problems and study goals
An automated transportation system based on Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) was proposed for the new steelworks to transport steel coils between rolling mills and heat-treatment facilities via intermediate buffer storage areas. The study focused on the following key objectives:
- Determine the number of AGVs required to ensure reliable coil transport.
- Verify the proposed crane operating capacity.
- Determine the required storage capacity for steel coils.
- Create a dynamic 3D visualisation of the modelled parts of the steelworks, including AGV movements and crane operations.
Study results
Using a detailed microscopic simulation model of the facility's operations developed in the Villon simulation tool, the required number of AGVs was determined and the relationship between AGV requirements and crane operating speed was analysed. The proposed storage capacities were found to be sufficient, although the target storage occupancy level was exceeded slightly under certain conditions. The simulation nevertheless identified several opportunities to improve storage organisation and operational efficiency.
