Introducing VARmetric™ 2.0
The MRI of Arc Furnace Systems
We invented the patented and award-winning Arc Position Sensing technology at the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory with the goal to improve vacuum arc remelting (VAR) and electro-slag remelting (ESR) processes through Arc Position Sensing (APS). What started as an interesting physics problem to find the location of the arc has grown into a full-fledged suite of hardware and software tools to monitor black box process dynamics at high speed.
Until now, there has been no way to “see” the electric arcs during melting or to quantify the relationship between arc distributions and defects. APS solves this problem by tracking the positions of arcs in real time during the melting process, providing three distinct advantages over previous technology:
Advanced furnace process control: VARmetric™ simultaneously monitors existing process measurements along with the sensor array data, enabling accurate measurements of the arc gap location, arc distribution, and arc motion. This provides the necessary feedback to improve process control, leading to defect reduction, increased yield, lower costs, and greater reliability.
Improved safety: VARmetric™ automatically identifies undesirable operating conditions, such as side-arcing, asymmetric arc distributions, constricted arcs, and glows. Upon detection of these events, VARmetric™ can issue a warning or take measures automatically to avoid these deleterious conditions.
Real-time process monitoring: The highly customizable ObserVAR™ HMI gives you access to all measurements in real time at high data rates and provides analysis tools to understand the electromagnetic signature of each melt to easily identify abnormal events.
VARmetric™ – Powered by our patented,
award-winning Arc Position Sensing technology
With new data from VARmetric™ you will:
Improve Safety
VARmetric™ HD detects safety critical events, such as side-arcs, to protect facilities and personnel.
Increase Yield
Achieve superior ingot production by first understanding, then improving the arc distribution with VARmetric™. For example, ingot sidewall yield is linked to the arc distribution, where small improvements equate to millions of dollars per year.
Improve Quality
Use VARmetric™ for root cause analysis, where the new data will allow operators to identify and avoid operating conditions that lead to defects in ingots.
Save Energy
Achieve energy savings by optimizing melt efficiency.
VARmetric™ Features
What it does
Arc position sensing (APS)
Side-arc detection
Anomalous event detection
Characterizes arcing mode (e.g., diffuse, constricted, glow)
Improves solidification models
Arc gap tracking
Electrode tip mapping
How it does it
Completely passive monitoring of VAR furnace operations
Magnetic field sensor arrays and furnace process variables are simultaneously measured (100+ times per second)
Real-time monitoring with ObserVAR™ software
Furnace process analysis with AnalyVAR™
Statistical analysis of melt data
Automatic report generation
Where it goes
Applicable to any arc furnace dimensions
Equally applicable to retrofit or new furnace installation
Little to no down time is required for installation
Directly mounts to exterior furnace shell
VARmetric™ Applied
With ObserVAR™ software, arcs are imaged and displayed in real time.
The distribution of the arc over time, as seen by ObserVAR™, can vary dramatically within a single melt without indication on standard process signals. Where stability and symmetry are key to high quality production, this new measurement can immediately provide improvements to melting practices.
Since each furnace is unique, Ampere Scientific utilizes multi-physics modeling to inform Arc Position Sensing and predict electrical current distributions.
VARmetric™ can combine predictions with real data to understand abnormal melt conditions, accelerating root cause analysis.
Solidification models using APS data underscore the importance of the arc distribution in achieving high ingot quality and yield.
ObserVAR™ and AnalyVAR™
ObserVAR™ and AnalyVAR™ software tools are integral parts of the VARmetric™ system. Together, they visualize and interpret results. ObserVAR™ provides real-time information and event detection during melts. AnalyVAR™ processes the data, generates reports on arc distributions during melts, and indicates the quality of the melt.
ObserVAR™ features real-time APS, ingot height calculation, anomalous event detection, side-arc detection, improved safety features, vertical and overhead arc distributions, and the option to integrate automatic feedback into your furnace.
AnalyVAR™ features variable APS melt scans displaying the vertical and overhead arc distributions, ingot height calculation, automatic report generation, and defect probability calculations through advanced solidification modeling.