Electrical Efficiency of Arc Furnaces Considering the Load Generated Currents Defined by CPC Power Theory

Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs) are processes with an intensive consumption of energy in the range of 400 to 500 kWh per ton of produced liquid steel. An accurate estimation of the electrical efficiency is difficult to calculate since electric arcs are highly nonlinear and chaotic, and their use in the arc furnaces for scrap melting introduces a very high harmonic distortion in the power systems. This study applies the current and power decompositions defined by the Current's Physicals Components (CPC) power theory for three-phase and three-wire systems with harmonics generated by the load. Real EAF voltage and current measurements are computed for a complete melting and heating process. A more accurate calculation of the electrical efficiency is presented and discussed as well some ideas about how to improve this key performance parameter for the optimization of the electrical energy used at the arc furnaces.