Heat Transfer in High-Power Electric Arc Furnaces. Part I. Calculation of Thermal Radiation Fluxes of Arcs onto Bath and Heat Exchange in Metal Bath

A method for calculating the heat fluxes of arc rays on a metal bath and the heat transfer thereof is described. The heat fluxes of arc rays distributed unevenly over the surface of the metal bath are 6–60 times greater in the bath areas opposite the arcs than those in the bath areas located near the slopes and between the arcs. With an increase in the height of a slag layer, the thermal radiation of arcs on the surface of walls, arches, and metal baths decreases, while increasing on the surface of the spherical segments under the arcs. Due to the electrodynamic forces, the slag and metal in the spherical segments under the arcs are constantly renewed, with the convective heat exchange of metal and slag being intensified. The efficiency of arcs at a complete immersion in slag in high-power electric arc furnaces reaches 78–80%.