Electric Arc Furnace, Blast Furnace, and other Metal Casting Furnaces
Learn about Metal Casting Furnaces including the Electric
Arc Furnace and the Blast Furnace.
There are several types of casting furnaces which include
Electric Arc furnaces, Blast furnaces, Cornwall Iron Furnace, etc. Here’s a
quick review of some of them.
Electric Arc Furnace:
This furnace can be described as a furnace heating charged materials by the
way of an electric arc. These furnaces exist in all the sizes-right, from the
smallest one having a capacity of around 1 ton to the largest one having a
capacity of 400 tons. The former one is used in foundries to produce cast iron
products, whereas the latter one is used for secondary steel making. The ones
used by dentists and in research laboratories might be having capacity of a few
grams only. The electric arc furnace can have temperatures risen up to 1800
Celsius. The first electric furnaces came into being in 1907, at the hands of
Paul Heroult of French origin. The commercial part of these furnaces was
established in the United States of America. In the beginning, the specialty
product used in the making of spring steel and machine tools was electric
steel. Calcium Carbide was also prepared in these arc furnaces. It (calcium
carbide) was used in carbide lamps.
This furnace comprises of a refractory-lined vessel, normally
water-cooled in huge sizes, having a covering of a retractable roof, through
which the entry of graphite electrodes takes place. They might be one or many
in number. The furnace is divided into 3 sections: the shell, consisting of
lower steel bowl and sidewalls, the hearth, consisting of refractory lining the
lower bowl, and the roof, that can be water-cooled or refractory-lined, and can
easily be shaped into a spherical section or conical section (frustum). A
refractory delta is also supported by the roof at its center, by the way of
which graphite electrodes make an entry.
The process of operation starts with delivery of scrap metal
to scrap bay which is located adjoining melt shop. After that, the loading of
scrap into huge buckets or baskets takes place. The next step is to carry this
basket to the melt shop. The charging takes place here. After the completion of
charging, let the electrodes be allowed to enter and placed onto scrap. This
causes the arc to be struck. Lower voltage is preferred for this part (of
operation) to provide protection to the walls and roof against arc damage and
excessive heat. After having the electrodes reached the heavy melt, shielding
of arcs by scrap takes place. This enables a rapid formation of molten pool,
thereby decreasing tap-to-tap times. Oxygen is also allowed to enter.
Blast Furnace:
It can be referred to as a kind of metallurgical furnace, through which the
process of smelting takes place. This produces metals, normally iron. These
furnaces trace their origin to China (around 500 BC). They were also found in
Belgium and England later. They do not have any special mode of operation. The
metals get melted by heating only. Generally , iron is melted in these furnaces.
The chemical reaction can be explained as follows:
               Fe2O3
+ 3CO -> 2Fe + 3CO2
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Tags: blast furnace, blast furnaces, calcium carbide, carbide lamps, cast iron products, cornwall iron furnace, dentists, electric arc furnace, electric arc furnaces, electric furnaces, electric steel, foundries, french origin, graphite electrodes, hearth, machine tools, research laboratories, scrap metal, secondary steel, spring steel
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