PPLIED TECH OLOGY _ _ _ _ __
Development Trends
in EAF Steelmaking
- - - - - - - -_ _ _ Jai Pearce
-------
Since 1960, construction and techno-
logical improvements have enabled
shorter tap-to-tap times in electric arc
furnace operation. The conversion cost
in arc furnace melting is primarily in-
fluenced by power consumption, elec-
trodes and refractories. Increases in in-
stalled power capacity accelerate the
melt down stage. Water-cooled sidewall
and roof elements, auxiliary burners
and metallurgical modifications ensure
higher power concentration throughout
melting. Design modifications that per-
mit slag free tapping and precise tem-
perature control in furnace, ladle and
caster facilitate the use of ladle
metallurgy. The shorter tap-to-tap times,
with a ladle station serving as a proc-
ess buffer, permit a single electric arc
furnace installation to reliably supply a
modern continuous caster operation. The
single furnace concept is a proven
means of steel mill retrofit and capacity
rationalization for more efficient opera-
tion with decreased operating cost.
'pnO'ol
'"
so
1965 1970 1975 19S0 ·S5
Figure 1a. Productivity figures for Krupp steel
production during the capacity rationalization.
1974 is the base year.
38
INTRODUCTION
The development trends in electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking over
the last ten years are dramatic and significant. Showing a rapid growth in
relation to world crude steel production, these developments have led to
state-of-the-art changes in EAF equipment and operations, permitting
restructuring and rationalization of existing steel production facilities for
economically producing steel with single primary production sources. A key
example of such capability can be seen in the Krupp Stahl AG in West
Germany.
Raw steel production at Krupp Stahl AG (three steel plants at
Rheinhausen, Bochum, and Siegen-Geisweid) was rationalized by reducing
the 27 production units existing in 1974 to 5 production units in 1984
(Figure 1). The major impact of incorporating EAF developments is the
reliability of basing the total steel production at Bochum and Siegen-
Geisweid on single electric arc furnaces, each producing over 60,000 tons of
raw steel per month. Current material flow of the three steel plants
emphasizes the success of establishing cost-efficient steelmaking, ladle
metallurgy, and continuous casting while using interplant transfer of semi-
finished product to optimize rolling and finishing equipment utilization.
The primary means of increasing productivity in EAF steelmaking is by
reducing tap-to-tap times. This was achieved by:
• Enlarging transformers to maintain production levels with fewer furnaces
• Using water-cooled furnace elements and long-arc foamy operations
• Applying process control and regulating systems to optimize, electrode
breakage and furnace operatiFlg guidance
• Shifting the reducing and refining metallurgy to secondary refining units
REDUCING TAP TO TAP TIMES
During the past 20 years, tap-to-tap times were reduced from three
hours to less than one-and-a-half hours. At Siegen-Geisweid, tap-to-tap
times are averaging 70 minutes on a single, 110-metric~ton UHP furnace
Rhemhausen
1966
Bochum
capacity 4 9
Rhemhausen
Bochum
1974
Rhelnhausen
1984 Bochum
Siege" - Gelsweld & 0
~P<! I
Figure 1 b. Rationalization of Krupp steelmaking capacity. Both the Bochum plant and
the Siegen-Geisweid plant production needs are serviced by single EAF installations.
(The Siegen-Geisweid plant also has a small arc furnace that operates in conjunction
with a developmental horizontal caster.)
JOURNAL, OF METALS· March, 1986
with a 75 MV A transformer producing 20-22 heats per day (Figure 2). Ipecitic IPPlrent trlnsformer rating in kVA I t of charge materials
_ _ _ 350 500 600 700 > 700
In 1960, refining with gaseous oxygen, developed for producing stainless lime. min. 3.0
t.ppi.g
and heat-resistant steels, led to tap-to-tap times of three hours. In 1964 5
iO-I-furnlee lDO-l-furnace
and 1965, growing acceptance of Schwabe's concept of UHP melting, with refining 4502 $uppl,
lower power factors and high currents, enabled the input of high power --------12.5
-water-cooled wall
with short electric arcs. In this way, refractory lining costs for furnaces and roof panels
with high power input could be maintained within reasonable limits and -.dditionalburners
the tap-to-tap times reduced to an average of less than two-and-a-half 1-~~-----''''''-5-processcontrol
automation of alloy
2.0
hours. andfluxaddilion
28
From 1970 on, further advances were made thanks to the development of
ladle metallurgy, the installation of water-cooled furnace wall and roofs, 5 scrap
preheating
and the growth of computerization. Thus, tap-to-tap times have been brought mell-dawn
16 5
into the current range of 60-80 minutes. Scrap preheating and continuous 13
charging of preheated material may soon affect further reductions in time.

EAF IMPROVEMENTS
"ttli."hor,i"
Figure 3 features a comparison of older electric arc furnaces with mod- rllelrode
nch'''DB
ern units. Until 1970, electric arc furnaces were connected to primary 1960 1965
voltage systems of up to 35 kV. Currently, low-loss direct connection to
100 or 220 kV grids is common as high-capacity transformers are installed Figure 2. Development of tap-to-tap times.
with intermediate circuits. In addition, the transformers are equipped with
a 5-leg core which permits single-phase voltage adjustment to allow ther-
mal melt-down symmetry. Microprocessors enable a variance of impedance
during each phase. Thus, different electric arc characteristics can be auto-
matically adjusted during each individual phase. The secondary voltage
must be sufficiently high to use the uppermost secondary voltage taps for
maintaining constant rated voltages in the event of primary voltage drops.
Transformers and heavy-current conductors of low-resistance design enable
low-loss energy transport.
After successful testing, the first water-cooled wall panels (originally
developed in Japan) were commercially employed in West Germany during furnace deSign
early 1975. These water-cooled walls replaced the refractory furnace lining
in the area above the slag line. Installation of these sidewall panels was
followed by water-cooled roofs. These innovations increased the useful fur- 1970
nace volume and often permitted charging to meet a specified tap weight with a
two bucket charge, even when processing light-weight scrap. With improve-
ments in metallurgy, together with slag control and foamy slag operations,
the life of the remaining refractory wall section in standard scrap-melting
furnaces have been raised to approximately 1000 heats.
Tangentially oriented oxy-fuel burners improve the uniformity of melt-
down characteristics. The rotational movement of the furnace's atmosphere
intensifies the heat transfer and melts scrap remnants in the cold spots
during melting-down.
Based on theoretical electric arc models and measurement of inherent stirrer
mechanical inertia, optimization of the forces transmitted by the arc to the 100% refractory lining
heat is possible. High-power furnaces make use of these forces to obtain
the necessary liquid bath circulation. In older, lower capacity furnaces,
electromagnetic stirrers were used to facilitate removal of FeO bearing 1980
slags.
By studying the charging technique used in processing sponge iron, it
was learned that continuous addition of materials through the furnace roof
ensures a much more substantial time savings over all other flux adding oil I gas
methods. The technique thus prevents radiation heat losses and allows not
only sponge iron, but all necessary alloys and slag-forming agents to be +O~
quickly and directly charged into the furnace or elsewhere by mechanized
means. In addition, sampling and temperature measurements are automat-
ed with carriage-mounted probes, and oxygen lances are introduced by
automatic systems.

COMPUTERIZATION - water-cooled wall and roof panels

- use of burners
Process control computers are critically important in shortening tap-to-tap - oxygen lances
times. A few years ago, computers were almost exclusively used for energy - automatic probes for sampling
distribution control; today, they are employed to optimize charging materi- and temperature measurement
als and alloys. Their main advantage is a narrowing of analysis ranges to - automatic addition of sponge iron,
fluxes and alloys
save alloying agents.
- slag-free tapping
The computer's most important contribution, however, is the control of - operation with hot heel
melting processes. By combining a metallurgical and a thermal model, the
computer independently controls processing from initial power input to
tapping. While manual override is possible, ultra-rapid processing cannot Figure 3. Comparison of furnace designs
be safely achieved without computerization (Figure 4). (1970 and 1980).

JOURNAL OF METALS· March, 1986 39