Active series reactor for electric arc furnace based on electronic power converter

Abstract

Series Reactors are used in Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF) to provide furnace operation with longer arcs, lower currents and lower electrode consumption. Such reactors are very useful in the first melting period. With the molten scrap, the absence of the series reactor would allow higher power transfer to the EAF, reducing the tap-to-tap cycle, thus increasing productivity. This paper proposes an active series reactor based on static power converters, which has the flexibility to dynamically change its impedance value during the steel production period. Simulation of a real plant demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposition.