MORNING STAR POLYTECHNIC

COLLEGE
CHUNKANKADAI

ELECTRIC INDUCTION FURNACE

A Project Report
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
award of diploma
In

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Project guided by
Mr.T.KAMILLAS FRANKLIN,M.E
Submitted By
NAME
J.AJEESH
P.AJIN RAJ
P.ALAN BINO SUGIHAR
R.ALEX
A.ALEX MON
A.M.ANAND

SL.NO
12208566
12208568
12208570
12208571
12208572
12208573

DIRECTORATE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION,

TAMILNADU
2013-2014

MORNING STAR POLYTECHNIC

COLLEGE
CHUNKANKADAI

Department Of Mechanical
Engineering
CERTIFICATE
This is to certificate that the project entitled
ELECTRIC INDUCTION FURNACE is a bonafide
work
done
by..
reg.no........ of final year diploma in
mechanical engineering, during the year 2013-2014.

Guide
Of The Department

Head

Mr.T.KAMILLAS FRANKLIN,M.E
Mr.T.KAMILLAS FRANKLIN,M.E

Submitted For The Board Examination Held At

Morning Star Polytechnic College On ..

Internal Examiner
External Examiner
Place : Chunkankadai
Date :

ELECTRIC INDUCTION
FURNACE

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
An induction furnace is an electrical furnace in which the
heat is applied by induction heating of metal. The advantage of
the induction furnace is a clean, energy-efficient and wellcontrollable melting process compared to most other means of
metal melting. Most modern foundries use this type of furnace
and now also more iron foundries are replacing cupolas with
induction furnaces to melt cast iron, as the former emit lots
of dust and other pollutants. Induction furnace capacities range
from less than one kilogram to one hundred tonnes capacity
and

are

used

melt iron and steel, copper, aluminium and precious

to
metals.

Since no arc or combustion is used, the temperature of the

material is no higher than required to melt it; this can prevent
loss of valuable alloying elements. The one major drawback to
induction furnace usage in a foundry is the lack of refining
capacity; charge materials must be clean of oxidation products
and of a known composition and some alloying elements may
be lost due to oxidation (and must be re-added to the melt).
Operating frequencies range from utility frequency (50 or
60 Hz) to 400 kHz or higher, usually depending on the material
being melted, the capacity (volume) of the furnace and the

melting speed required. Generally, the smaller the volume of

the melts, the higher the frequency of the furnace used; this is
due to the skin depth which is a measure of the distance an
alternating current can

penetrate

beneath

the

surface

of

a conductor. For the same conductivity, the higher frequencies

have a shallow skin depththat is less penetration into the
melt. Lower frequencies can generate stirring or turbulence in
the metal.

Melt

water cooled

yokes

coil

crucible

A preheated, one-tonne furnace melting iron can melt cold

charge to tapping readiness within an hour. Power supplies
range from 10 kW to 42 MW, with melt sizes of 20 kg to
65 tonnes of metal respectively.
An operating induction furnace usually emits a hum or whine
(due to fluctuating magnetic forces and magnetostriction), the
pitch of which can be used by operators to identify whether the
furnace is operating correctly or at what power level.

DIAGRAM

DIAGRAM

COMPONENTS

COMPONENTS

Crucible
Inductor coil and shell
Cooling system
Tilting mechanism.

CRUCIBLE
A crucible is a container that can withstand very high
temperatures

and

and pigment production

is
as

used
well

as

for

metal, glass,

anumber of

modern

laboratory processes. While crucibles historically were usually

made from clay,[1] they can be made from any material that
withstands temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter
its contents.
Crucibles and their covers are made of high temperatureresistant materials, usually porcelain, alumina or an inert metal.
One of the earliest uses ofplatinum was to make crucibles.
Ceramics

such

as alumina, zirconia,

and

especially magnesia will tolerate the highest temperatures.

More recently, metals such as nickel and zirconium have been
used. The lids are typically loose-fitting to allow gases to
escape during heating of a sample inside. Crucibles and their
lids can come in high form and low form shapes and in various

sizes, but rather small 1015 ml size porcelain crucibles are

commonly used for gravimetric chemical analysis. These small
size crucibles and their covers made of porcelain are quite
cheap when sold in quantity to laboratories, and the crucibles
are sometimes disposed of after use in precise quantitative
chemical analysis. There is usually a large mark-up when they
are sold individually in hobby shops.

INDUCTOR COIL AND SHELL

An inductor, also called a coil or reactor, is a passive twoterminal electrical component which resists changes in electric
currentpassing through it. It consists of a conductor such as a
wire, usually wound into a coil. When a current flows through
it, energy is stored temporarily in a magnetic field in the coil.
When the current flowing through an inductor changes, the

time-varying magnetic field induces a voltage in the conductor,

according to Faradays law of electromagnetic induction, which
opposes the change in current that created it.
An inductor is characterized by its inductance, the ratio of
the voltage to the rate of change of current, which has units
of henries (H). Inductors have values that typically range from 1
H (106H) to 1 H. Many inductors have a magnetic core made
of iron or ferrite inside the coil, which serves to increase the
magnetic

field

and

thus

the

inductance.

Along

with capacitors and resistors, inductors are one of the three

passive linear circuit elements that make up electric circuits.
Inductors are widely used in alternating current (AC) electronic
equipment, particularly in radio equipment. They are used to
block AC while allowing DC to pass; inductors designed for this
purpose are called chokes. They are also used in electronic
filters to separate signals of different frequencies, and in
combination with capacitors to make tuned circuits.

COOLING SYSTEM
Metalcasting cooling systems normally operate quietly in
the background and receive regular attention only from the
maintenance personnel tasked with keeping them running. The
goal for this article is to provide useful insights into the design
and operation of effective and efficient induction melt shop
cooling systems, with real-world illustrations drawn from a new

system installed at Chassix Columbus Casting Operation,

Columbus, Ga. Chassix is a $1.2 billion global company
headquartered

in

Southfield,

Mich.,

serving

automotive

customers from 25 locations in eight countries. Its Columbus

facility melts 240,000 tons of ductile iron per year.

COOLING SYSTEM BASICS

Induction furnaces of all types and sizes normally are
cooled by water flowing through the furnaces coils, which are
made of heavy copper tubing. These coils generate high levels
of heat, principally from the enormous electrical currents
flowing through them and only to a much lesser extent from
heat produced by the molten metal held in the furnace.
Induction power supplies also require water cooling of their
electrical components. Without an effective cooling system,
induction furnaces will not operate.
At its most basic level, an induction furnace cooling system
includes pumps circulating water through the furnace to absorb
heat and on to a cooling tower where that heat is released. But
to be safe and effective, a cooling system must incorporate a
variety of vital subsystems. These include:
Filters and other devices to keep the water clean and
flowing.

 Heat exchangers, inline heaters and cold water diversion

valves to maintain the optimal water temperature.
Automatic city water makeup to keep the cooling system
full.
Flow sensors, pressure gauges, thermometers, water
meters,

and

other

monitoring

and

control

devices needed to be sure its all working properly.

An emergency backup system to maintain furnace cooling
in the event of pump failure or power outage.
Because cooling systems are so essential, when the system
at Chassix was no longer able to meet its needs, the
management team moved quickly to repair or replace it.
According to Darold Jack Roop, senior project engineer,
Chassix, the problems with the old cooling system had
increased considerably when new furnaces were installed to
support growth in the companys casting business.
We added three 12.5 metric tons per hour, medium frequency
induction furnaces for batch melting, along with their power
supplies, compressors and hydraulics, Roop explained. But
our cooling system lacked the capacity to handle this new load.
Due to inadequate cooling, the furnaces frequently overheated
and tripped out. Several coils were burned up. We did not have
sufficient cooling to allow us to run all of our furnaces at the
same time. This reduced our metal production and limited our
ability to fully benefit from the new melting capacity we had
just added.
Chassix determined repairs to the existing cooling system
would not provide the cooling capacity needed, so it set up and

funded a project to replace much of the system. Chassix project

manager Frank Burton oversaw the creation of the new cooling
system.
Our cooling tower was old, the wood was rotting and
falling apart and its three pumps had to run all the time to
provide needed cooling, he said. There was no redundancy. If
one pump failed, production had to be shut down until the
pump could be replaced. Shutting down was a slow process.
The only emergency backup was city water, and that outflow
presented environmental concerns.

DESIGNING AN INDUCTION MELT COOLING

SYSTEM
Very small induction furnaces used in labs or for melting
small quantities of precious metals may be cooled by direct
connection to an incoming city water recirculated back through
the furnace. This is the basis of most cooling systems.
To design a cooling system for an induction melt shop, first you
must determine the heat load on the system, taking into
account the size of each furnace, the power applied, the metal
melted, type of melting (batch or heel), holding and pouring
times and the heat loads added by non-furnace ancillary
equipment.
These calculations can be complex. The new cooling system for
Chassix was based on heat load calculations for the facilitys
wide variety of furnace sizes, melting processes and ancillary
equipment used to support them. These included:

 Three 12.5-metric-ton, medium frequency induction batch

melting furnaces.
Five 10-ton line frequency induction heel melting furnaces.
Two 17-ton line frequency induction heel melting furnaces.
Ancillary systems including air compressors, hydraulic
pumps and air conditioners.
The calculations also had to take into account the need for
backup

capacity

to

maintain

cooling

during

equipment

maintenance or repair and to support future growth.

I was looking for a new cooling system that would be
reliable and offer the redundancy to enable it to continue
running even with a pump failure, Burton said. I also wanted
a system that would provide not just the capacity to cool all of
our furnaces and equipment running at the same time, but that
would have the additional capacity to support anticipated
future growth.
The next step in the overall cooling system design is to make
adjustments for the desired incoming water temperature from
the tower to the process, the outgoing water temperature from
the process to the tower and the climatic data for the foundry
location.
line and use a city drain for the outflow. Most other size
furnaces require a pump or pumps to push cooling water
through the furnace and a cooling tower of some kind to
remove the heat from the water, which is then

WORKING

WORKING
The heart of the coreless induction furnace is the coil,
which consists of a hollow section of heavy duty, high
conductivity copper tubing which is wound into a helical coil.
Coil shape is contained within a steel shell and magnetic
shielding is used to prevent heating of the supporting shell. To

protect it from overheating, the coil is water-cooled, the water

bing recirculated and cooled in a cooling tower. The shell is
supported on trunnions on which the furnace tils to facilitate
pouring.
The crucible is formed by ramming a granular refractory
between the coil and a hollow internal former which is melted
away with the first heat leaving a sintered lining.
The power cubmicle converts the voltage and frequency of
main supply, ot that required for electrical melting. Frequencies
used in induction melting vary from 50 cycles per second
(mains

frequency)

to

10,000

cycles

per

second

(high

frequency). The higher the operating frequency, the greater the

maximum amount of power that can be applied to a furnace of
given capacity and the lower the amount of turbulence
induced.
When the charge material is molten, the interaction of the
magnetic field and the electrical currents flowing in the
induction coil produce a stirring action within the molten metal.
This stirring action forces the molten metal to rise upwards in
the centre causing the characteristic meniscus on the surface
of the metal. The degree of stirring action is influenced by the
power and frequency applied as well as the size and shape of
the coil and the density and viscosity of the molten metal. The
stirring action within the bath is important as it helps with
mixing

of

alloys

and

melting

of

turnings

as

well

as

homogenising of temerature throughout the furnace. Excessive

stirring can increase gas pick up, lining

wear and oxidation of

alloys.
The coreless induction furnace has largely replaced
the crucible furnace, especially for melting of high melting point
alloys. The coreless induction furnace is commonly used to melt
all grades of steels and irons as well as many non-ferrous
alloys. The furnace is ideal for remelting and alloying because
of the high degree of control over temperature and chemistry
while the induction current provides good circulation of the
melt.

ADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES

 Safe operation
Pollution can be reduced
Electric induction is used to melt the material
Less power consumption

APPLICATIONS

APPLICATIONS

 Automobile industry
Aluminum melting furnace
Industrial application

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

The development of this project from the

theoretical aspects to its practical application
is

of

immense

contribution.

The

Induction

furnace design and subsequently its fabrication

should be promoted considering the abundant
power sources, less maintenance cost and
labor requirements.

REFERENCES

REFERENCES
1. Percy, John. Natural Refractory Materials Employed in the
Construction

of

Crucibles,

Retorts,

Forunaces

&c. Metallurgy. London: W. Clowes and Sons, 1861. 208

09. Print.
2. Jump up^ Pigott, Vincent C. "The Neolithic (C.A 75005500
B.C) and Caltholithic (C.A 55003200 B.C) Periods." The
Archaeometallurgy of the Asian Old World. Philadelphia:
UPenn Museum of Archaeology, 1999. 7374. Google
Scholar. Web.
3. Jump up^ Rehren T. & Thornton C. P, 2009, A truly
refractory crucible from fourth millennium Tepe Hissar,
Northeast Iran, Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol. 36,
pp27002712
4. ^ Jump up to:a

Hauptmann A., 2003, Developments in

copper Metallurgy During the Fourth and Third Millennia

B.C. at Feinan, Jordan, P. Craddock & J. Lang, Eds, Mining
and Metal Production Through the Ages, British Museum
Press, London, pp93100
5. ^ Jump up to:a

Rehren Th., 2003, Crucibles as Reaction

Vessels in Ancient Metallurgy, Ed in P. Craddock & J. Lang,

Mining and Metal Production Through the Ages, British
Museum Press, London pp207215
6. Jump up^ Rehren Th., 1999, Small Size, Large Scale
Roman brass Production in Germania Inferior, Journal of
Archaeological Science, Vol. 26, pp 10831087
7. Jump up^ Craddock P., 1995, Early Metal Mining and
Production, Edinburgh University Press Ltd, Edinburgh

8. ^ Jump

up

to:a

Rehren,

Th.

and

Papakhristu,

O.,

2000, Cutting Edge Technology The Ferghana Process of

Medieval crucible steel Smelting, Metalla, Bochum, 7(2)
pp5569
9. Jump up^ Martinon-Torres M. & Rehren Th., 2009, Post
Medieval crucible Production and Distribution: A Study of
Materials and Materialities, Archaeometry Vol.51 No.1
pp4974