Optimizing Continuous Caster Product Dimensions: An Example of a Nonlinear Design Problem in the Steel Industry

A continuous casting machine is used in the steel industry to transform liquid steel into semifinished pieces of steel which are further processed through rolling mills to their final dimensions. When the product of the continuous casting process is a rectangular piece of steel it is referred to as a bloom, a billet, or a slab depending on size and aspect ratio (width/thickness). The problem of determining the optimal cross-sectional dimensions is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem and solved using the software package EUREKA.