CIVS hosted Morton High School Juniors and Sophomores on May 18. The demonstration included simulation and visualization applications as well as hands-on VR experiences. The students were accompanied by their teacher, Shermaine Brown-Wade, who participated in CIVS’s NSF Research Experience for Teachers program last summer.

During the RET program, Shermaine researched at CIVS for 6-weeks to develop a VR chemical safety application. The application aims to teach industry-standard safety practices in steel mills. The class field trip was part of the RET project’s goals. The program requires teachers to share their research experiences with their students and introduce them to STEM-related careers and opportunities.

This summer, CIVS will conduct the RET program for the third year in a row supported by the National Science Foundation. The session will include 20 new and returning teachers from all over Northwest Indiana who completed a rigorous application process.

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CIVS Researchers and collaborators delivered various technical papers and participated in a panel session at AISTech 2023 in Detroit, MI, from May 8 to May 11, 2023. AISTech 2023 featured technologies from all over the world that help steel producers to compete more effectively in today’s global market.

The following is the list of the presentations from CIVS research teams and their presenters:

“Point Clouds and Interactive 3D Models for Safety Training Realism,” presented by John Moreland, Senior Research Scientist
“A CFD Study of Alloy Dissolution and Homogenization in Ladle Metallurgy Furnace,” presented by Xipeng Guo, Ph.D. Research Assistant
“A CFD study of the Melting Process of HBI/DRI Scrap in an AC Electric Arc Furnace,” presented by Orlando Ugarte, Post-Doctoral Researcher
“Investigation of Argon Bubble Injection in Continuous Casting,” presented by Mingqian Wang, Research Assistant
“Digital Twin Software for a Continuous Caster,” presented by Kyle Toth, Senior Research Engineer
“Decarbonization and Increased Productivity in the Reheating Furnace using Hydrogen Fuel,” presented by: Armin Silaen, Research Associate Professor
“Investigating the use of Shaft-Level Tuyere Injection with Computational Fluid Dynamics,” presented by: Samuel E. Nielson, Ph.D. Research Assistant
Panel Discussion: “Opportunities for Carbon Free Improvements in Reheating Using Induction and Hydrogen,” panelist: Chenn Zhou, CIVS Director and NIPSCO Distinguished Professor of Engineering Simulation.

CIVS research assistants also participated in various competitions, including the Graduate Student Poster Contest, the Undergraduate Oral Presentation Contest, the AIST Foundation video contest, and the AISTech Attendance Challenge.

AISTech is North America’s largest annual iron and steel technology conference and exposition. Over 8000 professionals attended to learn about the latest products, processes, research, technology advancements, and digitalization transformation.

The Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) is a non-profit organization with over 18,500 members from over 70 countries. AIST represents a large network of steel industry professionals with tremendous knowledge and expertise.

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Congratulations to the CIVS research assistants who won 6 awards: all three awards in the Graduate Student Poster Contest, one award in the Undergraduate Student Project Presentation Contest, an AIST Foundation Video Contest award, and Material Advantage Student Chapter winner for the AISTech Attendance Challenge. These awards were presented at AISTech 2023 in Detriot, Michigan, on May 8-11, 2023.

The following are the award details:

Graduate Student Poster Contest 1st place winner: Anurag Karambelkar, “Decarbonization and Increased Productivity in a Hydrogen Fueled Reheating Furnace.”
Graduate Student Poster Contest 2nd place winner: Aleeha Zafar, “Enhancing Digital Twin Software of a Continuous Caster.”
Graduate Student Poster Contest 3rd place winner: Sam Nielson, “Impacts of Midshaft Reducing Gas Injection in the Ironmaking Blast Furnace.”
Undergraduate Student Project Presentation Contest 3rd place winners: Shiyu Wang and Qingyun Pu, “Development of Data Access and Visualization Modules for a Continuous Casting Digital Twin.”
AIST Foundation Real Steel Video Contest Prize Winner: Cristina Cabascango, “The Sustainable Steel Industry of Today and Tomorrow”
AISTech Attendance Challenge winner: PNW Materials Advantage Chapter

The AIST Foundation sponsors these contests, which are open to students from both domestic and international universities. The research topics relate to the iron and steel industry, properties, or applications.  Contents were judged on overall knowledge of the project topic, thoroughness of the content, and presentation skills.

For the Graduate Poster contest, authors must be full-time students pursuing a graduate degree and must be registered to attend AISTech.  Applications were reviewed for the undergraduate oral contest, and eight students were selected to present their projects at AISTech 2023. Students were assigned 15-minute sessions to present their research and conclusions. Participants were judged on their overall knowledge of the project topic, thoroughness of the content, and presentation skills. (https://www.aist.org/students-faculty/contests)

AISTech provides a platform for these amazing future leaders to showcase their research and connect with industry collaborators. AISTech is North America’s largest annual iron and steel technology conference and exposition. It provides a global perspective on today’s marketplace by featuring technologies worldwide that help steelmakers compete more effectively.  Over 7,000 people attended this year.

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Mr. Wendell Carter, Executive Vice President of Technology at Cleveland-Cliffs delivered a very insightful keynote speech at the SMSVC Annual Meeting dinner at PNW. His speech, entitled “A Discussion on Cleveland-Cliffs Steelmaking, CO2 Capture, & Electrification,” covered many vital points, including a decarbonization roadmap to reduce emissions, significant technologies such as Carbon capture, hydrogen production, and utilization, electrification, renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, as well as technological tools available at DOE and the industry. His presentation inspired many crucial questions and discussions from industry leaders in attendance.

“The vision for the future of steelmaking that Mr. Carter lays out shows how innovation and change are still necessary. Green energy sources, cost-effective hydrogen implementation, and emission capture are all areas that can be continuously improved to help make American steelmaking the cleanest in the world.” -Adam Duesing, CIVS Senior Design student

Mr. Carter has executive management oversight for engineering, quality, capital management, and production planning functions of Cleveland-Cliffs’ steelmaking operations. He is one of the longest supporters of CIVS. He began his speech by recognizing CIVS’s track record in integrating digital technologies to solve real-world problems in partnership with the industry. He thanked CIVS director, staff, students, and SMSVC members for their diligence. He also thanked SMSVC member companies for their dedication to this wonderful partnership. He advocated that there are no shortcuts to success and decarbonization in Steel should be easy if we are all committed to innovation and practical solutions through multiple routes.

Wendell supported CIVS Director Dr. Zhou’s first project in the steel industry: to develop a blast furnace CFD model to predict and extend the furnace campaign life. This project established a solid foundation and a great pathway to founding the Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS) at PNW in 2009 and the nationwide, industry-driven Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium (SMSVC) in 2016. Cleveland-Cliffs is a charter member of the SMSVC, which receives invaluable support from 15 member companies.

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Five recent PNW Engineering Alumni were among the over 60 industry representatives at the SMSVC Semi-Annual meeting on April 12-13, 2023. Four of them have conducted SMSVC projects as research assistants at CIVS. During the two-day event, they actively provided comments and suggestions for SMSVC projects from industrial perspectives. They are:

Bethany Worl: Process Control Engineer, Cleveland- Cliffs
Bin Wu: R&D Partnership Manager, NiSource
Haibo Ma: Research Engineer, SSAB Americas
Kevin Kondrat: Improvement Facilitator, Gerdau
Yanan Song: Research Engineer, ArcelorMittal

The alumni were recognized at the beginning of the SMSVC Semi-Annual meeting and during the keynote dinner. They were also invited to share their industry experiences with CIVS students. CIVS and SMSVC member companies remain dedicated to facilitating the professional growth of a future generation of engineers.

 

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Thank you to over 60 SMSVC industry attendees for a very productive Semi-Annual Meeting on April 12th & 13th at CIVS. The meeting was opened with the CIVS & SMSVC overview by Dr. Chenn Zhou, followed by seven SMSVC project technical presentations by CIVS research students and staff. After each presentation, were comments by project technical committee industry members as well as engaging Q&A sessions.

Mr. Wendell Carter, Executive Vice President of Technology at Cleveland-Cliffs gave a very insightful dinner keynote address entitled “A Discussion on Cleveland-Cliffs Steelmaking, CO2 Capture, & Electrification.” CIVS research students had the opportunity to display their presentations from Days of Discovery during the social portion prior to the dinner. SMSVC members were able to vote on their favorite presentations which resulted in a three way tie for first place. The two-day event ended with the Implementation of Smart Manufacturing Forum.

In the Implementation of Smart Manufacturing Forum, Dr. Zhou reviewed funding opportunities and related CIVS & SMSVC activities and projects. These projects include the Integrated Virtual Blast Furnace, Virtual Die Casting, Smart Ladle, and Digital Twin. The impacts of Smart Manufacturing utilization will allow the steel industry to fulfill their responsibility of transforming raw materials in the safest and cleanest way possible.

The forum was an opportunity for industry members to discuss the significance, needs, challenges, and current practices, as well as short, mid, and long-term targets for the implementation of smart manufacturing. SMSVC’s collaborative efforts toward the implementation of smart manufacturing will continue to further make impacts on the sustainability and competitiveness of steel industry by addressing critical issues in process optimization, energy efficiency, decarbonization, digitalization, productivity, reliability, quality, safety, and workforce development.

This annual event facilitates the advancement and implementation of models and simulators for SMSVC projects. The thorough review and discussions on the SMSVC projects, such as safety, electrical arc furnace, blast furnace, reheat furnace, ladle, and continuous casting areas, ensure continued project success and future directions to address the industry’s needs.

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Tiffany White, mathematics and engineering teacher at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, presented in the Innovation Poster Session at the 2023 ASCE Civil and Environmental Engineering Education Summit at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. Tiffany’s presentation, “Using 3D Modeling and Simulation to Virtually Test Material Performance under Specified Conditions”, was created as part of the 2022 PNW NSF RET six-week summer research session at CIVS.

 

Tiffany is also the Head Chess Coach, Assistant Scholastic Bowl Coach, Assistant Mathletes Coach, LEED Accredited Professional, and a certified Green Classroom Professional. Her impressive experience and passion for innovation and STEM education earned her a returning spot as one of the 20 applicants accepted for the 2023 RET summer session, which will take place June 12 through July 21, 2023, at CIVS. The hybrid learning experience includes group sessions and independent work. Participants write a research report and develop a lesson plan to transfer their research experiences into their classrooms at the end of the summer program.

The 2023 ASCE Civil and Environmental Engineering Education Summit shares adoption-ready transformations created by the National Science Foundation Revolutionizing Engineering Departments program, tools, and training designed to equip teams with the skills necessary to accomplish their academic change goals, access to industry partners who can help create change, a robust network of change partners, and opportunities to define future academic change for our profession and our global society.

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To enhance research partnerships, six managers and engineers from Dwyer Instruments visited PNW on April 4th. The visit was led by Matt Dougherty, Vice President of Engineering and organized by Natalie Conner, Executive Director of Employer Relations & Development Operations. Their comprehensive visit at CIVS included discussions about existing collaborated projects and potential collaborations.

CIVS Director and staff also showcased CIVS & SMSVC projects and technologies. The highlights included the CIVS’ journey in Smart Manufacturing since 1995 and the integration of state-of-art digital technologies with industrial applications. Visitors also had the opportunity to experience various VR simulators such as the Fire Extinguisher Training Simulator and Excavation Safety as well as a 360-degree virtual plant tour.

CIVS researchers have collaborated with Dwyer on several projects since 2018. One example features problem solving capabilities for a new Insertion Flow Transmitter by using computational fluid dynamics simulation. This led to identifying the underlying cause of the problem as well as possible solutions. The suggested solutions were implemented and reduced the calibration time by 50 percent as a result (see more at https://www.pnw.edu/purdue-university-northwests-civs-surpasses-expectations-for-local-manufacturer/)

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Over 20 CIVS research students presented their work during the 2023 PNW Days of Discovery on April 5th, 2023 in Alumni Hall, with 20 poster presentations and 2 oral presentations. Research topics include digital twin, machine learning, decarbonization, continuous casting, hazard recognition, and training simulators, etc.

CIVS Graduate Research Assistants highlighted their research during the oral presentation portion:

John Rosser presented “Development of a Material Flow Model for Pellet Feed Systems “
Cristina Cabascango presented “Development of a Coral Reef Restoration Training Simulator”

The event consists of distinguished internal and external speakers and poster presentations and is a chance to highlight exploring over 170 research, scholarship and creative activities of faculty and students. The event takes places over two days and incorporates both Hammond and Westville campuses.

For a full list of presentations please click here: https://www.pnw.edu/research/days-of-discovery/list-of-presentations/ 

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CIVS researchers gave three technical research presentations at TMS 2023 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA on March 19–23, 2023. These presentations related to modeling of carbon emissions reduction in the blast furnace, reactions in a secondary lead reverberatory furnace, and development efforts for die-casting training simulators.

 

 

Tyamo Okosun Ph.D., Research Associate Professor presented “Investigation of High-H2 Reducing Gas Delivery through Shaft Level Tuyeres with Computational Fluid Dynamics”
Nicholas Walla, Senior Research Engineer presented “Modeling of Macro-Scale Reaction Effects in a Secondary Lead Reverberatory Furnace” as well as “Virtual Reality for Die Casting Industry Workforce Preparation.”

During the event, CIVS researchers engaged with industry and academic experts in the field, and discussed ongoing efforts for modeling projects with industrial sponsors.

The TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition brings together more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, business leaders, and other professionals in the minerals, metals, and materials fields for a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary exchange of technical knowledge. TMS is hosted by The Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society.

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