UNIT I

ELECTRICAL HEATING
INTRODUCTION

Heat plays a major role in everyday life. All heating requirements in domestic purposes such
as cooking, room heater, immersion water heaters, and electric toasters and also in industrial
purposes such as welding, melting of metals, tempering, hardening, and drying can be met easily by
electric heating, over the other forms of conventional heating. Heat and electricity are
interchangeable. Heat also can be produced by passing the current through material to be heated.
This is called electric heating; there are various methods of heating a material but electric heating is
considered far superior compared to the heat produced by coal, oil, and natural gas.

ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRIC HEATING

The various advantages of electric heating over other the types of heating are:

(i) Economical Electric heating equipment is cheaper; they do not require much skilled
persons; therefore, maintenance cost is less.
(ii) Cleanliness Since dust and ash are completely eliminated in the electric heating, it
keeps surroundings cleanly.
(iii) Pollution free As there are no flue gases in the electric heating, atmosphere around is
pollution free; no need of providing space for their exit.
(iv) Ease of control In this heating, temperature can be controlled and regulated accurately
either manually or automatically.
(v) Uniform heating With electric heating, the substance can be heated uniformly,
throughout whether it may be conducting or non-conducting material.
(vi) High efficiency In non-electric heating, only 40–60% of heat is utilized but in electric
heating 75–100% of heat can be successfully utilized. So, overall efficiency of electric
heating is very high.
(vii) Automatic protection Protection against over current and over heating can be provided
by using fast control devices.
(viii) Heating of non-conducting materials The heat developed in the non-conducting
materials such as wood and porcelain is possible only through the electric heating.
(ix) Better working conditions No irritating noise is produced with electric heating and also
radiating losses are low.
(x) Less floor area Due to the compactness of electric furnace, floor area required is less.
(xi) High temperature High temperature can be obtained by the electric heating except the
ability of the material to withstand the heat.
(xii) Safety The electric heating is quite safe.
MODES OF TRANSFER OF HEAT

The transmission of the heat energy from one body to another because of the temperature gradient
takes place by any of the following methods:

1. conduction,

2. convection,

3. radiation.

Conduction

In this mode, the heat transfers from one part of substance to another part without the movement
in the molecules of substance. The rate of the conduction of heat along the substance depends upon
the temperature gradient. The amount of heat passed through a cubic body with two parallel faces
with thickness ‘t’ meters, having the cross-sectional area of ‘A’ square meters and the temperature
of its two faces T1°C and T2°C, during ‘T’ hours is given by:

where k is the coefficient of the thermal conductivity for the material and it is measured in
MJ/m3/°C/hr.

Ex: Refractory heating, the heating of insulating materials, etc.

Convection

In this mode, the heat transfer takes place from one part to another part of substance or fluid due to
the actual motion of the molecules. The rate of conduction of heat depends mainly on the difference
in the fluid density at different temperatures. Ex: Immersion water heater. The amount of heat
absorbed by the water from heater through convection depends mainly upon the temperature of
heating element and also depends partly on the position of the heater. Heat dissipation is given by
the following expression.

H = a (T1 – T2)b W/m2,

where ‘a’ and ‘b’ are the constants, whose values are depended upon the heating surface and T1and
T2 are the temperatures of heating element and fluid in °C, respectively. Radiation In this mode, the
heat transfers from source to the substance to be heated without heating the medium in between. It
is dependent on surface. Ex: Solar heaters. The rate of heat dissipation through radiation is given by
Stefan's Law.

-----(4.1)

where T1 is the temperature of the source in kelvin, T2 is the temperature of the substance to be
heated in kelvin, and k is the radiant efficiency: = 1, for single element = 0.5–0.8, for several
elements e = emissivity = 1, for black body = 0.9, for resistance heating element. From above
Equation radiant heat is proportional to the difference of fourth power of the temperature, so it is
very efficient heating at high temperature.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS OF GOOD HEATING ELEMENT

The materials used for heating element should have the following properties:

o High-specific resistance Material should have high-specific resistance so that small length of wire
may be required to provide given amount of heat.

o High-melting point It should have high-melting point so that it can withstand for high
temperature, a small increase in temperature will not destroy the element.

o Low temperature coefficient of resistance From Equation (4.1), the radiant heat is proportional to
fourth powers of the temperatures, it is very efficient heating at high temperature. For accurate
temperature control, the variation of resistance with the operating temperature should be very low.
This can be obtained only if the material has low temperature coefficient of resistance.

o Free from oxidation The element material should not be oxidized when it is subjected to high
temperatures; otherwise the formation of oxidized layers will shorten its life.

o High-mechanical strength The material should have high-mechanical strength and should
withstand for mechanical vibrations.

o Non-corrosive The element should not corrode when exposed to atmosphere or any other
chemical fumes. o Economical The cost of material should not be so high.

METHODS OF ELECTRIC HEATING

Heat can be generated by passing the current through a resistance or induced currents. The
initiation of an arc between two electrodes also develops heat. The bombardment by some heat
energy particles such as α, γ, β, and x-rays or accelerating ion can produce heat on a surface. Electric
heating can be broadly classified as follows.

(i) Direct resistance heating In this method, the electric current is made to pass through
the charge (or) substance to be heated. This principle of heating is employed in
electrode boiler.
(ii) Indirect resistance heating In this method, the electric current is made to pass through a
wire or high-resistance heating element, the heat so developed is transferred to charge
from the heating element by convection or radiation. This method of heating is
employed in immersion water heaters. Normally, this method is used for drying clothes
in the textile industry and to dry the wet paints on an object.
(iii) Direct arc heating In this method, by striking the arc between the charge and the
electrode or electrodes, the heat so developed is directly conducted and taken by the
charge. The furnace operating on this principle is known as direct arc furnaces. The main
application of this type of heating is production of steel.
(iv) Indirect arc heating In this method, arc is established between the two electrodes, the
heat so developed is transferred to the charge (or) substance by radiation. The furnaces
operating on this principle are known as indirect arc furnaces. This method is generally
used in the melting of non-ferrous metals.
(v) Direct induction heating In this method of heating, the currents are induced by
electromagnetic action in the charge to be heated. These induced currents are used to
melt the charge in induction furnace.
(vi) Indirect induction heating In this method, eddy currents are induced in the heating
element by electromagnetic action. Thus, the developed heat in the heating element is
transferred to the body (or) charge to be heated by radiation (or) convection. This
principle of heating is employed in induction furnaces used for the heat treatment of
metals. Dielectric heating In this method of electric heating, the heat developed in a
non-metallic material due to interatomic friction, known as dielectric loss. This principle
of heating usually employed for preheating of plastic performs, baking foundry cores,
etc.

RESISTANCE HEATING

When the electric current is made to pass through a high-resistive body (or) substance, a
power loss takes place in it, which results in the form of heat energy, i.e., resistance heating is
passed upon the I2R effect. This method of heating has wide applications such as drying, baking
of potteries, commercial and domestic cooking, and the heat treatment of metals such as
annealing and hardening. In oven where wire resistances are employed for heating, temperature
up to about 1,000°C can be obtained.

The resistance heating is further classified as:

1. direct resistance heating.

2. indirect resistance heating,
3. Infrared (or) radiant heating.
1. Direct resistance heating In this method, electrodes are immersed in a material or charge to
be heated. The charge may be in the form of powder, pieces, or liquid. The electrodes are
connected to AC or DC supply as shown in Fig. 4.1(a). In case of DC or 1-φ AC, two electrodes
are immersed and three electrodes are immersed in the charge and connected to supply in
case of availability of 3-φsupply. When metal pieces are to be heated, the powder of lightly
resistive is sprinkled over the surface of the charge (or) pieces to avoid direct short circuit.
The current flows through the charge and heat is produced in the charge itself. So, this
method has high efficiency. As the current in this case is not variable, so that automatic
temperature control is not possible. This method of heating is employed in salt bath furnace
and electrode boiler for heating water.
(i) Salt bath furnace This type of furnace consists of a bath and containing some salt such
as molten sodium chloride and two electrodes immersed in it. Such salt have a fusing
point of about 1,000–1,500°C depending upon the type of salt used. When the current is
passed between the electrodes immersed in the salt, heat is developed and the
temperature of the salt bath may be increased. Such an arrangement is known as a salt
bath furnace. In this bath, the material or job to be heated is dipped. The electrodes
should be carefully immersed in the bath in such a way that the current flows through
the salt and not through the job being heated. As DC will cause electrolysis so,
lowvoltage AC up to 20 V and current up to 3,000 A is adopted depending upon the type
of furnaces. The resistance of the salt decreases with increase in the temperature of the
salt, therefore, in order to maintain the constant power input, the voltage can be
controlled by providing a tap changing transformer. The control of power input is also
affected by varying the depth of immersion and the distance between the electrodes.

(ii) Electrode boiler It is used to heat the water by immersing three electrodes in a tank as
shown in Fig. 4.2. This is based on the principle that when the electric current passed
through the water produces heat due to the resistance offered by it. For DC supply, it
results in a lot of evolution of H2 at negative electrode and O2 at positive electrode.
Whereas AC supply hardly results in any evolution of gas, but heats the water. Electrode
boiler tank is earthed solidly and connected to the ground. A circuit breaker is usually
incorporated to make and break all poles simultaneously and an over current protective
device is provided in each conductor feeding an electrode.
 2. Indirect resistance heating In the indirect resistance heating method, high current is passed
through the heating element. In case of industrial heating, some times the heating element
is placed in a cylinder which is surrounded by the charge placed in a jacket is known as
heating chamber is shown in Fig. 4.3. The heat is proportional to power loss produced in the
heating element is delivered to the charge by one or more of the modes of the transfer of
heat viz. conduction, convection, and radiation. This arrangement provides uniform
temperature and automatic temperature control. Generally, this method of heating is used
in immersion water heaters, room heaters, and the resistance ovens used in domestic and
commercial cooling and salt bath furnace.

Resistance ovens According to the operating temperatures, the resistance furnaces may be classified
into various types. Low-temperature heating chamber with the provision for ventilation is called as
oven. For drying varnish coating, the hardening of synthetic materials, and commercial and domestic
heating, etc., the resistance ovens are employed. The operating temperature of medium
temperature furnaces is between 300°C and 1,050°C. These are employed for the melting of
nonferrous metals, stove (annealing), etc. Furnaces operating at temperature between 1,050°C and
1,350°C are known as high-temperature furnaces. These furnaces are employed for hardening
applications. A simple resistance oven is shown in Fig. 4.4.
Resistance oven consists of a heating chamber in which heating elements are placed as shown in the
Fig. 4.4. The inner surface of the heating chamber is made to suit the character of the charge and the
type of furnace or oven. The type of insulation used for heating chamber is determined by the
maximum temperature of the heating chamber.

Efficiency and losses of resistance ovens The heat produced in the heating elements, not only raises
the temperature of the charge to desired value, but also used to overcome the losses occurring due
to:

1. Heat used in raising the temperature of oven (or) furnace.

2. Heat used in raising the temperature of containers (or) carriers,

3. Heat conducted through the walls.

4. Heat loss due to the opening of oven door.

1. The heat required to raise the temperature of oven to desired value can be calculated by knowing
the mass of refractory material (M), its specific heat (S), and raise of temperature (ΔT) and is given
by:

Hoven = MS TJ.

In case the oven is continuously used, this loss becomes negligible.

2. Heat used in rising the temperature of containers (or) carriers can be calculated exactly the same
way as for oven (or) furnaces.

3. Heat loss conducted through the walls of the container can be calculated by knowing the area of
the container (A) in square meters, the thickness of the walls (t) in meters, the inside and out side
temperatures of the container T1 and T2 in °C, respectively, and the thermal conductivity of the
container walls ‘k’ in m3/°C/hr and is given by: Heat loss by conduction Actually, there is no specific
formula for the determination of loss occurring due to the opening of door for the periodic
inspection of the charge so that this loss may be approximately taken as 0.58–1.15 MJ/m2 of the
door area, if the door is opened for a period of 20–30 sec. The efficiency of the oven is defined as the
ratio of the heat required to raise the temperature of he charge to the desired value to the heat
required to raise the charge and losses. The efficiency of the oven:
INDUCTION HEATING
The induction heating process makes use of the currents induced by the electromagnetic action in
the material to be heated. To develop sufficient amount of heat, the resistance of the material must
be low , which is possible only with the metals, and the voltage must be higher, which can be
obtained by employing higher flux and higher frequency. Therefore, the magnetic materials can be
heated than non-magnetic materials due to their high permeability. In order to analyse the factors
affecting induction heating, let us consider a circular disc to be heated carrying a current of ‘I’ amps
at a frequency ‘f’ Hz. As shown in Fig. 4.9.

Figure 4.9

Heat developed in the disc is depending upon the following factors.

o Primary coil current.

o The number of the turns of the coil.

o Supply frequency.

o The magnetic coupling between the coil and the disc.

o The high electrical resistivity of the disc.

If the charge to be heated is non-magnetic, then the heat developed is due to eddy current loss,
whereas if it is magnetic material, there will be hysteresis loss in addition to eddy current loss. Both
hysteresis and eddy current loss are depended upon frequency, but at high-frequency hysteresis,
loss is very small as compared to eddy currents. The depth of penetration of induced currents into
the disc is given by:

where ρ is the specific resistance in Ω-cm, f is the frequency in Hz, and μ is the permeability of the
charge.
There are basically two types of induction furnaces and they are:

1. Core type or low-frequency induction furnace.

2. Coreless type or high-frequency induction furnace.

Core type furnace The operating principle of the core type furnace is the electromagnetic induction.
This furnace is operating just like a transformer.

It is further classified as:

1. Direct core type.

2.Vertical core type.

3. Indirect core type.

(i) Direct core type induction furnace

The core type furnace is essentially a transformer in which the charge to be heated forms single turn
secondary circuit and is magnetically coupled to the primary by an iron core as shown in Fig. 4.10.

The furnace consists of a circular hearth in the form of a trough, which contains the charge to be
melted in the form of an annular ring.

This type of furnace has the following characteristics:

o This metal ring is quite large in diameter and is magnetically interlinked with primary winding,
which is energized from an AC source. The magnetic coupling between primary and secondary is
very weak; it results in high leakage reactance and low pf. To overcome the increase in leakage
reactance, the furnace should be operated at low frequency of the order of 10 Hz.

o When there is no molten metal in the hearth, the secondary becomes open circuited thereby
cutting of secondary current. Hence, to start the furnace, the molten metal has to be taken in the
hearth to keep the secondary as short circuit.

o Furnace is operating at normal frequency, which causes turbulence and severe stirring action in
the molten metal to avoid this difficulty, it is also necessary to operate the furnace at low frequency.
o In order to obtain low-frequency supply, separate motor-generator set (or) frequency changer is to
be provided, which involves the extra cost.

o The crucible used for the charge is of odd shape and inconvenient from the metallurgical
viewpoint. o If current density exceeds about 500 A/cm2, it will produce high-electromagnetic forces
in the molten metal and hence adjacent molecules repel each other, as they are in the same
direction.

The repulsion may cause the interruption of secondary circuit (formation of bubbles and voids); this
effect is known as pinch effect. The pinch effect is also dependent on frequency; at low frequency,
this effect is negligible, and so it is necessary to operate the furnace at low frequency.

(ii) Vertical core type induction furnace

It is an improvement over the direct core type furnace, to overcome some of the disadvantages
mentioned above. This type of furnace consists of a vertical core instead of horizontal core as
shown in Fig. 4.11. It is also known as Ajax–Wyatt induction furnace.

Vertical core avoids the pinch effect due to the weight of the charge in the main body of the
crucible. The leakage reactance is comparatively low and the power factor is high as the
magnetic coupling is high compared to direct core type. There is a tendency of molten metal to
accumulate at the bottom that keeps the secondary completed for a vertical core type furnace
as it consists of narrow V-shaped channel. The inside layer of furnace is lined depending upon
the type charge used. Clay lining is used for yellow brass and an alloy of magnesia and alumina is
used for red brass. The top surface of the furnace is covered with insulating material, which can
be removed for admitting the charge. Necessary hydraulic arrangements are usually made for
tilting the furnace to take out the molten metal. Even though it is having complicated
construction, it is operating at power factor of the order of 0.8–0.83. This furnace is normally
used for the melting and refining of brass and non-ferrous metals.

Advantages

o Accurate temperature control and reduced metal losses.

o Absence of crucibles.

o Consistent performance and simple control.

o It is operating at high power factor.

o Pinch effect can be avoided.

(iii) Indirect core type furnace

This type of furnace is used for providing heat treatment to metal. A simple induction furnace
with the absence of core is shown in Fig. 4.12.

The secondary winding itself forms the walls of the container or furnace and an iron core links
both primary and secondary windings. The heat produced in the secondary winding is
transmitted to the charge by radiation. An oven of this type is in direct competition with ordinary
resistance oven. It consists of a magnetic circuit AB is made up of a special alloy and is kept
inside the chamber of the furnace. This magnetic circuit loses its magnetic properties at certain
temperature and regains them again when it is cooled to the same temperature. When the oven
reaches to critical temperature, the reluctance of the magnetic circuit increases many times and
the inductive effect decreases thereby cutting off the supply heat. Thus, the temperature of the
furnace can be effectively controlled. The magnetic circuit ‘AB’ is detachable type that can be
replaced by the other magnetic circuits having critical temperatures ranging between 400°C and
1,000°C. The furnace operates at a pf of around 0.8. The main advantage of such furnace is wide
variation of temperature control is possible.
Coreless type induction furnace

It is a simple furnace with the absence core is shown in Fig. 4.13. In this furnace, heat developed
in the charge due to eddy currents flowing through it.

The furnace consists of a refractory or ceramic crucible cylindrical in shape enclosed within a coil
that forms primary of the transformer. The furnace also contains a conducting or nonconducting
container that acts as secondary. If the container is made up of conducting material, charge can
be conducting or nonconducting; whereas, if the container is made up of non-conducting
material, charge taken should have conducting properties. When primary coils are excited by an
alternating source, the flux set up by these coils induce the eddy currents in the charge. The
direction of the resultant eddy current is in a direction opposite to the current in the primary
coil. These currents heat the charge to melting point and they also set up electromagnetic forces
that produce a stirring action to the charge. ∴ The eddy currents developed in any magnetic
circuit are given as: We ∝ Bm 2f2, where Bm is the maximum flux density (tesla), f is the
frequency in (Hz), and We is the eddy current loss (watts). In coreless furnace, the flux density
will be low as there is no core. Hence, the primary supply should have high frequency for
compensating the low flux density. If it is operating at high frequency, due to the skin effect, it
results copper loss, thereby increasing the temperature of the primary winding. This necessitates
in artificial cooling. The coil, therefore, is made of hollow copper tube through which cold water
is circulated. Minimum stray magnetic field is maintained when designing coreless furnace,
otherwise there will be considerable eddy current loss. The selection of a suitable frequency of
the primary current can be given by penetration formula. According to this:

where ‘t’ is the thickness up to which current in the metal has penetrated, ‘ρ’ is the resistivity in
Ω-cm,'μ’ is the permeability of the material, and ‘f’ is the frequency in Hz.

For the efficient operation, the ratio of the diameter of the charge (d) to the depth of the
penetration of currents (t) should be more than ‘6’, therefore let us take: Substitute above in
Equation (4.11).

Following are the advantages of coreless furnace over the other furnaces:

o Ease of control. o Oxidation is reduced, as the time taken to reach the melting temperature is
less.

o The eddy currents in the charge itself results in automatic stirring.

o The cost is less for the erection and operation.

o It can be used for heating and melting.

o Any shape of crucible can be used. o It is suitable for intermittent operation.

DIELECTRIC HEATING
When non-metallic materials i.e., insulators such as wood, plastics, and china glass are subjected
to high-voltage alternating electric field, the atoms get stresses, and due to interatomic friction
caused by the repeated deformation and the rotation of atomic structure (polarization), heat is
produced. This is known as dielectric loss. This dielectric loss in insulators corresponds to
hysteresis loss in ferro-magnetic materials. This loss is due to the reversal of magnetism or
magneto molecular friction. These losses developed in a material that has to be heated. An atom
of any material is neutral, since the central positive charge is equals to the negative charge. So
that, the centers of positive and negative charges coincide as long as there is no external field is
applied, as shown in Fig. (a). When this atom is subjected to the influence of the electric field,
the positive charge of the nucleus is acted upon by some force in the direction of negative
charges in the opposite direction. Therefore, the effective centers of both positive and negative
charges no longer coincident as shown in Fig. (b). The electric charge of an atom equivalent to
Fig.(b) is shown in Fig. (c).
This gives raise to an electric dipole moment equal to P = q d, where d is the distance between
the two centers and q is the charge on the nucleus. Now, the atom is said to be polarized atom.
If we apply alternating voltage across the capacitor plate, we will get alternating electric field.
Electric dipoles will also try to change their orientation according to the direction of the
impressed electric field. In doing so, some energy will be wasted as inter-atomic friction, which is
called dielectric loss. As there is no perfect conductor, so there is no perfect insulator. All the
dielectric materials can be represented by a parallel combination of a leakage resistor ‘R’ and a
capacitor ‘C’ as shown in Fig. 4.15 (a) and (b).

If an AC voltage is applied across a piece of insulator, an electric current flows; total current ‘I’
supposed to be made up of two components IC and IR, where IC is the capacitive current leading
the applied voltage by 90° and IR is in phase with applied voltage as shown in Fig. 4.15(c). where
‘V' is the applied voltage in volts, ‘f’ is the supply frequency in Hz, ɛ0 is the absolute permittivity
of the medium = 8.854 × 10-12 F/m, ɛr is the relative permittivity of the medium = 1 for free
space, A is the area of the plate or electrode (m2), d is the thickness of the dielectric medium,
and δ is the loss angle in radian. From Equation (4.14): Normally frequency used for dielectric
heating is in the range of 1–40 MHz. The use of high voltage is also limited due to the breakdown
voltage of thin dielectric that is to be heated, under normal conditions; the voltage gradient used
is limited to 18 kV/cm.

The advantages of the dielectric heating

o The heating of the non-conducting materials is very rapid.

o The uniform heating of material is possible.

o Heat is produced in the whole mass of the material. The applications of the dielectric heating o
The drying of paper, wood, etc.

o The gluing of wood.

o The heat-sealing of plastic sheets.

o The heating for the general processing such as coffee roasting and chocolate industry.

o The heating for the dehydration such as milk, cream, and vegetables.

o The preparation of thermoplastic resins.

o The heating of bones and tissues.

o Diathermy, i.e., the heat treatment for certain body pains and diseases, etc.

o The sterilization of absorbent cotton, bandages, etc.

o The processing of rubber, synthetic materials, chemicals, etc.