A method and a system for determining a mass of feedstock discharged by a conveyor during a first time interval t are disclosed. The method includes taking successive digital images of the feedstock in a specific zone of the conveyor being separated by a second time interval t of smaller duration than the first time interval t, for each of the second time intervals t: computing the advancing distance of a sub-volume of feedstock during the second time interval t in the specific zone of the conveyor by numerical treatment of the two successive images associated with the second time interval t; determining at least one transversal height profile of the sub-volume of feedstock; and determining an effective feedstock density for the sub-volume of feedstock. The method further includes computing the mass of feedstock discharged by the conveyor during the first time interval t into the metallurgical furnace on the basis of the advancing distance, the at least one transversal height profile and the effective feedstock density, computed or determined for each of the second time intervals t.

A system for generating a user-adjustable furnace profile, comprises a user interface configured to receive one or more materials properties from a user, a processor, and a memory with computer code instructions stored thereon. The memory is operatively coupled to the processor such that, when executed by the processor, the computer code instructions cause the system to implement communicating with a furnace to ascertain one or more thermal processes associated with the furnace, identifying one or more object characteristics associated with an object to be processed by furnace, and determining a thermal processing parameter profile of at least one thermal processing parameter corresponding to each of the thermal processes, based on (i) the one or more part characteristics and (ii) the one or more materials properties, the thermal processing parameter profile characterizing a cycle of the one or more thermal processes.

Estimating the time of reaching steady-state uniform load temperature of a load in a heat treatment process in the absence of a load temperature sensor. In an embodiment, a system utilizes signals and parameters available on a temperature controller to estimate the period of time required for a load to reach a steady-state temperature in a heat treatment process. When the estimate of the temperature of the load reaches the steady-state condition, the system advances the heat treatment process from a load heating phase to another phase.

In the detection of a state where a belt-shaped body W is processed as conveyed through a furnace 10, a conveyance route R for conveying the belt-shaped body through the furnace is set and a processing condition for processing the belt-shaped body in the furnace as conveying the belt-shaped body along the conveyance route is set. A fluid analysis is performed on the assumption that a highly viscous fluid Wa having the same characteristic as that of the belt-shaped body flows along the conveyance route at the same speed as that of the belt-shaped body. The processing state of the belt-shaped body conveyed through the furnace is simulated.