Load characteristics and harmonic analysis of DC arc furnace

In this paper, the authors discuss the load characteristics of a steel factory containing a DC arc furnace. In order to reduce the cost, the arc furnace works during the off-peak period. While the furnace is in operation, the variation of active power and reactive power is quite large. In order to understand the load characteristics, the statistics method is used. The result shows that the large amount of reactive power variation is the main reason of voltage fluctuation. Although the DC arc furnace is operated in constant MVA mode, there is still obvious reactive power variation. A 12-pulse configuration and harmonic filters can reduce the harmonics generated by the DC furnace.