Dynamic Current and Power Distributions in a Submerged Arc Furnace

Most submerged arc furnaces used for the production of ferroalloys run on three-phase alternating current. This affects the electrical operation of the furnace and thus it is of interest to study alternating current distributions in the system. This work presents computations of alternating electric current distributions inside an industrial submerged arc furnace for silicon production. A 3D model has been developed in ANSYS Maxwell using the eddy current solver. In each phase, electrode, central arc, crater, crater wall and side arcs that connect electrode and crater wall are taken into account. In this paper, the dynamic current distributions in different parts of the furnace, as well as skin and proximity effects in and between electrodes are presented. Moreover, active and reactive power distributions in various components of the furnace are quantified.