A new concept of electrical power supply for AC arc furnaces

Electrical arc furnaces (EAFs) cause many power quality problems on the power network. Static var compensator or STATCOM are typically used for power quality requirements. In this paper the authors evaluate different STATCOM control strategy on the power system for two points of view: power quality requirements and furnace productivity enhancement. Simulation results, based on a new arc furnace electrical model developed with measurements carried out on a 75 MVA AC arc furnace, are shown. Finally the authors propose, for AC arc furnaces, a power electronic supply which suppress the flicker effect and increases the electrical energy transferred to the furnace. Compared to a STATCOM solution which has no effect on the arc current, the proposed supply allows increasing the furnace productivity