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Electric Furnace 1971 - 043
Electric Furnace 1971 - 043
Fig. 2--Charging a furnace with an orange peel bucket. Fig. &Tapping a 200-ton furnace.
Arc Furnace Electrical Workshop 221
"bottle," as it is termed, is located in a porcelain en- flexible conductors. Inside the wall, the bus connections
closure and requires very little mechanical force for are made at various elevations so the secondary bus
operation. As a result, it has been most successfully bars may pass each other in closing the delta vector. The
applied to eIectric furnace applications. Its overall phys- bars are then rigidly emplaced in the transformer room
ical size makes it ideal for location adjacent to the wall and insulated to prevent current flow between the
furnace transformer in the transformer room vault phase sections. On medium and large furnaces the total
(Figure 8 ) . secondary system is arranged in a triangular form. The
Capacitors are sometimes used for power factor cor- reason for this "triangulation" as it is called is an effort
rection on electric arc furnace installations, particu- to balance the power input between each of the three
larly in large electric furnace operations where melt- phases by equidistant mechanical centers between the
down power factors are in the 70% range (Figure 9 ) . three phases. This provides a situation where each of
Utility power contracts imply that some power factor the electrodes will deliver the same amount of energy.
improvement is necessary in order to reduce the kvar Water-cooled or air-cooled cables are used as a
load on step-down transformers and transmission sys- method of carrying the current from the terminal head
tems. This sometimes appears as a "penalty" in the bill- connection point at the transformer room wall to the
ing contract. We have found that the use of capacitors terminal head at the furnace side (Figures 10 and 11).
requires consideration from the standpoint of over volt- Flexibility in this area is necessary to permit the fur-
ages and switching. The capacitors should be rated for nace to rock or tilt for slagging and emptying, and also
the highest system voltage excursion, and should take to provide flexibility in roof swing for vertical charging
into account harmonic penetration from furnace opera- of scrap.
tion. If possible, the capacitors should be located at a On the furnace, the water-cooled bus tubes, located
position in the system where it will not be necessary to above the electrode arms, are also arranged in a tri-
switch them frequently. This is particularly true on angular profile. With electrical triangulation resulting
large capacitor bank installations. from the mechanical arrangement of secondary flexible
The arc furnace electrical circuit toward tlhe furnace cables and bus tubes and the obvious 120" displace-
from the furnace transformer is designed to reduce ment of the electrodes, an effort should be made to keep
inductive effects in such high current applications. This the electrode arms at the same relative elevation. This
means transposing the winding ends of the furnace can be done by slipping the electrodes just prior to
transformer to minimize the inductance and also make meltdown, or during the early phase of meltdown, such
greater use of the copper or aluminum bus sections. that the arms do become essentially level, thereby en-
The delta closure at the furnace transformer, either hancing the possibility of getting good uniform electri-
made up by air-cooled or water-cooled bus connections cal energy distribution at the tips of the electrodes.
from the furnace transformer secondary terminals, goes On small arc furnaces, generally below 5,000 kva tri-
through the transformer room wall for connection to the angulation of the secondary conductors is not done since
--
Fig. &Vacuum interruptor rated 15 kv 600 amps.
Fig. l&Furnace equipped with air-cooled cables.
I
224 Electric Furnace Proceedings, 1971
If acid refractories are used in the furnace, it may be put was concerned. The kilowatts were there, the volt-
necessary to drill up through the bottom and drive a amp relationship was there, but the electrodes were
rod into the hearth in order to create a ground connec- certainly not melting. This extreme condition was cre-
tion. When sparking does occur with the metal fluid in ated by the high level of zinc in the furnace which pro-
the furnace, you can almost expect excessive electrode duced a super ionization situation between the electrodee
breakage during meltdown and extremely erratic fur- where all the input energy was being transmitted from
nace operation. It could also cause unusual refractories electrode to electrode rather than from electrode to
wear, simply because the electrode control system is scrap. In varying degrees this type of ionization prob-
not truly neutral at the bottom center of the furnace. lem occurs in all operating electric arc furnaces. A cer-
This is a point at the precise center of the delta vector tain amount of energy is bled from electrode to electrode
formed by the secondary circuit of the furnace trans- during operation. It increases as the arc length increases,
former. however, and if the arc length then becomes greater
Since small electric arc furnaces seem to operate bet- from electrode to metal than it is from electrode to elec-
ter at power factors generally higher than large fur- trode, the electrodes will retract possibly to full height
naces, regulation of small furnaces is more difficult. with no appreciable change in power input.
The very large furnaces seemingly require very little Most new furnace installations are equipped with
electrode control where the scrap is literally blasted smoke and fume collection apparatus which tend to
out from under the electrode. In order to sustain and ventilate the furnace and can reduce this problem.
follow and arc near its threshold of stability, as is the However, there still remains a problem with certain
case in the small electric furnaces, the control must be low melting point residual metals which can get into
extremely reliable. With a related longer arc on the the scrap and cause unusual power input consumption.
small furnaces, less latitude for control over-shoot oc- In fact the super ionization situation can very easily be
curs and the regulator, in order to control the relative detected if significant changes occur in the kilowatt-
longer arc, of necessity must be much more responsive. hour consumption per ton or heat. An analysis review
So much for the theoretical side. Now let us consider of the scrap in such a situation may reveal that unusual
the practical aspect of the electric arc furnace. I believe levels of low melting point residuals are the problem.
that the most important concern of a furnace user is to Scrap quality is fundamental in developing good elec-
have a good understanding of how and why the arc tric furnace performance. Ionization excess causes un-
performs. We have all looked in the furnace and we usual happenings in the electric furnace where low
have all seen the arc in operation at the tip of the elec- melting point residuals can really be a liability. Scrap
trodes. In order to comprehend exactly how the energy dealers are cognizant of the various qualities of scrap.
is transmitted from the electrode, let us again review Generally, the more costly scrap does produce fewer
some of the discussion items. First of all, arc tempera- difficulties and will provide the best operating econom-
ture. The arc temperature in an electric arc furnace ics.
never changes. The average arc temperature is a func- If, in the electric furnace, we were arcing from a
tion of the materials producing the arc. Reducing or graphite electrode to a graphite pad, the arc length
increasing the kilowatt input of the furnace does not in would be an absolute dimension. This arc gap at a spe-
any way affect the actual temperature of this arc. Short- cified power input would be maintained all the time.
ening the arc or lengthening the arc in no way affects However, since various types of scrap are used in the
this temperature. The transfer of energy at the foot of furnace, the arc length varies depending on that type
the electrodes is affected by making adjustments both of scrap and hence the thermal transfer varies accord-
to raise or lengthen, lower, or shorten the arc, which ingly. We have no control over the type of scrap that
will increase or decrease the actual kilowatt input to customers use and it is up to the customer then to do
the furnace. his homework in data collecting on the various types
Ignition intervals, during both the times of the elec- of scrap that he purchases for a given furnace opera-
trode acting as the cathode and the metal response, af- tion. It is often the case that saving a dollar or two per
fect the shape of the sine wave input and produce addi- ton on certain types of scrap develops costs of $10 to
tional variations on its shape which are called harmon- $15 per ton in the melt shop. Such an economic ap-
ics. Depending on the nature of operation, long arc or praisal can very easily point up the need to purchase
short arc, high or low power input, this characteristic better quality. This means a good communication liaison
could be modified to the point where the actual fre- between the purchasing agent and the melt shop and
quency produced in harmonics from-the arc could be the importance of not using arbitrary judgment in pur-
in the high kilocycle range. chasing raw material.
Ionization or conductive vapors which occur in the Visual as well as audible indications of refractories
electric arc zone, both during the positive and negative damaging arc lengths are part of the arc furnace scene.
period, produce a resistance path from th? electrode to A good melter can easily detect the cutting sound of
the metal. The gases in this zone are highly conductive arc flare. This can also be detected during the refining
and provide the ignition and re-ignition paths from the period by simply opening the door of the furnace. If
electrode to the metal. The result of looking at the arc sparks issue from the furnace, this means that the va-
gives the appearance of one continuous arc stream, elec- pors and gases from the tip of the electrode to the metal
trode to metal. This gaseous and plastic resistor can be are actuaIly impinging on the refractories surface and
influenced by a number of factors. There is a weather are causing refractories erosion. During the finishing
influence, for example. Many of you will find that your period, with the door opened, and assuming there are no
furnace will perform better in the summer than it does small chunks of graphite floating around to intercept an
in the winter. As humidity is generally higher in the electrode and produce a burst of flare energy, the fur-
summer months, this high humidity tends to cause the nace should be very quiet and have a smooth 60 cycle
electrode to operate slightly closer to the metal. The hum.
result is a better thermal distribution of energy from As the electric arc furnace, during meltdown, drills
the tip of the electrode to the metal. three holes through the scrap, the actual amount of
The actual arc length is a function of secondary vol- metal delivered to the hearth is a function of a number
tage, impedence, circuit design, and ionization density. of factors and the character of the scrap. Most signifi-
An example of extreme ionization density and perhaps cant is secondary voltage and residual scrap carbon
the best one that comes to mind, is a small electric fur- Properly designed, the voItage should be correct for the
nace operation in Northeastern Ohio. This customer furnace size and power rating. Carbon is a vehicle for
charged some zinc-coated scrap into their furnace. When thermal conductivity. As the carbon levels increase, the
they began to meltdown, the electrodes retracted to the throat size will increase. As the carbon levels decrease,
roof of furnace. The instrumentation on the operator's the throat size will cause a very narrow socket to be
panel indicated that everything was normal in the fur- drilled through the scrap and result in cave-ins high u p
nace. The fact is that it was normal as far as power in- on the electrode column with resulting breakage. This
226 Electric Furnace Proceedings, 1971
would imply that if the charge carbon is quite low, electric arc furnaces were in the 80 to 100 kva per square
higher voltage and longer arc would be necessary to foot of hearth cross section. These have been superceded
produce the desired result of delivering about 15% of and we are now using hearth loadings in the 200 kva per
charge into fluid metal to the hearth. With low carbon square foot range. Again, these higher powered fur-
and a small throat through the scrap, the insufficient naces require careful electrical design, and demand the
metal in the basin will be super-heated and cause use of the smallest possible electrode size with mini-
hearth refractories eruption. The hearth will spa11 or mum pitch diameter circles to contain the effect of arc
become quite soft. This may also cause scrap bridging flare. Consistent with arc control, is the low impedance
and adhesions. The charge carbon should be somewhere furnace circuit design which in effect offers operation of
around 0.3 to 0.8%. the furnace at lower voltages with corresponding higher
Chemical and metallurgical adjustment should be currents. Again higher currents call for larger diameter
made after the metal is fluid. If the aim is for unusually electrodes or electrodes that have lower resistivity fac-
low carbon such as the stainless steel heat, you simply tors. It almost goes without saying that as we progress
could not do a good job in melting down all stainless in the direction of increasing the power input to arc
since the lack of carbon would cause an unusually furnaces, more and more demands will be put on the
small meltdown throat and precipitate the problems electrode suppliers to develop electrodes that are of
outlined. extremely high purity so that smaller diameters can b%
In order to develop an electric arc and do a reasonably used with a given size furnace and power supply. Cor-
good job with scrap steel, the phase-to-phase voltage responding improvements in refractories will be neces-
should not be below 150 volts. As a result, on electric sary to provide longer useful operating campaigns to
arc furnace transformers below 7,500 kva, iron core re- dilute the furnace downtime.
actors are used and mounted inside the furnace trans- We often have inquiries relating to incipient sparking
former case. This means that varying amounts of re- or arcing around the furnace, furnace shell, or tap spout.
actance will be used in furnace transformers from say Obviously safety is no small factor in the melt shop and
1,000 kva having a 35% or a 350 kva reactor to 7,500 kva we recognize our responsibility relative to the safe op-
at 10% or a 750 kva reactor. The reactor does not cause eration of all electrical equipment, be it in the trans-
a voltage drop at no load and will give a full voltage former vault or around the furnace. Unfortunately the
impulse to pierce or puncture through rusted or coated electric arc furnace can tolerate only one ground with-
scrap at initial contact. As the load increases with cur- out substantially impeding its satisfactory operation as
rent flow the reactor produces a voltage reduction to a regards regulation. This ground should be located at
level consistent with the furnace transformer rating. the bottom center of the shell. No other grounds should
The total circuit reactance in a typical electric arc fur- be attached to the furnace. We have heard of cases
nace involves between 52 and 65% total. In furnaces where customers have experienced sparking and arcing
less than 10,000 kva, a great portion of this is made up around the roof ring, the tap spout, and charging door
in the iron core reactor. As a result, this component, and have grounded these areas. The grounds then
which is symmetric by winding design and flux linkage quickly melt off and the customer becomes more
within the transformer tank, does not contribute to an alarmed. The voltages that are apparent as a result of
unbalance operation. this sparking are generally below 20 volts. The threshold
On a typical 3,000 kva electric arc furnace trans- of sensitivity for personnel safety is approximately 40
former, the supplemental reactance or iron core reactor volts. Obviously, a man should not be on top of the fur-
in the transformer is 25%. This is 750 kva of reactance nace, in the proximity of the electrodes, the secondary
in series with the primary windings, and will provide a flexible conductors, the furnace transformer primary
25% voltage drop under full load conditions. conductors, or any other area where power voltages are
Above 10 mva, no supplemental reactor is used, and in involved during operation. However, it is not uncom-
fact efforts are made to reduce the reactance, especially mon to obtain spoon specimens from the furnace while
intraphase reactance. This is the reason for triangulation the electrodes are arcing. Nor is it uncommon to make a
of the secondary conductors. At these power levels the temperature test while the electrodes are in operation
secondary flexible conductors represent about 40% of in the furnace. Certainly, the furnace operator should
the total circuit reactance with the bus tubes involving avoid bringing his sampling spoon or his temperature
perhaps 30%, the electrodes 20%, and the remainder in measuring probe into contact with an electrode during
the delta enclosure and primary supply. On these larger this time. The biggest hazard in an arc furnace as re-
furnaces, flux linkage is an extremely important factor lated to the secondary voltage side is burns. Since an
in obtaining good furnace balance. The conductor spac- arc furnace is like a welding operation, severe burns
ing should form an equilateral triangle. The triangle can occur if metallic objects are brought in contact with
ideally should be sustained a t all times during operation. an electrode, with a secondary bus tube, terminal head,
Obviously, its not possible to have the arms of the fur- or a connection to an air-cooled secondary flexible con-
nace level throughout meltdown since the scrap is ran- ductor during the time the circuit breaker is closed. Not
domly distributed in the furnace, and one electrode con- only surface burns, but also severe eye arc burns have
ceivably could be melting through a light scrap section occurred from watching the electric arc.
while another electrode is working on very heavy dense In an effort to minimize the amount of secondary bus
scrap. This will always shake out to be offsetting with copper used in the furnace transformer through the wall
uniform scrap distribution and will result in uniform re- to the terminal connection flexible conductors, low vol-
fractories wear in the three sectors in the furnace. tage current transformers are installed within the fur-
r h e electrodes in an electric arc furnace should al- nace transformer proper. These current transformers
ways be truly vertical and the face to face spacing of are located on one of a number of parallel low voltage
the electrodes should be such as to provide an equilat- bus sections. As a result of their electrical location in
eral triangle, or 120" displacement between the elec- the parallel secondary groupings, some inaccuracy may
trodes. The objective in good electric arc furnace design occur on these low voltage CT's. This inaccuracy', of
is to use the smallest possible electrode size with a mini- course, is reflected in the secondary current measure-
mum electrode pitch diameter. This means the electrodes ment. This error, due to impedance coupling at the vari-
should be held as close together as possible within the ous transformer tappings is generally found to be uni-
mechanical clearance tolerances, such that the distance form between the phases and does provide reliable elec-
between the face of the electrode and the inside hot face trode regulation. Power measurements, kilowatts, kilo-
refractories is maximized. watthours and kilovars should be made in the primary
Furnace powering has steadily increased over the circuit as electrical noise as well as varying voltage in
years with better refractories and improved electrodes. the secondary precludes accuracy across the complete
Both of these expendables will obviously continue to tap range.
improve as time goes on and furnace powerings will Electric arc furnaces sometimes have inherent hot
continue to increase. Ten years ago the standards for spots akin to the electrical conductor arrangement. A
Arc Furnace Electrical Workshop 227
"T" as the contact device to provide good uniform heat tice is a service that the electrode manufacturers spon-
absorption and glazing not only in the hearth, but to the sor, and we strongly advocate customers taking advan-
sidewalls and the roof. tage of these programs which can significantly reduce
loss in electrode usage from breakage and also reduce
Computer Programming consumption.
A lot has been done relating to computer program-
ming of the electric arc furnace. A comwuter is nothine Refractory Repairs
more than a super clerk in this connection, save its us: This is another area where the suppliers can be of
as a demand limiting tool. Perhaps the most vital con- great service. In replacing furnace linings, a water-
cern in obtaining benefit from a computer would be to cooled dish or pan is generally located in the hearth of
categorize scrap. That is, develop a good analysis in- the furnace and the wall refractories torn down into this
ventory of the type scrap that is purchased and its op- dish and lifted out with the overhead crane. Roof repairs
erating characteristics in a furnace. From such data you can be expedited with a roof break out station where the
can easily determine, when cheaper scrap is purchased, brick arch can be broken, dropped through a floor open-
what it really means to the furnace operator. For ex- ing into a dump box below.
ample, nominal savings may occur in purchasing a On larger electric furnaces there are a number of
cheaper grade of scrap, but many hours will be spent in clever devices used for both patching and relining. I
the melt shop in order to meet specific chemistry as have seen a small track vehicle with attached boom hook
required in the final product. If total in-plant control which is crane lowered into the furnace and the hook
can also be used, heat time can be improved by divert- used to pull in all of the wall refractories onto the
ing certain heats to meet the order book requirements. water-cooled dish. This provides a very quick removal
For example, assuming both high carbon and low carbon of the sidewall refractories and the reline time is sig-
heats are required, the meltdown sample tests with high nificantly reduced. There are a number of refractory
carbon may indicate this heat be completed in a short service organizations which have such equipment for
time and meet the specifications of a current order re- furnace linings.
quiring high carbon. It could then quickly be diverted
precluding a lengthy oxygen blow to achieve a low Scrap Preheating
carbon chemistry which may meet the requirements of This is a subject of much discussion and controversy.
another customers' specifications. If a computer is con- We believe that the electric arc furnace efficiencies are
sidered, it should be used not as a rival to but an as- such that scrap preheating may prove to be a liability
sistant for the melter. If this conditioning of personnel when compared with the melting performance of a fur-
to the use of a super clerk is done beforehand, little if nace. In a small furnace shop a customer may advan-
any difficulty will occur during operation and the com- tageously overcome a temporary peak production period
puter can be made to be useful. We know cases where reauirine additional BTU into the scraw bv the use of
very expensive computers have been purchased and in- naiural gas or oil fired devices. ~ o w e v e i thk
, great bulk
stalled and have later been abandoned because the of energy during meltdown goes directly into the metal
equipment did not satisfy the melting personnel. with the arc furnace efficiency unusually high during
this time. During this same period if you consider scrap
Power Demand Control preheating, there would be the additional involvements
Power demand control is often used in electric furnace of effluent control, refractories lined charge vessels, as
shops with the electric arc furnace the target for demand well as the straight forward problems involved in han-
cut backs. Power shedding can easily be done during dling hot material from a preheat station to the furnace
meltdown on a furnace or furnaces, but it should be in a proper. If supplemental heating is used in an operating
fashion where the electrodes are simply raised to arc furnace, it should never be directed toward the arc zone
extinction. This can very easily be accomplished by thereby upsetting the arc environment.
interrupting the potential reference circuit so that fur-
nace switching is not necessary. The electrodes during a Charging
demand situation are then raised to arc extension and In charging the electric furnace, the charge bucket
remain there until the demand interval is cleared. At base should be at vessel bezel height. We have seen
this time the electrodes go back into operation provid- some very interesting methods of charging with clam
ing automatic control not necessitating the furnace op- shell buckets where the auxiliary hook or the hook con-
erator's supervision. Demand control implies holding a trolling bucket opening is held stationary while the main
uniform level of kilowatts based on production require- hook and bucket is lowered. Doing it this way, the
ments in a specific operation. Obviously, if frequent de- bucket tends to remain located more precisely centered
mand cut backs occur, they should be carefully weighed across the two axes of the furnace and provides a good
against the consequence of increasing the demand level bottom discharge of the scrap.
and the corresponding improvement in production. The Since most electric arc furnaces involve more than one
power cost, although the most significant, save scrap charge, the first charge should be melted only so far as
cost, in the total operation, can often be easily offset by required for accommodation of the second or consecu-
the added production as a result of increasing the de- tive charge. A good way of determining this time factor
mand just slightly. is to observe the roof when it is being swung between
In comparing off-peak power versus on-peak opera- bucket charges. The roof should be orange to yellow
tion in a number of economic evaluations covering this during this time. This means there is very little heat
subject, we found that it sometimes is a standoff and impinging on the roof and all of the energy has gone
generally favors on-peak operation. We are not advocat- into the scrap.
ing that everyone just simply ignore off-peak power
savings, but you should review on-peak versus off-peak Tapout
in light of available personnel, handling facilities, the The taphole of the arc furnace should be quite large
actual energy cost, and the equipment involvements in to accommodate a good fast metal drain flow from the
the final analysis. furnace and also to prevent temperature loss from cas-
cading metal. We have seen cases where the complete
Electrode Handling tapout involves two or three minutes.
Electrode handling should be carefully considered in
the operation. The threaded socket and nipple of the Furnace Performance
electrode section should be cleaned and the electrodes Each electric arc furnace is a bit different from the
carefully attached to prevent thread, socket and nipple other, and particularly when there is a broad range of
damage. The electrodes should be properly torque scrap material available. A furnace operator should be-
tightened to prevent separation and spalling whenever come familiar with the audible and visible indications of
the joint arrives at the arcing tip. Good electrode prac- good furnace performance. He should have a smattering
Arc Furnace Electrical Workshop 231
of how and why the arc works and what the indications significant and yields perhaps the best measure of just
on the operator's control panel a r e as regards instru- how the furnace is functioning.
mentation. Certainly kilowatt-kilovar input is the most
DISCUSSION
by Robert C. Maxton
Would you care to comment on the degree of electrode larly when melting in an acid operation. These higher
"penciling" that occurs in an acid-lined furnace, versus voltages would imply a longer arc dimensionally, at the
the basic-lined furnace? foot of each of the three electrodes. The longer arc at a
higher voltage means somewhat lower current for a
Author's R e p l y given furnace transformer size. It would follow then that
It has generally been the practice in electric arc fur- somewhat greater pencilling or tapering would occur
nace operation to use somewhat higher voltages particu- near the tip of the electrode than would be exhibited at
higher currents, ie., lower voltages, in a basic operation.
In steel production using either basic or acid practice,
about 50% of electrode wear is oxidation. The remain-
ROBERT C . M A X T O N is Technical Director, Minneapolis Electric ing 50% could be roughly considered sublimation and is
Steel Co., Minneapolis, Minn. more definitively analyzed in a paper given by Union
Carbide during these technical sessions.
DISCUSSION
by Paul E. Lacke
Question: You mentioned that the electrode position- resource is not available in an acid bottom furnace since
ing unit should be big enough to push the electrode to its this material tends to surface sinter developing a ce-
natural frequency of vibration. In practice, how do you ramic glaze which penetrates perhaps an inch or two
test for the natural frequency of vibration? from the hot face. The remaining refractory is highly
Author's Reply: Put a stylus on the electrode clamp. insulating and the ground straps are necessary. The
Let this stylus operate a potentiometer with the output placement, size and location of these straps is covered in
going to the brush recorder. the text.
Question: Do you know of anyone having trouble with The ground straps melt to the normal hearth grade
the hot metal burning through the bottom where the since the surrounding refractories wiil insulate them
ground rods come up through the refractory? We 'don't from liquid metal penetration. It was common practice
have ground straps in our furnaces and the operation is some years back to install ground straps at the tangent
satisfactory. junction of the shell basin to the vertical shell side plate.
Some 12 to 15 spires were used projecting toward the
Author's R e p l y hearth center. This was a carryover from earliest elec-
As I pointed out earlier, neutral or basic refractories tric furnace operation where acid refractory material
do, after initial preheating, effectively conduct to the was universally used. The present practice is to obtain
hearth basin and ground straps are not required. This from the ultimate customer, information regarding the
type of refractories to be installed and be guided ac-
cordingly. That is, in case of neutral or basic materials,
PAUL E. LACKE is affiliated with Laclede Steel Co., Alton, Ill. no ground rods are used and with acid-lined hearths,
-- ground rods are installed at the factory.
DISCUSSION
by R. S. Harrison
-
You state that arc temperature is constant and not a
R. 5. HARRISON is affiliated with Beaver Electrical Machinery Ltd.,
Burnaby, B.C., Canada.
function of current other things being equal. I find this
difficult to reconcile with my understanding of what
232 Electric Furnace Proceedings, 1971
happens. It would appear if this were true that arc to make clearly apparent that the electric arc, the melt-
diameter would be a function of arc power because arc ing vehicle in an electric arc furnace, creates a tempera-
energy must radiate from a proportional surface area. ture during both phases of ignition which is significantly
If the statement were true it would seem that much higher than the thermal resistance of a furnace refrac-
about arc behavior has been simplified. tories lining. It is not so imperative as to the precise
I would be interested in the theory or measurements temperature, save that the furnace operator and main-
made to arrive a t this conclusion. tenance technician recognizes the inherent effects of the
arc gasses and vapors sweeping across the surface of the
metal and bursting against the side walls and roof arch.
The thermal emission, a function of kilowatt input must
Author's Reply
be controlled or directed to accommodate the meltdown
The phenomenon surrounding the electric arc still and refining entity. The greatest danger is the transition
leaves a great deal to fundamental research. At present, period between these energy levels and remains con-
we could say that rudimentary information is available stant during the complete refining cycle, particularly
and largely the investigations have been devoted graph- with high energy input and a minimum slag cover on the
ite to graphite exploration in the main with direct cur- metal surface. From the standpoint of people concerned
rent. The purpose of my paper was not to delve heavily both with the production and economics of the furnace
into the sophisticated technical aspects surrounding the operation, recognizing arc flare and its damaging effects
nature of an alternating current arc with ignition inter- is consistent with the criteria used in the paper relating
vals from graphite and metal and metal to graphite, but to arc temperature.