Flexible All-Electric Furnace Design

With sustainability in the glass business, there has been a heavy emphasis on all-electric furnaces (AEF) and flexible (or hybrid) furnaces. With these concepts come changes in furnace designs and associated electric melting systems. So the question becomes, whether to design the furnace around the electrical melting system or design the electrical system around the optimal furnace design? Hopefully everyone answered the latter. With a properly designed and optimised AEF, one would also expect to have the electrical melting system design optimised. When using through the sidewall or top entry electrodes, this is not possible. The use of bottom
electrodes gives this flexibility. Bottom electrodes and consequently the phasing and transformer types are not limited by the geometry of the furnace.

With a properly designed and optimised AEF, one would also expect to have the electrical melting system design optimised. When using through the sidewall or top
entry electrodes, this is not possible. The use of bottom electrodes gives this flexibility. Bottom electrodes and consequently the phasing and transformer types are not limited by the geometry of the furnace.