Chapter No.

05 Electric Heating
Dr. Intesar Ahmed, Engr. Kashif Imran, Engr. Muhammad Shuja Khan

Department of Electrical Engineering COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore

Contents to be Covered
Introduction Modes of Transfer of Heat

Classification of Electric Heating Methods Resistance Heating Arc Furnaces Induction Heating Dielectric Heating

Introduction:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Heating is required for domestic purposes (cooking and heating of building) as well as industrial purposes. Industrial applications include Melting of Metals Hardening and Tempering Case Hardening Drying Melting

Main Advantages of Electric Heating

Economy (Electric Energy is cheap as it is being produced on large

scale) Cleanliness (Dust and Ash are completely eliminated) Absence of Flue Gases (no flue gas is produced in this system) Ease of Control (hand operated are simply automatic switches, according to desired temperature) Automatic Protection (through suitable switch gears) Upper Limit of Protection Special Heating Requirement (only specific portion without affecting the other) High Efficiency of Utilization (75-100% of heat produced by electric heating can be successfully utilized) Better Working Conditions (no irritating noise and radiating losses are low) Safety (quite safe and responds quickly)

Modes of Transfer of Heat

Conduction 2. Convection 3. Radiation
1.

Conduction
In this mode of transfer of heat, one molecule of the

substance gets heated and transfer the heat to the adjacent and so on. Heat is transferred from one part to another part or between two substances material in contact. Rate of conduction of heat along a substance depends upon temperature gradient. Q=kA/t(T1-T2)T Here K is the coefficient of thermal conductivity of the material.

Convection
Convection is the movement of molecules within

fluids (i.e. liquids, gases). The air in contact with a heated radiator in a room receives heat from contact with the element. The heated air expands and rises. Thus there is a constant flow of air upwards across the heating element. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids.

Radiation
Radiation is a process in which energetic particles or

energy or waves travel through a medium or space The heat reaches the substance to be heated from the source of heat without heating the medium in between.

Classification of Electric Heating:

Direct Resistance Heating Indirect Resistance Heating

Infra-red or Radiant Heating

Direct Arc Heating Indirect Arc Heating Direct Induction Heating Indirect Induction Heating

Dielectric Heating

Resistance Heating

1.

2.

It is based upon the IR effect. Has wide applications in heat treatment of metals, drying, baking of potteries, stoving of enamelled ware and domestic cooking. Temperature upto 1000celsuis can be obtained in ovens. Two common methods of resistance heating are Direct Resistance Heating Indirect Resistance Heating

Direct Resistance Heating

It is accomplished by the dissipation of an electric

current in a material. Material to be melted is placed inside a furnace with electrodes in the walls. Alternating or direct electric current is then passed between the electrodes through the material. Resistance losses are dissipated as heat, causing the material to melt.

Advantages: High efficiency. It gives uniform heat and high temperature. Application: It is mainly used in salt bath furnace and water heaters.

Indirect Resistance Heating

In this method the current is passed through a highly

resistance element which is either placed above or below the oven depending upon the nature of the job to be performed. The heat proportional to I2R losses produced in heating element delivered to the charge either by radiation or by convection. Both A.C and D.C supplies can be used for this purpose at full mains voltage depending upon the design of heating element.

Application: This method is used in room heater, in bimetallic strip used in starters, immersion water heaters and in various types of resistance ovens used in domestic and commercial cooking.

Heating Element Materials

It must posses the following properties: High Resistivity
The material used for heating element should be of high resistance so that a small length of wire may be sufficient to produce the required amount of heat.

High Melting Point

Melting point should be high so that charge can be heated to a high temperature.

Low Temperature Coefficient

Temperature coefficient should be low so that the resistance should not vary with change in temperature, otherwise starting current would be high.

Free Form Oxidation

The material for the heating element must withstand with the required temperature without getting oxidized, otherwise it would have to be replaced.

Arc Furnaces

1. 2.

An electric arc furnace is a furnace that heats charged material by means of an electric arc. The electrodes used in ARC furnaces of three types namely carbon electrodes, graphite electrodes and self-baking electrodes. There are two common types of arc furnaces. Three phase furnace. Single phase furnace.

 Three phase furnaces are used in the production of

alloy steels. Single phase furnaces are used for the manufacture of gray iron casting. Three phase furnaces are used for power ratings from 250KVA, 10,000KVA and capacities up to 25 tons. Generally graphite electrodes are used. As they are subjected to volatilization, they are to be replaced. The arc temperature is between 3000 and 3500C, so that the process is carried out between 1500C and 2500C.

The main components of a three phase furnace are:

1)Variable ratio power transformer 2)Reactors 3)Automatic current regulator 4)Control panel 5)Electric motor and tilting motor 6)Circuit breaker and connecting switches.

Direct Arc Furnace

The arc is struck directly with the charge, when a

current flows through it and produces intense heat, which results, in high temperature. Although some furnaces up to 100 tons are made, generally furnaces up to 25 tons are in general use. Stirring action is automatic and gives a uniform product. It is used for alloy steel manufacture and gives a purer product.

Advantages: It produces purer products It is very simple and easy to control the composition of the final product during refining process. Disadvantages: It is very expensive. Application: The most common application of this type of furnace is to produce steel.

Indirect Arc Furnace

Electrodes are inserted from the sides and the heat

produced is transmitted by radiation to the charge. As there is no inherent stirring action, the furnace should be rocked. This furnace is used for only single phase supplies. Also the capacity of the furnace is limited up to 100 tons. Melting of non-ferrous metals is mostly carried out in this type of furnace. In both the type of furnaces, large quantities of electrodes are used.

Application:
The main application of this type furnace is melting of

non-ferrous metals.

 It consists of an iron core, crucible and primary

Induction Heating

winding connected to an AC supply. The charge is kept in the crucible, which forms a single turn short circuited secondary circuit. The current in the charge is very high in the order of several thousand amperes. The charge is magnetically coupled to the primary winding. The charge is melted because of high current induced in it. When there is no molten metal, no current will flow in the secondary. To start the furnace molten metal is poured in the oven from the previous charge.

Disadvantages
The magnetic coupling between the primary and

secondary is very weak, therefore the leakage reactance is very high. This causes low power factor. Low frequency supply is necessary because normal frequency causes turbulence of the charge.

 It is modified type of core type induction furnace. It has a vertical channel for the charge, thus the crucible used is also

Types Vertical Core Type Furnace

vertical. The principle of operation is that of a transformer in which the secondary turns are replaced by a closed loop of molten metal. The primary winding is placed on the central limb of the core. Hence leakage reactance is comparatively low and power factor is high. The top of the furnace is covered with an insulated cover which can be removed for charging. Necessary arrangements are usually made for titling the furnace to take out the molten metal. When primary is connected to the AC supply, high current will be accumulated at the bottom and even a small amount of charge will keep the secondary completed. Hence chances of discontinuity of the circuit is less.

(Fringing Effect)

Advantages: High efficiency and low operating cost. Since both primary and secondary are on the same central core, its power factor is better. The furnace is operated from the normal supply frequency. Applications: This furnaces is used for melting non ferrous metals like brass, zinc, tin, bronze, copper etc.

Indirect Core Type Induction Furnace

In such furnace an inductively heated element is made

to transfer its heat to the change by radiation. It consists of an iron core linking with the primary winding and secondary. When the primary winding is connected to the supply, current is induced in the secondary of the metal container. So heat is produced due to induced current. This heat is transmitted to the charge by radiation.

Coreless Induction Furnace

Coreless induction furnace also operates on the

principle of transformer. In this furnace there is no core and thus the flux density will be low. Hence for compensating the low flux density, the current supplied to the primary should have sufficiently high frequency. Stirring of the metals takes place by the action of the electromagnetic forces. Coreless furnace may be having conducting or non conducting containers. To prevent the primary winding from high temperature, refractory linings are provided between primary and secondary windings.

Advantages: Time taken to reach the melting temperature is less. Accurate power control is possible. Any shape of crucible can be used. The eddy currents in the charge results in automatic stirring. Absence of dirt, smoke, noise, etc. Erection cost is less.

Dielectric Heating:
Dielectric heating is also sometimes called as high

frequency capacitance heating. If non metallic materials i.e, insulators such as wood, plastics, china clay, glass, ceramics etc are subjected to high voltage A.C current, their temperature will increase in temperature is due to the conversion of dielectric loss into heat. The dielectric loss is dependent upon the frequency and high voltage. Therefore for obtaining high heating effect high voltage at high frequency is usually employed.

Advantages: Uniform heating is obtained. Running cost is low. Non conducting materials are heated within a short period. Easy heat control. Applications: For food processing. For wood processing. For drying purpose in textile industry. For electronic sewing.

Thank You