Voest-alpine Aktiengesellschaft

Gerhard Scheiblhofer

Heinz Muller

Wolfgang Eger

Reinhard Buzzi

An auxiliary plasma arc fed by an auxiliary circuit serves for igniting a plasma arc, fed by a main circuit, of a plasma burner provided in a metallurgical furnace vessel. To increase the service lives of the burners, the electrode of the plasma burner and the melting stock charged in the furnace vessel are applied to the auxiliary circuit, with the main circuit switched off, and an auxiliary plasma arc is ignited between the plasma burner and the melting stock, whereupon the plasma burner is moved back from the melting stock, thereby lengthening the auxiliary plasma arc, and subsequently the main circuit is applied to the plasma burner and to the melting stock, and the plasma arc is ignited.

Method of igniting a plasma arc as well as an arrangement for carrying

A plasma torch comprises an electrode secured to a liquid-cooled electrode holder and formed with a flow passage communicating with a central outlet for delivering an ionizable gas and a nozzle body which surrounds the electrode and serves to conduct gas along the outside surface of the electrode. To permit an increase of the torch power, the central outlet communicating with the flow passage constitutes a diffuser. The outlet opening of the diffuser is axially spaced from the nozzle body.

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Linz, Austria

Gerhard Scheiblhofer