Title :
Microcontroller-based monitoring of electrodes in arc furnaces for silicon production
Author :
Rodriguez-Andina, Juan J. ; Fariña, José ; Bullon, Javier ; Lorenzo, Àngel
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Appl. Electron., Vigo Univ., Spain
Abstract :
Electrodes are fundamental elements in the operation of arc furnaces, to the extent that monitoring their state is a suitable way to check the operation of the furnace. In addition, the monitoring process allows the values of important parameters of the furnace to be determined. This paper presents the monitoring system that is currently being used at the silicon production facility of the company Ferroatlantica, in Spain. It is the result of the evolution from a previous, mainly analog, system to a microcontroller-based one. Experimental results that validate the operation of the new system are given.
Keywords :
arc furnaces; computerised monitoring; electrodes; elemental semiconductors; microcontrollers; production; semiconductor technology; silicon; ELSA electrodes; Ferroatlantica; Spain; electrodes; microcontroller-based monitoring; microcontroller-based system; silicon production; silicon production facility; state monitoring; submerged arc furnaces; Chemical elements; Chemical products; Condition monitoring; Current; Electrodes; Furnaces; Impurities; Mechanical factors; Production facilities; Silicon;
Conference_Titel :
IECON 02 [Industrial Electronics Society, IEEE 2002 28th Annual Conference of the]
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7474-6
DOI :
10.1109/IECON.2002.1185284