Patent Document ID: 20040172153
Application ID: 10718636
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for monitoring the operation of a continuous caster in a start-up casting mode in which molten metal is shaped in a continuous caster to form a solidifying strand product before the continuous caster reaches a predetermined minimum caster speed, the method including the following steps: retrieving historical data consisting of multiple historical observations of process variables for a plurality of continuous caster start-up operations, the number of historical observations varying from one continuous caster start-up operation to another; selecting a modelling set from said historical data to represent normal start-up operations of a continuous caster; creating a synchronized data set of process trajectories from said modelling set in which the number of historical observations from each continuous caster start-up operation is scaled to correspond to a selected length of strand product; performing a multi-way principal component analysis (MPCA) on said synchronized data set to calculate the value of principal components T and a loading matrix P for each continuous caster start-up operation to develop a multivariate statistical model of normal continuous caster start-up operations; computing test statistics selected from the group consisting of Squared Prediction Error (SPE) and “Hotelling T” (HT) for each observation from said multivariate statistical model; selecting control limits for said SPE and HT test statistics and their contributions; acquiring on-line data consisting of multiple observations of said process variables observed at an elapsed time t during a start-up operation of a continuous caster; predicting future process trajectories for said on-line data for a start-up operation of the continuous caster producing said selected length of strand product; applying said multivariate statistical model to a matrix X new of said future process trajectories to compute test statistics selected from the group consisting of Squared Prediction Error (SPE) and “Hotelling T” (HT); comparing said test statistics computed from the matrix X new to the said control limits; and generating a detection signal, said detection signal being indicative of whether the continuous caster start-up operation is consistent with normal start-up operations in a continuous caster.