Factors influencing power consumption and power-saving measures in ESR process

• Published in: China foundry Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Xiong, Yun-Long, Song, Zhao-Wei, Wang, An-Guo, Lou, Yan-Chun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 2019; Foundry Journal Agency; Shenyang Research Institute of Foundry Co., Ltd., Shenyang 110022, China
• Subjects: Analysis; China; Energy conservation; Energy consumption; Engineering; ESR; fill ratio; Furnaces; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials Engineering; melting rate; Metallic Materials; Metals (Materials); Nuclear energy; Pollution; power saving; Processes; Production processes; slag amount; slag system; Special Report; Steel mills; Superalloys; Technology; Workshops (Educational programs); China; A; slag system; ESR; TG249.3; slag amount; power saving; fill ratio; melting rate
• ISSN: 1672-6421; 2365-9459
• DOI: 10.1007/s41230-019-8135-5

Since the USA patent of electroslag remelting (ESR) metallurgy was held by P. K. Hopkins in 1940, the ESR technology has now entered a relatively mature stage after a 70-year history of development. At present, the annual capacity of ESR steels around the world is approximately 2 million tonnes. ESR metallurgy emerged in China in 1958. Since then, electroslag furnaces were gradually installed in Chinese special steel plants. At present, there are more than 200 electroslag remelting furnaces in the metallurgical workshops of these steel plants with an annual production capacity of about 500,000 tonnes of ingots and components made of about 200 varieties of steels, including high quality steels and superalloys. This ESR technology is used as a special remelting and refining method for producing high quality steels and superalloys. However, traditional ESR technology has the disadvantages of environmental pollution and extremely high specific power consumption. High power consumption restricts, to a certain degree, the competitiveness of ESR steels in the marketplace. The measures of power saving in ESR have been researched in recent years. In this paper, some factors influencing power consumption, such as filling ratio, slag system, slag amount, melting rate and furnace structure are reviewed, and several new ESR technologies for power saving are proposed.