VARMAX-modelling of blast furnace process variables

In this study we present some preliminary evidence on Vector Autoregressive Moving Average (VARMAX) modelling of the hot metal silicon content and temperature of pig iron using key process data from a blast furnace. In many empirical estimation problems, a priori knowledge of the dynamic structure of the observed processes is lacking. In the blast furnace case, the dynamics of pig iron production is roughly known, thus alleviating the search for a proper lag structure. In the paper we present fairly adequate VARMAX-models for the silicon content and temperature. The approach of the present paper thus should provide a useful framework for practical modelling and control of the production process.