Fuzzy Logic Controller for Power Control of an Electric Arc Furnace

Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs) are widely used in the steel manufacturing industry to melt scrap steel by employing a large number of electric arcs. EAFs play an important role in ensuring the efficient production of steel. However, their nonlinear and variable load characteristics have a significant impact on power quality. Because the active power of an electric arc depends on its length, a system for controlling the electrode positions is necessary. This paper presents a control system based on a fuzzy logic controller for the active power control of an electric arc furnace. Individual simulation scenarios were chosen with both reference values and the process taken into consideration. The reference, constant value, step variation, and the sequence of step variation were investigated, as well as step disturbances and the sequence of step disturbances from the viewpoint of the process. Furthermore, the procedure of changing the tap on a transformer was investigated. The proposed solution minimizes the time required for charge elaboration, but the main benefit is that there are no additional costs in the implementation process because the installation remains identical, with the only changes being improvements to soft control management.