Abstract
Arc melting is one of the commonly-used melting methods in modern material manufacturing. The present study established a numerical model coupling the electric arc plasma, solid melting, and liquid flow together to simulate the steel ingot melting process using the electric arc. The direct current (DC) electric arc behavioral characteristics with varying arc length generated by the moving electrode were analyzed based on the validated model. The effects of both the initial arc length and the dynamic electrode movement on the steel ingot melting efficiency were studied. A potential method was also proposed to apply the established model in simulating the electric arc furnace (EAF) scrap melting. The study reveals that a reasonable and stable arc length can provide higher instantaneous heat flux and current density and reduce the arc dissipation, meanwhile balance the electrode consumption rate and melting efficiency to achieve the highest economic benefit. In addition, the dynamic electrode movement during the melting process maintains the original arc performance near the ingot top surface, which also results in a positive impact on the melting efficiency.
Highlights
Arc melting is an electro-thermal processing method that utilizes electrical energy to generate electric arc plasma to melt down the target material
The present study focuses on modeling the steel ingot melting, which will be helpful in investigating the electric arc furnace (EAF) scrap melting in the future
The relevant researches were conducted based on the validated model and the following conclusions were made: 1. The direct current (DC) electric arc behavioral characteristics with varying arc length generated by the electrode movement was analyzed, which reveals that maintaining a reasonable and stable arc length will balance the electrode consumption rate and melting efficiency to achieve the highest economic benefit
Summary
Arc melting is an electro-thermal processing method that utilizes electrical energy to generate electric arc plasma to melt down the target material. Compared with other melting approaches, the electric arc plasma is capable of efficiently melting solid material with a high melting point or hardness without introducing impurity, which produces high-quality liquid metal or alloy meeting the different requirements for product performance (Sames, 2015). This technology is a widely-used melting method in modern material manufacturing.
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