UNIT-3

HEATING AND WELDING

Electric Heating Introduction:

Electric heating is any process in which electrical energy is converted to heat. Common
applications include heating of buildings, cooking, and industrial processes. An electric heater is an
electrical appliance that converts electrical energy into heat. The heating element inside every electric
heater is simply an electrical resistor, and works on the principle of Joule heating: an electric current
through a resistor converts electrical energy into heat energy. Alternatively, a heat pump uses an
electric motor to drive a refrigeration cycle, drawing heat from a source such as the ground or outside
air and directing it into the space to be warmed.

Definition

Dielectric heating (also known as electronic heating, RF heating, high-frequency heating) is the
process in which radio wave or microwave electromagnetic radiation heats a dielectric material. This
heating is caused by dipole rotation.

Role electric heating for industrial applications:

When current is passed through a conductor, the conductor becomes hot. When a magnetic material
is brought in the vicinity of an alternating magnetic field, heat is produced in the magnetic material.

Similarly it was found that when an electrically insulating material was subjected to electrical
stresses, it too underwent a temperature rise (Dielectric heating).

There are various method of heating a material but electric heating is considered to be
far superior for the following reasons:

(i) Cleanliness:

Due to complete elimination of dust and ash, the charges to maintain cleanliness are minimum and
the material to be heated does not get contaminated.

(ii) Ease of control:

With the help of manual or automatic devices, it is possible to control and regulate the temperature
of a furnace with great ease.

(iii) Uniform heating:

Whereas in other forms of heating a temperature gradient is set up from the outer
surface (iv) Low attention and maintenance cost:

Electric heating equipments normally do not require much attention and maintenance is also
negligible.
 Hence labour charges on these items are negligibly small as compared to alternative methods of
heating.

Requirement of Heating Material:

i) Low Temperature Coefficients of Resistance
Resistance of conducting element varies with the temperature; this variation should be small in
case of an element.

Otherwise when switched ON from room temperature to go upto say 1200˚C, the low resistance at
initial stage will draw excessively high currents at the same operating voltage.

ii) Resistance coefficient Positive

If temperature is negative the element will draw more current when hot.

A higher current means more voltage, a higher temperature or a still lower resistance, which
can instability of operation.

iii) High Melting Point

Its melting point should be sufficiently higher than its operating temperature. Otherwise a small
rise in the operating voltage will destroy the element.

iv) High Specific Resistance

The resistivity of the material used for making element should be high.

This will require small lengths and shall give convenient size.

v) High Oxidizing Temperature

 To have convenient shapes and sizes, the material used should have high ductility and flexibility.

It should not be brittle and fragile.

vi) Should with stand Vibration

In most industrial process quite strong vibrations are produced.

Some furnaces have to open or rock while hot. The element material should withstand the
vibrations while hot and should not break open.
vii) Mechanical Strength

 The material used should have sufficient mechanical strength of its own.
CLASSIFICATION OF METHODS OF ELECTRIC HEATING :

Power Frequency Method:

Direct resistance heating, indirect resistance heating, direct arc heating, and indirect arc heating.

High Frequency Heating:

Induction heating and dielectric heating.

Resistance Heating:

This method is based upon the I2R loss. Whenever current is passed through a resistive material
heat is produced because of I2 R loss.

There are two methods of resistance heating. They are

a. Direct Resistance Heating

b. Indirect Resistance Heating

Direct Resistance Heating:

 In this method of heating the material or change to be heated is taken as a resistance and current
is passed through it.

The charge may be in the form of powder pieces or liquid. The two electrodes are immersed in
the charge and connected to the supply.

In case of D.C or single phase A.C two electrodes are required but there will be three electrodes
in case of three phase supply.

When metal pieces are to be heated a powder of high resistivity material is sprinkled over
the surface of the charge to avoid direct short circuit.
But it gives uniform heat and high temperature. One of the major applications of the process is
salt bath furnaces having an operating temperature between 500˚C to 1400˚C.

 An immersed electrode type medium temperature salt bath furnace is shown in figure

 The bath makes use of supply voltage across two electrodes varying between 5 to 20 volts.

For this purpose a special double wound transformer is required which makes use of 3Ф primary
and single phase secondary. This speaks of an unbalanced load.

The variation in the secondary voltage is done with the help of an off load tapping switch of the
primary side. This is necessary for starting and regulating the bath load.

Advantages:
 High efficiency.
 It gives uniform heat and high temperature.

Application:
 it is mainly used in salt bath furnace and water heaters.
Indirect Resistance Heating:

In this method the current is passed through a highly resistance element which is either placed
above or below the over depending upon the nature of the job to be performed.

The heat proportional to I2R losses produced in heating element delivered to the charge either by
radiation or by convection.

Sometimes in case of industrial heating the resistance is placed in a cylinder which is surrounded
by the charge placed in the jackes. The arrangement provides as uniform temperature.

Automatic temperature control can be provided in this case

This method is used in room heater, in bimetallic strip used in starters, immersion water heaters
and in various types of resistance ovens used in domestic and commercial cooking.
Induction heating:

Induction heating processes make use of currents induced by electromagnetic action in the material
to be heated.

Induction heating is based on the principle of transformers. There is a primary winding through
which an a.c current is passed.

The coil is magnetically coupled with the metal to be heated which acts as secondary.

An electric current is induced in this metal when the a.c current is passed through the primary coil.

The following are different types of induction furnaces

1. Core type furnaces

a. Direct core type induction furnace
b. Vertical core type induction furnace
c. Indirect core type induction furnace
2. Core less type furnaces

Direct core type:

The direct core type induction furnace is shown ion fig.

 It consist of an iron core, crucible and primary winding connected to an a.c supply.

The charge is kept in the cruicible, which forms a single turn short circuited secondary circuit.

The current in the charge is very high in the order of several thousand amperes. The charge
is magnetically coupled to the primary winding.
The change is melted because of high current induced in it. When there is no molten metal,
no current will flow in the secondary.

To start the furnace molten metal is poured in the oven from the previous charge.

This type of furnace has the following drawbacks:

The magnetic coupling between the primary and secondary is very weak, therefore the
leakage reactance is very high. This causes low power factor.

Low frequency supply is necessary because normal frequency causes turbulence of the charge.

If current density exceeds about 5 amps/mm2 the electromagnetic force produced by this
current density causes interruption of secondary current.

Hence the heating of the metal is interrupted. It is called pinch effect.

The crucible for the charge id of odd shape and inconvenient from the metallurgical point of view.

The furnace cannot function if the secondary circuit is open.

It must be closed. For starting the furnace either molten metal is poured into the crucible or
sufficient molten metal is allowed to remain in the crucible from the previous operation.

Such furnace is not suitable for intermittent services.

Indirect core type induction furnace:

I n this type of furnace induction principle has been used for heating metals.

In such furnace an inductively heated element is made to transfer its heat to the change
When the primary winding is connected to the supply, current is induced in the secondary of
the metal container.

So heat is produced due to induced current. This heat is transmitted to the charge by radiation.

The portion AB of the magnetic circuit is made up of a special alloy and is kept inside the chamber
of the furnace.

The special alloy will losse its magnetic properties at a particular temperature and the magnetic
properties are regained when the alloy will cooled.
As soon as the furnace attains the critical temperature the reluctance of the magnetic circuit
increases many times and the inductive effect correspondingly decreases thereby
cutting off the heat supply.

The bar AB is removable type and can be replaced by other, having different critical temperature.
Thus the temperature of the furnace can be controlled very effectively.

Coreless induction furnace:

Coreless induction furnace also operates on the principle of transformer. In this furnace there is no
core and thus the flux density will be low.

Hence for compensating the low flux density, the current supplied to the primary should have
sufficiently high frequency.

The flux set up by the primary winding produces eddy currents in the charge. The heating effect of
the eddy currents melts the charge.

Stirring of the metals takes place by the action of the electromagnetic forces. Coreless furnace may
be having conducting or non- conducting containers.

Fig shows a coreless induction furnace in which container is made up of conducting material.

The container acts as secondary winding and the charge can have either conducting or non
conducting properties.

Thus the container forms a short circuited single turn secondary. Hence heavy current induced in it
and produce heat.
The flux produced by the primary winding produces eddy currents in the charge. The heating
effects of the eddy currents melt the charge.
 Stirring action in the metals takes place by the action of the electromagnetic forces.

Advantages:

 Time taken to reach the melting temperature is less.

 Any shape of crucible can be used.
 Accurate power control is possible.
 The eddy currents in the charge results in automatic stirring.
 Absence of dirt, smoke, noise, etc.
 Erection cost is less.

Applications of Induction Heating

 Induction furnace
 Induction welding
 Induction cooking
 Induction brazing
 Induction sealing
 Heating to fit
 Heat treatment

Advantages of Induction Heating

 Optimized Consistency
  Maximized Productivity
 Improved Product Quality
 Extended Fixture Life
 Environmentally Sound
 Reduced Energy Consumption
Dielectric heating:

Dielectric heating is also sometimes called as high frequency capacitance heating.

If non metallic materials ie, insulators such as wood, plastics, china clay, glass, ceramics etc are
subjected to high voltage A.C current, their temperature will increase in temperature is due to the
conversion of dielectric loss into heat.

The dielectric loss is dependent upon the frequency and high voltage. Therefore for obtaining high
heating effect high voltage at high frequency is usually employed.

The metal to be heated is placed between two sheet type electrodes which forms a capacitor as
shown in fig. The equivalent circuit and vector diagram is also shown in fig.

When A.C supply is connected across the two electrodes, the current drawn by it is leading the
voltage exactly 90˚.

The angle between voltage and current is slightly less than 90˚

But at high frequencies, the loss becomes large, which is sufficient to heat the dielectric.

Advantages:

o Uniform heating is obtained.

o Running cost is low.
o Non conducting materials are heated within a short period.

o Easy heat control.

Applications:

 For food processing.

 For wood processing.
 For drying purpose in textile industry.
 For electronic sewing.
Electric arc furnaces:

AJAX WYATT Vertical core type furnace:

The principle of operation is that of a transformer in which the secondary turns are replaced by a
closed loop of molten metal. The primary winding is placed on the central limb of the core.

Hence leakage reactance is comparatively low and power factor is high. Inside of the furnace is
lined with refactory depending upon the charge.

The top of the furnace is covered with an insulated cover which can be removed for charging.
Necessary arrangements are usually made for titling the furnace to take out the molten metal.
The molten metal in the ‘V’ portion acts as a short circuited secondary. When primary is connected
to the a.c supply, high current will be accumulated at the bottom and even a small amount of charge
will keep the secondary completed.
Hence a chance of discontinuity of the circuit is less.

Advantages:
 High efficiency and low operating cost.
  Since both primary and secondary are on the same central core, its power factor is better.
 The furnace is operated from the normal supply frequency.
 Chances of discontinuity of the secondary circuit is less, hence it is useful for intermittent operations.

Applications:
This furnace is used for melting non ferrous metals like brass, zinc, tin, bronze, copper etc.

Introduction to electric welding:

Welding is the process of joining two similar metals by heating. The metal parts are heated to
melting point. In some cases the pieces of metal to be joined are heated to plastic stage and are fused
together.

The electric welding sets may be either dc or ac type. DC welding sets are of two types namely
generator type welding set consisting of a differential compound wound dc generator, giving drooping
volt-ampere characteristic, driven by any type of prime-mover (a squirrel cage induction motor or a
petrol or diesel engine) and dry type rectifier (selenium rectifier) used in conjunction with a multiphase
high leakage transformer. IN generator type welding sets the control may be obtained by tapping the
series field or by providing a suitable shunt across the series field winding. In the rectifier type set dc
voltage is controlled by regulating the transformer output. If supply from existing dc distribution
system is to be used for welding then ballast (resistance) is put in series with the equipment and the
control is affected by varying this external series resistance.
In electric welding process, electric current is used to produce large heat, required for joining
two metal pieces. There are two methods by which electric welding can be carried out. These are

a) Resistance welding and

b) Arc welding.

Types of electric welding:

1. Resistance welding

a) Seam welding

b) Projection welding

c) Flash welding

2. Arc welding

a) Carbon arc welding

b) Metal arc welding

c) Atomic hydrogen arc welding

d) Inert gas metal arc welding

e) Submerged arc welding.

Resistance welding:

In resistance welding heavy current is passed through the metal pieces to be welded. Heat will be
developed by the resistance of the work piece to the flow of current.

The heat produced for welding is given by

H=I2Rt

Where,

H= Heat developed at the contact area.

I= Current in amperes.

R= Resistance in ohms.

t= time of flow of current.

Butt welding:

In this process heat is generated by the contact resistance between two components.

In this type of welding the metal parts to be joined end to end. Sufficient pressure is applied
along the axial direction.

A heavy current is passed from the welding transformer which creates the necessary heat at the
joint due to high resistance of the contact area.
Due to the pressure applied, the molten metal forced to produce a bulged joint.

This method is suitable for welding pipes, wires and rods.

ii) Spot welding:

Spot welding is usually employed for joining or fabricating sheet metal structure. This type of joint
only provides mechanical strength and is not air or water tight.

The plates to be welded are placed overlapping each other between two electrodes, sufficient
mechanical pressure is applied through the electrodes.
The welding current flows through electrodes tips producing a spot weld. The welding current and
period of current flow depend on the thickness of the plates.
iii) Arc welding:

An electric arc is the flow of electric current through gases.

An electric arc is struck by short circuiting two electrodes and then with drawing them apart by
small distance.

The current continue to flow across the small gap and give intense heat.

The heat developed by the arc is also used for cutting of metal.
The electrode is made of carbon or graphite and is to be kept negative with respect of work.
The work piece is connected to positive wir. Flux and filler are also used.

Filler is made up of similar metal as that of metal to be welded.

If the electrode is made positive then the carbon contents may flow into the weld and cause
brittleness.
The heat from the arc forms a molten pool and the extra metal required to make the weld is
supplied by the filler rod.

This type of welding is used for welding copper and its alloy.

iv) Metal arc welding:

In metal arc welding a metal rod of same material as being welded is used as an electrode.

The electrode also serves the purpose of filler. For metal arc welding A.C or D.C can be used.

Electric supply is connected between electrode and work piece.

The work piece is then suddenly touched by the electrode and then separated from it a little. This
results in an arc between the job and the electrode.

A little portion of the work and the tip of the electrode melts due to the heat generated by the arc.

When the electrode is removed the metal cools and solidifies giving a strong welded joint.

WELDING GENERATOR - A.C SUPPLY

In tapped reactor method, output current is regulated by taps on the reactor. This has
limited number of current settings.
 In the moving coil method of current control, relative distance between primary and
secondary windings is changed. When coils are more separated out current is less.

In magnetic shunt method, position of central magnetic shunt can be adjusted. This
changes the magnitude of shunt flux and therefore, output current. When central core is more inside,
load current will be less and vice versa.
In continuously variable reactor method, output current is controlled by varying the
height of the reactor. Greater the core insertion, greater the reactance and less the output current.
Reverse is true for less height of core insertion

In saturable reactor method, the reactance of the reactor is adjusted by changing the value
of d.c excitation obtained from bridge rectifiers by means of rheostat. When d.c current in the central
winding of reactor is more, reactor approaches magnetic saturation. This means the reactance of
reactor becomes less. Vice versa happens on the
A welding transformer is a step down transformer that reduces the voltage from the source voltage to a
lower voltage that is suitable for welding, usually between 15 and 45 volts. The secondary current is
quite high. 200 to 600 amps would be typical, but it could be much higher.The secondary may have
several taps for adjusting the secondary voltage to control the welding current. The taps are typically
connected to a several high-current plug receptacles or to a highcurrent switch. For welding with direct
current (DC) a rectifier is connected to the secondary of the transformer.
There may also be a filter choke (inductor) to smooth the DC current. The entire transformer and
rectifier assembly may be called a transformer or welder, but
"welding power supply" would be more appropriate term.

WELDING TRANSFORMER:
The impedance of a welding transformer may be higher that the
impedance of a transformer designed for some other purpose. The transformer
impedance may play a role in the process of establishing an arc and controlling
the current.

Special Features:

i) It is a step down transformer that reduces the source voltage to a voltage desired
according to the demands of the welding process.

ii) Having large primary turns and less secondary turns.

iii) The secondary current is quite high.

iv) The secondary has several taps for adjusting the secondary voltage to control the
welding current.

v) The transformer is normally large in size compared to other step down transformers as
the windings are of a much larger gauge.