Improving the Two-Position Ladle-Furnace Efficiency Using Advanced Electrical Mode Control Algorithms

The share of steel produced by smelting in electric arc steel-making furnaces with subsequent processing of the melt in a ladle-furnace has significantly increased in the metallurgical industry in recent years. It is necessary to say that electric steel-smelting complexes consume a lot of energy. For this reason, an urgent task is posed to reduce costs and increase productivity at the same time, which is achieved by reducing the operating time under current. The article presents an improved algorithm for controlling the electrical modes of a two-position ladle-furnace installation based on data on the harmonic composition of the electric arc current, which takes into account changes in the argon blowing mode and slag mode. The article presents the structure of the improved control algorithm, which is successfully applied at one of the plants in the Russian Federation. The effectiveness of the algorithm was also assessed using experimental data, which was obtained on the ladle-furnace installation.