An integrated planning approach based on harmony search algorithm and prediction model for steelmaking-continuous casting-hot rolling process

Aiming at making an integrated production plan for steelmaking-continuous casting-hot rolling (SM-CC-HR) process in the iron and steel industry, a novel integrated planning framework based on the harmony search algorithm and the prediction model is proposed. In our approach, we use a crude prediction model to evaluate the performance of a hot-rolling planning (HRP) problem in the process of optimizing the steelmaking-continuous casting planning (SCP) problem, and use a knowledge-based simulation model to obtain a solution of the HRP problem. An Objective-Directed Strategy (ODS) is introduced into the local search process of the harmony search algorithm for balancing the exploitation and exploration of the solution space. Numerical computation experiments on practical production data from an iron and steel enterprise show that more than 10% higher effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach are obtained compared with the normal practices followed in the company relying on human expertise.