Utilization – Heating, lec.

9
Dr. Jehan Shazly

Electric heating and welding

- Heating is required for industrial purposes such as melting, hardening, drying and
welding of metals.

- The main advantages of electric heating over other systems of heating (gas, coal, or oil)
1. Economical, electric furnaces are cheaper in initial cost and maintenance.
2. Environmentally friendly, Cleanness, no dust and ash
3. Transportation and storage are easier: no storage of coal.
4. Ease of temperature control
5. Automatic protection against over current and overheating
6. Higher overall efficiency
7. No noise, high safety

Modes of heat transfer

There are three modes of heat transfer conduction, convection, and radiation.

Conduction

One molecule of the substance gets heated and transfers the heat to the adjacent one and
so on by molecules impact.

T1  T2
Q   KA( )
X1  X 2
Where: T2
T1 A
Q: heat rate (watt = joule/sec)
K: thermal conductivity [W/m/C°]
A: area (m2)
L
T: temperature (C° or K°)

T1  T2
q\ \  K ( )
X1  X 2
Where:
q\\: heat flux (watt/m2)

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 Utilization – Heating, lec.9
Dr. Jehan Shazly

Convection

Heat transfer occurs between a fluid (liquid or gas) in motion and a solid surface when
the two are at different temperatures.
Q  hA(T1  T2 )
q \ \  h(T1  T2 )
Where:
h: convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 /C°)
A: area (m2)

Radiation

The radiation energy emitted by a body is transmitted in the space in the form of
electromagnetic waves. Heat reaches the substance to be heated from the source without
heating the medium in between

Q  FA(T14  T24 )
q \ \  F (T14  T24 )
Where:
Q: heat rate (watt = joule/sec)
q\\: heat flux (watt/m2)
ε: emissivity
σ: Steven Boltzmann constant = 5.67  10 8W / m 2 K 4
F: shape factor
A: area (m2)

The methods of electric heating can be classified according to the frequency of the
supply:
Low frequency (power frequency) High frequency (kHz-MHz)
 Direct resistance heating  Direct coreless induction heating
 Indirect resistance heating  Dielectric heating
 Direct core induction heating
 Indirect core induction heating
 Arc heating
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 Utilization – Heating, lec.9
Dr. Jehan Shazly

1- Resistance heating

I) Direct resistance heating

Low volatge BB (5-25 v)

Tap changer
Transformer Electrodes

Charge

Current flows from electrodes

through charge

- The material to be heated is taken as resistance and current is passed through it.
- Two electrodes are immersed in the charge and connected to the ac. Supply.
- The current flows through the charge and heat is produced (I2R).
- This method has high efficiency because the heat is produced in the charge itself.

II) Indirect resistance heating

Fan for heat circulation

Electric
heating
elements

Thermal
insulating materil

Change

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 Utilization – Heating, lec.9
Dr. Jehan Shazly

- The current passes through a wire forming a heating element. The heating element is
kept in a cylinder surrounded by an insulating material.
- I2R losses produced in the heating element. Heat transfer to the charge by radiation and
convection.

Heating element material properties

l
1. High resistivity ( R  ) so that a small of wire may be sufficient, to produce the
a
required heat.
2. High melting point, charge could be reached to high temperature.
3. Low temperature coefficient of resistance. Resistance of heating element doesn’t
vary with the change of temperature.
4. Heating elements must be able to withstand high temperatures without oxidation
or deteriorating (High oxidation temperature).

Design of heating element

- The wire which employed as heating element may be circular or rectangular like a
ribbon.

D
l
l
t
w
D 2 a  tw
a
4
A  2lw  2lt
A  Dl

- The heating element will dissipate the heat from its surface, equivalent to electrical
input, by radiation.
- The size of the wire can be calculated by knowing the electrical input and its voltage.
- According to the energy balance equation of the heating element:
Rate of Energy generated = Rate of Energy dissipated

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 Utilization – Heating, lec.9
Dr. Jehan Shazly

pin  q \ \ A
V2 l
pin  , R
R a
D 2
For circular: a  4
A  Dl

V 2D 2
pin   q \ \Dl
4 l
q  F (T14  T24 )

Temperature control of resistance furnace

V2
In resistance ovens, heat developed on pin 
R
1. Use variable number of heating elements (R): When the number of heating
elements is changed, the total power input is changed too.
2. Change of connections: The heating elements are connected in series or in parallel
or both or in star or delta.
3. External series resistance: Voltage across the oven can be controlled by external
resistance connected in series with the circuit
4. Transformer tapping: voltage across the oven can be controlled by changing the
transformer tapping.

Example (H-1)
A 30 kw, 3 phase, 400 V resistance oven is to employ nickel-chrome strip 0.01 mm thick
for the three star connected heating elements. If the wire temperature is to be 1000 oC and
that of the charge to be 600 oC. Estimate the suitable width and length for the strip.
Assume the emissivity = 0.9, radiating efficiency to be 0.5, and the nickel-chrome
resistivity is 109 10 6 Ω.cm.

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 Utilization – Heating, lec.9
Dr. Jehan Shazly

Efficiency and losses of the electric furnace

output
The efficiency of the oven = , efficiency ranges from 60% - 80%.
input
H

H  ( A  B  C  D)
H  mC p (T f  Ti )

Where:
H: the heat required to raise the temperature of the charge to the required value.
m:
Cp:
Tf:
Ti:

Losses are occurring due to:

A: the heat required to raise the temperature of the furnace itself.

B: the heat required to raise the temperature of the container.

A & B can be calculated as H, by knowing m, c p, ∆T of the material of the oven
and the container
C: heat lost through the oven’s walls by conduction.

T1  T2
C  KA( )  time
X
D: heat lost during opening furnace, no specific formula for calculating it. It depends on
opening time and door area.

Example (H-2)
A cubic furnace has surface area of 6m2 and is filled to 90% capacity 6 times daily. The
charge is heated from 20 oC to 65 oC. The losses per square meter of tank surface per 1 oC
temperature difference is 6.3 watts. Assuming the specific heat is 1.456 kJ/kg/ oC and the
density of the specimen is 750 kg/m3 .Calculate the efficiency of the oven?

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