The Present Issues of Control Automation for Levitation Metal Melting

This article is a review of current scientific problems in the field of automation of the electromagnetic levitation melting process control of non-ferrous metals and potential solutions using modern digital technologies. The article describes the technological process of electromagnetic levitation melting as a method of obtaining ultrapure metals and the main problems of the automation of this process taking into account domestic and international experience. Promising approaches to control the position of the melt in the inductor in real time on the basis of vision systems are considered. The main problems and factors preventing the mass introduction of levitation melting in the electromagnetic field to the industry are highlighted. The problem of passing the Curie point by the heated billet and the effect of the billet’s loss of magnetism on the vibrational circuit of the installation and the temperature of the inductor are also considered. The article also reflects key areas of research development in the field of levitation melting, including: optimization of energy costs, stabilization of the position of the melt in the inductor, predictive process control, and scaling of levitation melting units. The concept of a digital twin based on a numerical model as a component of an automatic process control system for the implementation of inductor control and prediction of process parameters of the melt is presented. The possibility of using vision for visual control of the melt position in the inductor based on video images for its further stabilization in the inductor and increasing the accuracy of numerical simulation results by specifying the real geometry of the melt in parallel with the calculation of the model itself is considered.