Study the overall aspects of Electric Arc Furnace operation

Abstract

Industrial steel production started over a hundred years ago with the conversion of liquid pig iron into steel the air (Bessemer) and open hearth processes. Later electric furnace steel process found favour for making costly, high quality and special steel. Today arc melting furnaces and electric steelworks are used in growing numbers and capacities all over the world for the production of ordinary high tonnage steels. This development trend is clearly seen in production statics, and there are several reasons for the change. Electrical energy can be converted efficiently and with a very high energy concentration in the arc into heat for melting. This opens the possibility of obtaining high outputs from small furnaces. The steady increase in the electrical energy generation and the expansion of the mains-electricity network make it possible to power and operate increasingly large furnaces. In recent years, new technology, operating methods and steel works concepts enabled arc furnace to be used economically for mass-tonnage steel production.