The 33rd Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON)

Nov. 5-8, 2007, Taipei, Taiwan

Effect of Electrode Regulation System on Arc

Parameters in Furnace Operation
Dr.W.Z.Gandhare

D.D.Lulekar

Principal, Govt. College of Engineering,

Aurangabad (M.S.), India

Lecturer in Electrical Engineering

Govt. Polytechnic Khamgaon (M.S.) India
ddlulekar@yahoo.co.in

wz_gandhare@yahoo.co.in

and arc length, which is determined by the position of the

electrodes. By examining the actual V-I characteristic of the
arc furnace, the arc melting process is divided into three
periods [1]. The furnace measurements are carried out on two
furnaces and the analysis is carried out in detail. The arc
parameters and overall balance in current, voltage and power
are calculated.

Abstract-The paper presents the investigations carried out for

determining arc parameters in the operation of electric arc
furnaces. Electric arc furnace is a non linear load causing random
fluctuations in current. The measurements for quantities like arc
parameters, power balance distribution in all phases; concept of
wild phase is illustrated. Power quality is affected by the erratic
operation of arc causing disturbances in plant operation.
Histograms provide the useful information about regulation
system behavior. The refractory wear is a major issue in furnace
operation The arc voltage and power distribution has influence
on refractive index. The records on furnace measurement are
analyzed.

I. THE ELECTRODE POSITION CONTROL

The electrode control system keeps the electrodes in each

phase at the right distance from the scrap or melt, so that the
power of the arc is optimized for production and the requisite
metallurgical processes as well as for economical wall life.
Electrode control requirements for the melt-down period are
quite different from those for refining periods. The control of
one electrode must not interfere with the other electrodes and
must not cause any system stability. The electrode control
system must fulfill the following requirements.

Key words: Wild Phase, Refractory Symmetry, Impedance

Hysteresis, Arc stability
I. INTRODUCTION

Widespread steel production by means of electric power has

been rising. Despite the advantages of arc furnaces as
compared to blast furnaces, this type of load produces voltage
disturbances which can adversely affect other loads in the
electrical network. The arc furnace is a highly nonlinear load
which produces current harmonics. This current harmonics
will give rise to high voltage harmonics depending on the
impedance of the electric network. When network resonance
conditions appear, the voltage harmonics became very high,
causing malfunction or damaging the electric equipment
connected to it. The electrodes are modeled as a series
connected resistance and inductance. The electric arc is
modeled as a nonlinear current-voltage characteristic which
represents the voltage drop for a given arc
In any arc furnace, the arc length varies with the time,
basically because of electrode movement and also because of
movement of scrap. The arc melting process is a very
complicated process. It converts the electrical energy into
thermal energy. The electric arc is used to melt the raw
materials held by the furnace. The random movement of the
melting material results in heavy current fluctuations during
the arc melting process. During the refining period, the scrap
metal is at a molten form and hence fluctuations are small.
The furnace operation depends upon arc voltage, arc current

1-4244-0783-4/07/$20.00 C 2007 IEEE

1. Selected power must be kept constant during the

meltdown period.
2. Different up and down electrode speeds
3. Maximum electrode up speed as soon as current rises
when scrap contacted to avoid tripping of circuit breaker.
4. Current interruptions should be avoided by using high
quality control system with good dynamic response. The
control system must behave differently when melting down
scrap than when melt is liquid.
5. The operating points i.e. the impedance values per phase
must be selected automatically for each secondary voltage
step of the furnace transformer during operation.
6. manual control of electrodes
Arc Voltage Control and Power distribution
An arc is a gas discharge between two electrodes which are
supplied by a voltage source. In an arc furnace the arc burns
under atmospheric pressure between the end of the graphite
electrode and the steel melt. The arc is sustained by an
alternating current. A voltage of at least 40 volt and a current

921

melt.. The proportions depend on the arc length and slag

thickness.

of 4 kA are required to maintain ionization and produce the

heat of the arc. A typical arc is unstable and non-linear and its
current and voltage are in phase as they pass through zero.
This instability and non-linearity are greatest when melting
down cold scrap. The delayed and erratic process of striking
the arc and resulting gaps in the current are conspicuous. As
melting down progresses, the striking becomes more stable,
but the current can still contain low frequency fluctuations.
The temperature and heat of an arc are high with a liquid steel
bath, and the thermal conduction is low, so that the arc
characteristic begins to approach the linear behavior of an
ordinary resistance. The arc voltage is almost rectangular. The
rectangular arc voltage waveform is not entirely adopted by
the supply current since inductance in the circuit gives rise to
inductive reactance which increases with frequency and
therefore resists harmonics. Although the current waveform is
almost sinusoidal, the noticeable harmonic content causes an
increase in reactive power and with it a higher reactance [2].
The magnetic fields of the adjacent phases exert horizontal
electrodynamic forces on the arc, with the result that arc which
has virtually no inertia , is deflected sideways away from the
vertical, towards the furnace wall. The way the arc fluctuates is
especially is important during melting down. Large
movements of the arc roots on the electrodes cause
considerable unacceptable changes in voltage and current in
main supplies which have insufficient power and short circuit
capacity. Hydrodynamic forces can act upon the arc cathode
(melt) even in the absence of an external magnetic field.
'Pinch effect'-necking of the arc on the cathode produces a
recoil force P on the cathode in the direction of the arc axis.

II. EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT

The simplified example of a single phase arc furnace with a

bottom electrode is shown in figure 2. This case is identical to
the symmetrical three phase unit. The transformer voltage Vph
comprises the arc voltage, the voltage drop VR over the loss
resistance RR of the circuit, the induced voltage VI due to self
inductance L.

Va

Fig 2. Equivalent Circuit of Arc Furnace

Vph = VR + VL + VA
Because the arc voltage is non-linear, the current also contains
harmonics. The apparent operational reactance is not constant
but depends on the harmonic content of the current. The
harmonic content of the current and the operational reactance
both increase with rising arc voltage. Increased operational
reactance can be observed mainly at the start of scrap melting
point when it reduces the power applied to the melt. Current
harmonics also increases current displacement effects in the
electrodes, so that loss resistance increases by several percent.
The equivalent circuit can be simplified by replacing the non
linear arc by arc resistance RA. The operational reactance must
then be assumed to be 10-15% higher than the short circuit
reactance. The equivalent circuit of three phase arc furnace
consists of three phase with inductance, loss resistance and arc
voltage source connected in series meeting at a free star point.
The equivalent circuit of the three phase arc furnace can be
linearized.

P= 1 0-7i2In rc/ rca N

where rc= -mean radius of the arc column and rca= radius of
the cathode hot spot. The arc displacement increases with the
extent of the necking and square of the current. In this way the
high current arcs produce a desirable stirring effect in the
electrode

convectionradiationArc column
Radiation Ra
Arc Plasma Radiation Rf

7%

Electrical symmetry is important in the operation of arc

furnace. If the resistances, reactances and conductor voltages
are balanced, then the furnace currents will be equal too. In
power calculations, we have to consider the reactances of
transformer, conductor section, flexible cable, tubular
conductor and electrode. The reactances in all the phases must
be symmetrical for balanced arc furnace operation. The
maximum arc power occurs at a lower current than overall
maximum power. The radiation is greatest with long arcs.

3%

. -.- 1.

Fig. 1. Typical Values of Energy Balance for an Arc

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Tap changer
Position
Ui/U1N

In regular operation single controller, impedance regulation,

current regulation, constant control dynamics and degressive
control dynamics are the features. The control aspects include
guiding electrodes 1, 2, 3, mean current and minimum current.
The auxiliary functions of electrode control are automatic
adjustment for manual operation, automatic calculation of final
amplification, plotting programs, software transient recorder
and visualization interface. A typical value for digital
electrode control response time is 17 msec. The A/D
conversion and smoothing may take 4 msec, and 1 msec
required for D/A conversion and so.

Characteristic number

TABLE I
OPERATING PARAMETERS FOR ARC

December 2006

April

Arc Power

26.83

28.01

Arc Voltage

231

227

Arc Resistance (milliohms)

5.96

5.52

Average arc lengths ( mm)

228

223

Electrical Efficiency of arc

92

91.3

Arc Stability Index

1.4

2.3

Arc radiatiiiiion intensity (MWmeter)

2.0

.21

Arc radiation index

6.8

7.0

Parameters

2003

Table I shows the arc parameters for studied furnace. Arc

length is very important parameter. All parameters aim to
achieve optimization of arc power and better heat conditions
required for operation. That is why melting is preferably
carried out at a low power factor using short arcs [3].
The furnace current I = VL f'13 Z
Total apparent power = S

AI3 VL I

(1)

(2)

Reactive Power Q = 3 12 X

(3)

Active Power

(4)

PR + PA

Arc Power losses = PA = 3

III.

RA

(5)

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

The performance of electric arc furnace is determined from

circle diagrams. The performance can be calculated provided
the electrical parameters like arc length, efficiency, refractive
index, etc are measured. For two furnaces the measurements
are carried out and the various graphs are plotted.
From table I, the arc stability index is higher than desired
value of 1.25. Electrode position is to be controlled
accordingly.

Manual commands

Fig. 3. Digital Electrode Control

Figure 3 shows block diagram of digital electrode control.

The various operation modes are as regular operation, manual
operation and programmed operation.

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Arc voltage, Power distribution and the influence on

refractory symmetry

voltage and tap number. For 1.25 index value, the operating
current is decided and required tap can be used.

To determine the refractory wear the values of arc voltage (=

arc length) , arc power (= radiation intensity) are used. Of
course the optimum of refractory symmetry is equal values of
arc voltage and power in all three phases. In practice, equal
values of arc voltage and power in all three phases are not
found at the same currents. The relative refractory index is a
compromise and includes the influence of both value supply
Heavy wear of the refractory lining near the wild phase is
caused by excessive arc length. Changing the arc length in one
phase causes only minute changes in current, because the star
point is free. If the arc is shortened too much then another
phase can become wild. Refractory index is the product of arc
voltage and arc power given by Schwabe [3].
The refractory wear is not influenced by distribution of
arc voltage and power also the factors like capacity of fume
extraction, direction of oxygen and carbon blowing, kind of
scrap , direction of DRI feeding etc., geometry of furnace
vessel, alignment of electrodes. The following parameters are
calculated for each phase. Arc voltage in volt, arc power in
MW, relative refractory index in %, power factor

Ei

_____________________________
I
_________.__o___._,____-___-_____________r_______r_r_L____?_____

Fig 4. Occurrence Variation with Impedance

The value of impedance 7 to 7.5 is occurring 21 times for

individual phases as well as cumulative Similarly the
magnitude 6.5 to 7.0 is also occurring 21 times as cumulative
value. This clearly shows the variation of impedance is 6.5 7.5 ohms. The working band of impedance is however 6 to 8.
The extreme values are 5 and 13.

LIII

=t

i.

Ars S"blility Ind-le

ii

1.

ii

J.

......................................

if. .

4.1

A,,.

st.,billtv iAdk

Fig.5. Impedance Variation with Operating Current

Fig 3. Operating Current, Active Power and Tap Voltage as Function of Arc
Stability Index

Impedance hysteresis is due to sluggishness response of

electrical and mechanical system. Impedance hysteresis is the
deviation in actual impedance and calculated as difference in
set impedance and actual measured impedance. Hysteresis
variance = (Impedance hysteresis/set impedance)*100. The
upward tendency shows that actual currents are less than set
point.

stability index value is related to the electrode

movement. If arc stability index is higher, there is localized
heating and hunting decreases. If stability index is low,
hunting is more and electrode movement is continuous rapid
fluctuations. The desired refractive index is 1.25. The values
for arc furnaces 1 and 2 are 1.4 and 1.18 respectively in recent
measurements. The analysis provides the desired setting of tap

The

. I I

arc

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IV. CONCLUSION

1 Arc Resistance around 6 ohms for furnace is slightly less

than 7 which is desired value for conditions where input
consists of 50% Sponge iron.
2. Arc lengths are sufficient in existing slag level. In phase2 the arc lengths are normally lesser than other two being a
dead phase during arcing with both other phases. Same is the
case for arc stability.
3. A close operating band for Impedance leading precise
electrode control is observed.
4. Operating reactance for phase 2 may be set for
deviations by gain control. Thermal balancing can be done for
all phases by adjustment of current by electrode regulation.
5. Arc burns more stable when arc resistance is around 7
milliohms. A good foaming slag will be helpful in maintaining
covered arc thereby stable burning. This will also reduce
voltage flicker and refractory wear cuts. During longer arcs,
arc stability needs to be always considered. Flaring increases
when arc length is increased. For furnace the value of arc
resistance is 5.96. From above value, the arc seems to be
stable.
6. At preset tap voltage, increase in arc length will reduce
currents resulting in increase in operating power factor.
7. Increased arc lengths will reduce electrode consumption
and phase losses.
8. Increased arc length will increase arc flaring radiation
intensity affecting the life of intensity.
9. Arc stability will be reduced due to increased arc length;
arc power will be deteriorated causing overall disturbance
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We sincerely express our thanks to Nitin Ghodake, AGM of
Lloyd steel industries Ltd. Wardha for discussions and
support. We are grateful to the management and maintenance
personnel for kind assistance during the measurements.

REFERENCES
Sharmeela, G.Uma, M.R.Mohan and K.Kartikeyan"Voltage Flicker
Analysis and Mitigation -Case study in AC Electric Arc Furnace using
PSCAD/EMTDC, "2004 International conference on power technology
-Powercon 2004,Singapore 21 -24 November, pp.707-71
[2] Klaus Timm, Hamburg, basic Principals of electric furnaces Edited by
E. Plockinger and 0. Etterich, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 1985, pp. 127160.
[3] G. Manchur, C.C. Erven, "Development of a model for predicting
flicker rom electric arc furnaces," IEEE Transactions Power delivery,
vol.7, no. 1, January 1992, pp.416-426.

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