Hong Won Chol, a researcher at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, has developed a high-power induction channel furnace (ICF) for melting steel.
Induction channel furnaces (ICF) are widely used for melting, superheating and heat preservation of ferrous and nonferrous metals because of their low power consumption and operation cost. However, thermal stresses in the refractory channel caused by high temperature, premature erosion of the channel due to the flow of molten metal, and failure of the inductor make it difficult to repair them.
He proposed a design of a three-phase channel and an inducer of a new type of ICF for steel melting, and analyzed temperature distribution of the channel by coupling simulations on electromagnetism-heat-fluid, by COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4 and Taguchi method.
An induction channel furnace (ICF) has been widely utilized for melting, refining and heat preservation of metal owing to its advantages such as higher power factor, less power consumption and less stirring of molten metal because the magnetic induction line follows the closed core.
In general, ICF is composed of induction units with iron core, an inductor winding, a channel, and a metal pot. The induction units are assembled verticality to a furnace body, and are separable when the furnace is under repair. The induction units of the proposed ICF are of horizontal type or inclination type, and have no need for separation, so it is easy to repair.
The proposed furnace provides 1 200kW of power, 1.5t/h of output, 1 000V of voltage of inductor (primary winding), 750kW•h/t of power consumption and 4h of cycle of production turns.
This type of furnace, when introduced to the production and refining of steel, cast iron and nonferrous metal, might bring a large profit in operation by saving electrical energy and improving the quality of metals.
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