Mapping Energy Usage in Casting Process for Cylinder Head Production : Using System Dynamic Modeling and Simulation

Sammanfattning: Daily life of our societies is strongly linked with the usage of natural resources. However, the vital resources of our planet especially energy is a limited resource. The energy consumption in the manufacturing industry is increasing and becoming noticeable; moreover it is being consumed in ways that can’t be sustained. There is great concern about minimizing the consumption of energy usage in the manufacturing industry and sustaining the natural carrying capacity of the ecosystem as well. This is one of the important challenges in today’s industrial world. This research work looks into one of the energy intensive manufacturing processes i.e. the casting process in automotive industry. Here the casting process for cylinder head manufacturing at one of the manufacturing plant in Europe is studied for identifying the most energy intensive steps namely melting, holding and pouring. Parameters that influence these steps and the relationships for energy consumption and dissipation have also been identified through extensive literature survey. By applying system dynamics modeling and simulation approach the interaction between each parameter in the overall process is analyzed in regard to energy consumption. By varying values of the parameters that have the highest impact in the process, the breakthrough opportunities that might dramatically reduce energy consumption during melting and holding have been explored, and potentially energy-saving areas based on the findings have also been identified. The output from this research work enables the company to identify potential avenues to optimize energy usage in the production and hence sustain its manufacturing.