Investigation of the effect of geometrical shape of sponge iron on the operating parameters of the induction furnace

Abstract

ABSTRACT Today, smelting sponge iron in induction furnaces is one of the main processes in steel production. In this process, raw materials (sponge iron and scrap) are melted by inducing electromagnetic currents. Sponge iron has small cavities and is porous. One of the effective parameters on the performance of induction furnace in melting sponge iron is the geometric shape of sponge iron. Its usual state is spherical, which after charging into the furnace, the gap spaces between them remain. These chat spaces have a negative effect on the performance of the furnace. In this study, in addition to ordinary (spherical) sponge iron, other forms of sponge iron including crushed, conical and cylindrical were also made. After melting different samples with scrap, the device parameters of the induction furnace were studied. The results showed that the use of crushed sponge iron leads to a 28% reduction in melting time and a 26% reduction in energy consumption. By changing the geometric shape of the sponge iron as a result of improving the efficiency of the induction furnace, the profitability of steelmaking is significantly improved.