A Hybrid Cluster Variational Autoencoder Model for Monitoring the Multimode Blast Furnace System

Abstract

Efficient monitoring of the blast furnace system is crucial for maintaining high production efficiency and ensuring product quality. This article introduces a hybrid cluster variational autoencoder model for monitoring the blast furnace ironmaking process which exhibits multimode behaviors. In contrast to traditional approaches, this method utilizes neural networks to learn data features and effectively handles the diverse feature types observed in different production modes. Through the utilization of a clustering process within the hidden layer of the variational autoencoder, the proposed technique facilitates efficient fault detection in the context of multimodal blast furnace data. Based on the variational autoencoder model, this study further establishes a unified monitoring index and defines a method for computing the control limits. The application of the model to real blast furnace data reveals its proficiency in accurately identifying faults across diverse modes; compared with the probabilistic principal component analysis based on the local nearest neighbor standardization method and the recursive probabilistic principal component analysis, the model shows a reduction in false positives by up to 10.3% and a substantial reduction of 19.2% in the missed detection rate. This method achieves a remarkable false detection rate of only 0.2% and 0 instances of missed detection.