Microcontroller-based monitoring of electrodes in arc furnaces for silicon production

Electrodes are fundamental elements in the operation of arc furnaces, to the extent that monitoring their state is a suitable way to check the operation of the furnace. In addition, the monitoring process allows the values of important parameters of the furnace to be determined. This paper presents the monitoring system that is currently being used at the silicon production facility of the company Ferroatlantica, in Spain. It is the result of the evolution from a previous, mainly analog, system to a microcontroller-based one. Experimental results that validate the operation of the new system are given.