Grant funding awarded to bring AI to the steel sector
Innovate UK has awarded a Midlands-based start-up £619,000 in funding to bring structural physics AI to steel.
The Midlands start-up, MatAlytics, was awarded this funding having shown a highly scaleable, proof-of-concept AI technology that it claims will make the steel sector more efficient.
This builds on the previous funding award of £100,000 from Innovate UK.
The Midlands start-up claims the physics AI embedded in CITRUS will enable steel and metal manufacturers to predict the thermomechanical behaviour and microstructure of both steel slabs and components faster and more accurately, replacing dated simulation methods.
They state it will enable the industry to reduce operating costs, carbon emissions and improve the production, quality and consistency of products to support the government’s steel strategy announced in March.
The model is said to rapidly predict thermomechanical behaviour, microstructure evolution, and final mechanical properties with high precision.
Previously running these simulations demanded complex, resource-heavy simulations on high-performance computing systems, often taking hours or days. MatAlytics says the CITRUS platform delivers results in seconds.
They claim this gives steel manufacturers real-time, actionable insights that delivers a range of benefits. Substantial reductions in natural gas consumption and energy costs can be achieved by optimising reheating cycles.
For this steel proof of concept, MatAlytics’ CITRUS software and technology provides the foundational model that understands how various thermomechanical stresses are taking place within steel manufacturing plants and facilities.
The start-up claims these simulations, known for their precision, predict a wide range of parameters such as internal stresses, damages, temperatures, and more, based on component-specific material properties and load cases.
MatAlytics emerged from a PhD research programme at the University of Nottingham, UK, in 2010 and proposed an AI proof of concept within the steel manufacturing sector based on deploying its CITRUS software.
The wider applications of the company’s technology include power generation, aerospace and asset-intensive industries.
