Despite the extensive use of silicon carbide electric heaters, previous attempts to analyze their service have been episodic, of limited purpose, and not sufficiently informative [1][2][3][4]. To collate the experience gained in the use of silicon carbide electric heaters (SEH) in the furnaces of consumers, to determine the factors influencing their service life, and to develop recommendations for improving the quality and optimizing the operating regimes of heaters, in conjunction with the D. I. Mendeleev Institute of Chemical Technology (Moscow), the All-Union Institute of Refractories has a developed a procedure for estimation and analysis of the service conditions and durability of DEH [5].We have analyzed the service of SEH, taMng account of information on the operation of about 45,000 heaters in 2119 furnaces of more than 120 organizations. The service life of the heaters was determined from data on the service of 15,059 SEH and 856 furnace campaigns, obtained from 43 consumers for the period from 1974 through 1976. The calculations were performed by specially developed programs on an ES-1020 computer.With respect to design, we have assigned different types of silicon carbide electric heaters made in the Soviet Union and abroad (under the trade names SHit, Globar, etc.) to the standardized types according to GOST [A1NUnion State Standard] 16139-76. For example, Silit heaters made in E. Germany are assigned to SEH type A-tubular with thickened tappings.The service life of SEH was estimated by two values: Gm duration of the campaign and the durability of heaters. By the campaign duration we mean the service life of a group of electric heaters in an independent temperature zone of the furnace at the maximal working temperature without allowing for the furnace heating and cooling time. The campaign is regarded as the time from the start of operation of a group of heaters up to its complete replacement. By the durability of the heaters we mean the average service life of heaters operating in different campaigns. It is only in the same campaign that the duration of the latter is equal to the durability of the heaters.The service life and effective use of silicon carbide electric heaters depend on many (more than 25) factors, dividable into four groups: the qualitative characteristics of the heaters, the design characteristics of the electric furnaces, the technological conditions of service of the heaters, and their operational characteristics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.