| Abstract Scope |
Recent electromagnetic modeling efforts for submerged arc furnace allow improving understanding of the current distribution, which is critical for proper operation of furnaces for silicon production. This paper presents calculations of electric current distributions inside an industrial smelter. A 3D model has been developed in ANSYS Maxwell using the AC, eddy current solver. The modeled furnace operates with three-phase AC. In each phase, electrode, main arc, crater, crater wall, and side arcs that connect electrode and crater wall are taken into account. In this work, the number of side arcs is varied to study the effect on current distributions in different parts of the furnace, as well as skin and proximity effects in the electrodes. Also, the system resistance, active and reactive power distributions are investigated. |