An Active Series Reactor for an Electric Arc Furnace: A Flexible Alternative for Power-Flow Control

Series reactors are used in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) to provide furnace operation with longer arcs, lower currents, and lower electrode consumption. Such reactors are very useful in the first melting period. Along with the molten scrap, the absence of the series reactor allows a higher power transfer to the EAF, reducing the tap-to-tap cycle and thus increasing productivity. This article proposes an active series reactor (ASR) based on static power converters that has the flexibility to dynamically change its impedance value during steel production. A plant simulation will demonstrate the effectiveness of this proposition.