Working Principle of Electric Arc Furnace Electrode Arm

Working Principle of Electric Arc Furnace Electrode Arm

Electric arc furnaces can be divided into three-phase electric arc furnaces, consumable electric arc furnaces, single-phase electric arc furnaces and resistance electric arc furnaces. Among them, three-phase electric arc furnaces are widely used in the field of steelmaking and are the mainstream form in the current market. This type of electric arc furnace uses three-phase alternating current as the power source, generally using carbon electrodes or graphite electrodes. The arc occurs between the electrode and the smelted charge. The charge is directly heated by the arc, and the arc length is adjusted by the electric arc furnace electrode arm lifting and lowering.

In the electrode lifting and lowering adjustment operation, the electrode is generally clamped by the electrode clamping arm and the electrode is lifted and lowered by controlling the lifting and lowering of the electrode clamping arm. At present, in the traditional three-phase electric arc furnace production, the position of the electrode is fixed, and after being clamped by the electrode clamping arm, it generally only moves up and down in the vertical direction.

However, in some cases, such as in some existing technologies, the furnace body will rotate relative to the furnace cover to achieve the change of the position of the electrode in the molten pool to eliminate the heating cold zone. There may be a collision between the unmelted charge and the electrode or the furnace cover and the electrode (because the diameter of the electrode hole on the furnace cover is larger than the electrode diameter); or when the furnace cover and the electrode are deflected during the operation of opening the cover and charging, the furnace cover and the electrode may also collide.

These situations will correspondingly reduce the life of the electrode and affect the normal production of the arc furnace.

The electrode clamping arm, by designing the arm body in sections, the rotating segment can rotate relative to the fixed segment,

avoiding the traditional rigid clamping arm clamping electrode. When the electrode is hit by the charge or the furnace cover, the electrode can be slightly deflected to achieve buffering and unloading, better protect the electrode, and extend the service life of the electrode.

Moreover, it is a relative movement within the small interval of the electrode clamping arm, the movement is smooth and accurate, and the impact on other equipment is small, for example, it will not affect the lifting and driving action of the electrode lifting and driving mechanism.

The design of the compensation segment can further adapt to the position change of the electrode during rotation and ensure the structural safety of the electrode and the electrode clamping arm.

In addition, in some ways, when the electrode is actively driven to rotate, the above-mentioned electrode clamping arm can also better adapt to the requirements of the electrode rotation and ensure the smoothness of the electrode rotation and safety of use.