Protection Up the Arc – Protecting Electric Arc Furnace Transformers and Open-Air Bus

Protecting the power system for electric arc furnace steel production presents unique challenges. Dynamic secondary load currents, ultrafine slag dust, intermittent loading and frequent breaker operations contribute to higher failure risks. Overcurrent-based protection alone is insufficient to address these issues. A modern, multilayer protection scheme was developed using ruggedized arc flash sensors, communication-based differential protection and voltage-based breaker failure protection. This approach effectively overcomes these challenges, significantly improving safety and reliability while protecting the most critical asset in the steelmaking operation.

Authors:

Connor Moore | Nucor Steel Indiana
 

Mudit Kumar | Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc.
 

Haley Newton | Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc.
 

Nate Boos | Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc.
 

Session Chairs:

Tim Burttram | Big River Steel
 

Hiranya Pathak | Primetals Technologies USA LLC
 

Gianluca Maccani | POLYTEC North America