Modeling and control of an electric arc furnace

Electric arc furnaces (EAFs) are widely used in steelmaking and in smelting of nonferrous metals. The EAF is the central process of the so-called mini-mills, which produce steel mainly from scrap. Typical EAFs operate at power levels from 10MW to 100MW. The power level is directly related to production throughput, so it is important to control the EAF at the highest possible average power with a low variance to avoid breaker trips under current surge conditions. For efficient power control, good dynamic models of EAFs are required. This paper solves the electrical circuit of an EAF with a floating neutral, proposes a dynamic model for the EAF, and investigates simple proportional electrode current and power control.