Numerical and experimental investigation of the skull melting process for continuous pouring of oxides

B. Nacke¹ - T. Fehling¹ - I. Pozniak²

¹ Institute of Electrotechnology, Leibniz University Hannover, Wilhelm-Busch-Str. 4, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
² Department of Electrotechnology and Converter Engineering, St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University, 5 prof. Popov str., St. Petersburg 197022, Russia

Abstract
The technology of induction melting in the cold crucible is suitable for high temperature synthesis of oxide materials. This paper describes a new technology for continuous melting and pouring of oxide melts. A new type of the cold crucible with two zones is used for this application. In the first zone, the charged oxide is melted and transferred via a barrier to the second zone, where the oxide is superheated before pouring. Numerical simulation is used to investigate the heat and mass transfer during the melting and pouring processes in the cold crucible furnace. Numerical results are compared with experimental data of melting and pouring experiments in an industrial prototype skull melting installation. The paper presents a description of the new cold crucible setup, the results of numerical simulations for low and high frequency and the comparison with experimental data. Figs 9, Refs 4.