Personal account
MFC

GRAPHITIZED ELECTRODES AND REDUCING THEIR CONSUMPTION

Key laboratories carrying out the project are

– Educational and scientific laboratory «Additive technologies»

– Educational and scientific laboratory «Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity»

Project description:

The project is aimed at increasing the operating efficiency of graphite electrodes in arc steel-smelting furnaces and units of the «bucket furnace» type. For metallurgical enterprises, graphite electrodes are one of the most expensive consumables, and their premature wear directly affects the cost of metal products.

The project is developing a set of technological solutions, including the use of protective coatings, improvement of melting modes, introduction of intelligent systems for monitoring electrode consumption and the use of new design solutions to stabilize the electric arc.

Particular attention is paid to the use of machine learning and computer vision technologies to analyze thermographic data and identify factors influencing the wear rate of electrodes. This allows not only to record the actual flow rate, but also to predict its change depending on the grade of steel, melting mode and equipment condition.

An additional direction of the project is the development of technologies for using hollow electrodes with the supply of inert gases through internal channels, which ensures the formation of a more stable and concentrated electric arc, increasing the efficiency of the melting process.

Key technological solutions:

  • Protective coatings for graphitized electrodes;

  • Intelligent control of electrode flow;

  • Thermographic monitoring of the smelting process;

  • Machine learning algorithms for analyzing technological modes;

  • Optimizing the electrical operating modes of furnaces;

  • Use of hollow electrodes with shielding gas supply;

  • Systems for automatic detection of violations of technological regimes.

Implementation results:

The implementation of the project makes it possible to reduce the consumption of graphite electrodes, reduce specific electricity consumption and increase the stability of metallurgical processes. For the enterprise, this means reducing production costs, increasing equipment productivity and improving the economic performance of steelmaking.