A methodology for determining the frequency response of electrodes in arc furnaces for silicon metal production

This paper presents a methodology that is being applied for determining the frequency response of the electrodes in a kind of arc furnace used in silicon metal production facilities worldwide. The methodology is mainly aimed at the on-line monitoring of the furnace, but an off-line analysis can also be performed. This allows the effectiveness of different computational approaches to refine the monitoring process to be evaluated. Experimental results are presented that illustrate the ability of the methodology for the characterization of both the furnace and the associated power system.