Heat Transfer in Induction Melting of Aluminum Oxide in Cold Crucible

Abstract

This article aims to explain the mechanism of heat transfer between melt and cold crucible (CC) in processes referred to as induction skull melting (ISM). Several experiments were performed for this purpose. In these experiments, all relevant electrical and mechanical quantities that affect the heat transfer between the melt and the cold crucible were monitored. Firstly, this article deals with the description of the equipment used in the experiments. Aluminum oxide was considered as experimental material (EM). Therefore, the article also deals with the design of a suitable cold crucible for its melting. Subsequently, the article deals with the implementation of the experiment itself and its phases. Finally, based on the data obtained during melting processes, this paper deals with the calculation of the real heat transfer from the melt to the cold crucible. The main contribution of this article is a comprehensive view of the values of mechanical and electrical quantities that accompany the melting of the considered experimental material (EM) in the designed cold crucible. In conclusion, the values of thermal quantities obtained in the performed experiments are compared with numerical simulation.