Electric arc furnace's structure, classification and principle

Electric arc furnace is an effective container for smelting minerals or metals. What is the principle of electric arc furnace? How does it complete the smelting of certain substances?

Principle of arc furnace

Electric arc furnace is an industrial furnace that smelts minerals or metals through the high temperature generated in the process of metal / non-metal arc. It has many advantages, such as small volume, simple operation, great flexibility, temperature control, strong performance and so on. At first, it is only used for smelting alloy steel, but now it can also be used for the production of carbon steel, It has occupied a more and more important position in our production and life.

Structure and principle of small electric arc furnace 

The electric arc furnace is mainly composed of electrode holder, electrode, furnace cover, molten pool, furnace door, tilting cradle, hydraulic steel and other components. The furnace bottom and furnace wall are made of acidic or alkaline refractory materials. Firstly, electric energy is transmitted to the furnace through the electrode, and then the electrode reacts with the furnace charge to generate an arc to raise the temperature in the blast furnace. Finally, the high temperature makes the ore metal melt.

Classification of arc electric furnace  

According to the different transformer capacity, electric arc furnace can be divided into ordinary power electric arc furnace, high-rise building, high-power electric arc furnace and ultra-high-power electric arc furnace. According to the different forms of arc, it can be divided into three-phase arc furnace, single-phase arc furnace, consumable arc furnace and resistance arc furnace.

1. Three phase electric arc furnace

Three phase electric arc furnace is an electric arc furnace with three-phase alternating current as power supply. The electrode used is generally graphite electrode or carbon electrode. An electric arc is generated between the electrode and the furnace charge, and then the temperature is increased to melt the ore. Electromagnetic stirrer is also installed at the bottom of some three-phase electric arc furnaces to stir the charge in one direction all the time, so as to improve the melting efficiency of electric arc furnace charge; Some super large electric arc furnaces are also equipped with furnace body rotation mechanism, which can rotate the furnace body at a certain angle to make the furnace charge heated more evenly.

2. Single phase electric arc furnace

Single phase electric arc furnace is compared with three-phase electric arc furnace. Its power supply is single-phase AC, which is commonly used in the smelting of copper / copper alloy.

3. Consumable electric arc furnace

The consumable electric arc furnace can be used as an electrode without adding an electrode. Therefore, it is called consumable electric arc furnace. With the continuous melting of its charge, its electrode decreases gradually. The electric arc furnace is mainly used for smelting alloy steel.

4. Resistance Arc Furnace

The difference between resistance electric arc furnace and other electric arc furnaces is that the lower end of its electrode is buried in the charge. In addition to the heat emitted by the normal arc formed between the electrode and the charge, the charge resistance can also produce considerable heat under the action of current. This kind of electric arc furnace, also known as submerged arc furnace, is commonly used in ore smelting.