OPTIMISATION OF METAL CHARGE MATERIAL FOR ELECTRIC ARC FURNACE

The analysis of the changes in the crude steel production volumes implies gradual increase of production since the mid 20(th) century. This tendency has been slightly hampered by the economic depression. At the same time, the market requirements enforce improvement of the quality of the products manufactured on simultaneous minimisation of the production costs. One of the tools applied to solve these problems is mathematical optimisation. The author of this paper has presented an example of application of the multi-criteria optimisation method to improvement of efficiency of steel smelting in an electric arc furnace (EAF) through appropriate choice of the charge scrap. A measurable effect of applying such a methodology of choosing the metal charge is the ability to reduce the unit cost of steel smelting.