ELECTRIC HEATING

Introduction
Heat plays a major role in everyday life. All heating requirements in domestic purposes such as
cooking, room heater, immersion water heaters, and electric toasters and also in industrial purposes
such as welding, melting of metals, tempering, hardening, and drying can be met easily by electric
heating, over the other forms of conventional heating. Heat and electricity are interchangeable. Heat
also can be produced by passing the current through material to be heated. This is called electric
heating; there are various methods of heating a material but electric heatingis considered far superior
compared to the heat produced by coal, oil, and natural gas.

Advantages of electric heating

The various advantages of electric heating over other the types of heating are:
(i) Economical
Electric heating equipment is cheaper; they do not require much skilled persons; therefore,
maintenance cost is less.
(ii) Cleanliness
Since dust and ash are eliminated in the electric heating, it keeps surroundingscleanly.
(iii) Pollution free
As there are no flue gases in the electric heating, atmosphere around is pollution free; no need of
providing space for their exit.
(iv) Ease of control
In this heating, temperature can be controlled and regulated accurately either manually or
automatically.
(v) Uniform heating
With electric heating, the substance can be heated uniformly, throughout whether it may be
conducting or non-conducting material.
(vi) High efficiency
In non-electric heating, only 40–60% of heat is utilized but in electric heating 75–100% of heatcan
be successfully utilized. So, overall efficiency of electric heating is very high.
(vii) Automatic protection
Protection against over current and over heating can be provided by using fast control devices.
(viii) Heating of non-conducting materials
The heat developed in the non-conducting materials such as wood and porcelain is possible only
through the electric heating.
(ix) Better working conditions
No irritating noise is produced with electric heating and radiating losses are low.
(x) Less floor area
Due to the compactness of electric furnace, floor area required is less.
(xi) High temperature
High temperature can be obtained by the electric heating except the ability of the material to
withstand the heat.
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 (xii) Safety
The electric heating is quite safe.

Methods of electric heating

Heat can be generated by passing the current through a resistance or induced currents. The initiation
of an arc between two electrodes also develops heat. The bombardment by some heat energy
particles such as α, γ, β, and x-rays or accelerating ion can produce heat on a surface.

Electric heating can be broadly classified as follows.

(i) Direct resistance heating

In this method, the electric current is made to pass through the charge (or) substance to be
heated. This principle of heating is employed in electrode boiler.

(ii) Indirect resistance heating

In this method, the electric current is made to pass through a wire or high-resistance heating element,
the heat so developed is transferred to charge from the heating element by convection or radiation.
This method of heating is employed in immersion water heaters.

Fig. Classification of electrical heating

Infrared (or) radiant heating

In this method of heating, the heat energy is transferred from source (incandescent lamp) and
focused upon the body to be heated up in the form of electromagnetic radiations. Normally, this
method is used for drying clothes in the textile industry and to dry the wet paints on an object.
Direct arc heating
In this method, by striking the arc between the charge and the electrode or electrodes, the heat so
developed is directly conducted and taken by the charge. The furnace operating on this principle
is known as direct arc furnaces. The main application of this type of heating is production of steel.

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 Indirect arc heating
In this method, arc is established between the two electrodes, the heat so developed is transferred
to the charge (or) substance by radiation. The furnaces operating on this principle are known as
indirect arc furnaces. This method is generally used in the melting of non-ferrous metals.

Direct induction heating

In this method of heating, the currents are induced by electromagnetic action in the charge to be
heated. These induced currents are used to melt the charge in induction furnace.

Indirect induction heating

In this method, eddy currents are induced in the heating element by electromagnetic action. Thus,
the developed heat in the heating element is transferred to the body (or) charge to be heated by
radiation (or) convection. This principle of heating is employed in induction furnaces used for
the heat treatment of metals.

Dielectric heating
In this method of electric heating, the heat developed in a non-metallic material due to inter-
atomic friction, known as dielectric loss. This principle of heating usually employed for
preheating of plastic performs, baking foundry cores, etc.

Resistance heating
When the electric current is made to pass through a high-resistive body (or) substance, a power
loss takes place in it, which results in the form of heat energy, i.e., resistance heating is passed
upon the I2R effect. This method of heating has wide applications such as drying, baking of
potteries, commercial and domestic cooking, and the heat treatment of metals such as annealing
and hardening. In oven where wire resistances are employed for heating, temperature up to about
1,000°C can be obtained.
The resistance heating is further classified as:

1. direct resistance heating,

2. indirect resistance heating, and

3. infrared (or) radiant heating.

Direct resistance heating

In this method, electrodes are immersed in a material or charge to be heated. The charge may be
in the form of powder, pieces, or liquid. The electrodes are connected to AC or DC supply as
shown in Fig. 4.1(a). In case of DC or 1-φ AC, two electrodes are immersed and three electrodes
are immersed in the charge and connected to supply in case of availability of 3-φsupply. When
metal pieces are to be heated, the powder of lightly resistive is sprinkled over the surface of the
charge (or) pieces to avoid direct short circuit. The current flows through the charge and heat is
produced in the charge itself. So, this method has high efficiency. As the current in this case is
not variable, so that automatic temperature control is not possible. This method of heating is
employed in salt bath furnace and electrode boiler for heating water.

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 Fig. (a) Direct resistance heating

(i) Salt bath furnace

This type of furnace consists of a bath and containing some salt such as molten sodium chloride
and two electrodes immersed in it.

Such salt have a fusing point of about 1,000–1,500°C depending upon the type of salt used.
When the current is passed between the electrodes immersed in the salt, heat is developed and
the temperature of the salt bath may be increased. Such an arrangement is known as a salt bath
furnace.

In this bath, the material or job to be heated is dipped. The electrodes should be carefully immersed
in the bath in such a way that the current flows through the salt and not through the jobbeing heated.
As DC will cause electrolysis so, low-voltage AC up to 20 V and current up to 3,000 A is adopted
depending upon the type of furnaces.

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 The resistance of the salt decreases with increase in the temperature of the salt, therefore, in
order to maintain the constant power input, the voltage can be controlled by providing a tap
changing transformer. The control of power input is also affected by varying the depth of
immersion and the distance between the electrodes.

(ii) Electrode boiler

It is used to heat the water by immersing three electrodes in a tank as shown in Fig. 4.2. This is
based on the principle that when the electric current passed through the water produces heat due
to the resistance offered by it. For DC supply, it results in a lot of evolution of H2 at negative
electrode and O2 at positive electrode. Whereas AC supply hardly results in any evolution of gas,
but heats the water. Electrode boiler tank is earthed solidly and connected to the ground. A circuit
breaker is usually incorporated to make and break all poles simultaneously and an over current
protective device is provided in each conductor feeding an electrode.

Fig. 4.2 Electrode boiler

Indirect resistance heating

In the indirect resistance heating method, high current is passed through the heating element. In
case of industrial heating, some times the heating element is placed in a cylinder which is
surrounded by the charge placed in a jacket is known as heating chamber is shown in Fig. 4.3.
The heat is proportional to power loss produced in the heating element is delivered to the charge
by one or more of the modes of the transfer of heat viz. conduction, convection, and radiation.
This arrangement provides uniform temperature and automatic temperature control. Generally, this
method of heating is used in immersion water heaters, room heaters, and the resistance ovensused
in domestic and commercial cooling and salt bath furnace.

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 Fig. 4.3 Indirect resistance heating
Resistance ovens
According to the operating temperatures, the resistance furnaces may be classified into various
types. Low-temperature heating chamber with the provision for ventilation is called as oven. For
drying varnish coating, the hardening of synthetic materials, and commercial and domestic
heating, etc., the resistance ovens are employed. The operating temperature of medium
temperature furnaces is between 300°C and 1,050°C. These are employed for the melting of non-
ferrous metals, stove (annealing), etc. Furnaces operating at temperature between 1,050°C and
1,350°C are known as high-temperature furnaces. These furnaces are employed for hardening
applications. A simple resistance oven is shown in Fig. 4.4.

Fig. 4.4 Resistance oven

Resistance oven consists of a heating chamber in which heating elements are placed as shown
in the Fig. 4.4. The inner surface of the heating chamber is made to suit the character of the

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 charge and the type of furnace or oven. The type of insulation used for heating chamber is
determined by the maximum temperature of the heating chamber.

Efficiency and losses of resistance ovens

The heat produced in the heating elements, not only raises the temperature of the charge to
desired value, but also used to overcome the losses occurring due to:

1. Heat used in raising the temperature of oven (or) furnace.

2. Heat used in raising the temperature of containers (or) carriers,
3. Heat conducted through the walls.
4. Heat loss due to the opening of oven door.

1. The heat required to raise the temperature of oven to desired value can be calculated
by knowing the mass of refractory material (M), its specific heat (S), and raise of
temperature (∆T) and is given by:
Hoven = MS∆TJ.
In case the oven is continuously used, this loss becomes negligible.
2. Heat used in rising the temperature of containers (or) carriers can be calculated exactly
the same way as for oven (or) furnaces.

3. Heat loss conducted through the walls of the container can be calculated by knowing
the area of the container (A) in square meters, the thickness of the walls (t) in meters,
the inside and out side temperatures of the container T1 and T2 in °C, respectively, and
the thermal conductivity of the container

walls ‘k’ in m3/°C/hr and is given by: Heat loss by conduction

Actually, there is no specific formula for the determination of loss occurring due to the opening
of door for the periodic inspection of the charge so that this loss may be approximately taken as
0.58–1.15 MJ/m2 of the door area, if the door is opened for a period of 20–30 sec.

The efficiency of the oven is defined as the ratio of the heat required to raise the temperature of
the charge to the desired value to the heat required to raise the charge and losses.

The efficiency of the oven:

The efficiency of the resistance oven lies in between 60% and 80%.

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 Infrared or radiant heating

In this method of heating, the heat transfer takes place from the source to the body to be heated
through radiation, for low and medium temperature applications. Whereas in resistance ovens, the
heat transfers to the charge partly by convection and partly by radiation. In the radiant heating, the
heating element consists of tungsten filament lamps together with reflector and to direct all the heat
on the charge. Tungsten filament lamps are operating at 2,300°C instead of 3,000°C to give greater
portion of infrared radiation and a longer life. The radiant heating is mainly used for drying enamel
or painted surfaces. The high concentration of the radiant energyenables the heat to penetrate the
coating of paint or enamel to a depth sufficient to dry it out without wasting energy in the body of
the work piece.

The main advantage of the radiant heating is that the heat absorption remains approximately
constant whatever the charge temperature, whereas with the ordinary oven the heat absorptionfalls
off very considerably as the temperature of the charge raises. The lamp ratings used are usually
between 250 and 1,000 W and are operating at voltage of 115 V in order to ensure a robust filament.

Modes of transfer of heat

The transmission of the heat energy from one body to another because of the temperature
gradient takes place by any of the following methods:
1. conduction,
2. convection, or
3. radiation.
Conduction
In this mode, the heat transfers from one part of substance to another part without the movement in
the molecules of substance. The rate of the conduction of heat along the substance depends upon the
temperature gradient.

The amount of heat passed through a cubic body with two parallel faces with thickness ‘t’meters,
having the cross-sectional area of ‘A’ square meters and the temperature of its two faces T1°C
and T2°C, during ‘T’ hours is given by:

Where k is the coefficient of the thermal conductivity for the material and it is measured inMJ/m3/°C/hr.

Ex: Refractory heating, the heating of insulating materials, etc.

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Convection
In this mode, the heat transfer takes place from one part to another part of substance or fluid dueto
the actual motion of the molecules. The rate of conduction of heat depends mainly on the difference
in the fluid density at different temperatures.
Ex: Immersion water heater.

The amount of heat absorbed by the water from heater through convection depends mainly upon
the temperature of heating element and depends partly on the position of the heater.
Heat dissipation is given by the following expression based on Newton’s Law of cooling which states that
the rate of heat loss of a body is proportional to the difference in temperatures between the body and its
surroundings while under the effects of a breeze.

Q = hA (T1 – T2)b W/m2

Where Q is the rate of heat transfer in W/m2, h is the convective heat transfer coefficient, A is the surface area for
heat transfer and T1and T2 are the temperatures of heating element and fluid in °C, respectively and b is a scaling
exponent.
Given that both h and A are constants, sometimes the above expression is re-written as indicated below.

Q = a(T1 – T2)b W/m2

Radiation

In this mode, the heat transfers from source to the substance to be heated without heating the
medium in between. It is dependent on surface.

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Ex: Solar heaters.

The rate of heat dissipation through radiation is given by Stefan's- Boltzmann Equation, which describes
the rate of transfer of radiant energy in a vacuum as

Where Q is the heat flux in W/m2,

ε is the emissivity
σ is the Stephan Boltzmann Constant
For radiative transfer between two objects, the equation is as follows.

W/m2 ……………………………………(4.1)

Where Ta is the temperature of the source in kelvin, Tb is the temperature of the substance to be
heated in kelvin, and k is the radiant efficiency:

= 1, for single element

= 0.5–0.8, for several elements

ε = emissivity = 1, for black body

= 0.9, for resistance heating element.

From Equation (4.1), the radiant heat is proportional to the difference of fourth power of the
temperature, so it is very efficient heating at high temperature.

Essential requirements of good heating element

The materials used for heating element should have the following properties:

o High-specific resistance
Material should have high-specific resistance so that small length of wire may berequired to
provide given amount of heat.
o High-melting point
It should have high-melting point so that it can withstand for high temperature, a smallincrease in
temperature will not destroy the element.
o Low temperature coefficient of resistance
From Equation (4.1), the radiant heat is proportional to fourth powers of the
temperatures, it is very efficient heating at high temperature.
For accurate temperature control, the variation of resistance with the operating temperature
should be very low. This can be obtained only if the material has lowtemperature coefficient
of resistance
o Free from oxidation
The element material should not be oxidized when it is subjected to high temperatures;otherwise
the formation of oxidized layers will shorten its life.
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 o High-mechanical strength
The material should have high-mechanical strength and should withstand formechanical
vibrations.
o Non-corrosive
The element should not corrode when exposed to atmosphere or any other chemicalfumes.
o Economical
The cost of material should not be so high.

Material for heating elements

The selection of a material for heating element is depending upon the service conditions such as
maximum operating temperature and the amount of charge to be heated, but no single element will
not satisfy all the requirements of the heating elements. The materials normally used as heating
elements are either alloys of nickel–chromium, nickel–chromium–iron, nickel– chromium–
aluminum, or nickel–copper.

Nickel–chromium–iron alloy is cheaper when compared to simple nickel–chromium alloy.

The use of iron in the alloy reduces the cost of final product but, reduces the life of the alloy, as it
gets oxidized soon. We have different types of alloys for heating elements. The table below gives
therelevant properties of some of the commercial heating elements.

Table: Properties of some heating elements

The properties of some commercial heating element materials commonly employed for low and
medium temperatures up to 1,200°C are Ni–Cr and an alloy of Ni–Cr–Fe composition of these
alloys are given in the above table. For operating temperatures above 1,200°C, the heating elements
are made up of silicon carbide, molybdenum, tungsten, and graphite. (Ni–Cu alloy is frequently
used for heating elements operating at low temperatures. Its most important propertyis that it has
virtually zero resistance and temperature coefficient.)

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Causes of failure of heating elements
Heating element may fail due to any one of the following reasons.

2. Formation of hot spots.

3. Oxidation of the element and intermittency of operation.
4. Embrittlement caused by gain growth.
5. Contamination and corrosion.

Formation of hotspots

Hotspots are the points on the heating element generally at a higher temperature than the main body.
The main reasons of the formation of hotspot in the heating element are the high rate of the local
oxidation causing reduction in the area of cross-section of the element leading to the increase in the
resistance at that spot. It gives rise to the damage of heating element due to the generation of more
heat at spot. Another reason is the shielding of element by supports, etc., which reduces the local heat
loss by radiation and hence the temperature of the shielded portion of the element will increase. So
that the minimum number of supports should be used without producing the distortion of the element.
The sagging and wrapping of the material arise due to the insufficient support for the element (or)
selection of wrong fuse material may lead to the uneven spacing of sections thereby developing the
hotspots on the element.

Oxidation and intermittency of operation

A continuous oxide layer is formed on the surface of the element at very high temperatures such
layer is so strong that it prevents further oxidation of the inner metal of the element. If the element
is used quite often, the oxide layer is subjected to thermal stresses; thus, the layer cracksand flakes
off, thereby exposing fresh metal to oxidation. Thus, the local oxidation of the metal increases
producing the hotspots.
Embrittlement causing grain growth
In general, most of the alloys containing iron tend to form large brittle grains at high temperatures.
When cold, the elements are very brittle and liable to rupture easily on the slightesthandling and
jerks.
Contamination and corrosion
The heating elements may be subjected to dry corrosion produced by their contamination with
the gases of the controlled atmosphere prevailing in annealing furnaces.

Design of heating elements

By knowing the voltage and electrical energy input, the design of the heating element for an
electric furnace is required to determine the size and length of the heating element. The wire
employed may be circular or rectangular like a ribbon. The ribbon-type heating element permits
the use of higher wattage per unit area compared to the circular-type element.

Circular-type heating element

Initially when the heating element is connected to the supply, the temperature goes on increasing
and finally reaches high temperature.

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 Let V be the supply voltage of the system and R be the resistance of the element, then electric

Power input, .

If ρ is the resistivity of the element, l is the length, ‘a’ is the area, and d is the diameter of the
element, then:

Therefore, power input,

By rearranging the above equation, we get:

where P is the electrical power input per phase (watt), V is the operating voltage per phase
(volts), R is the resistance of the element (Ω), l is the length of the element (m), a is the area
of cross-section (m2), d is the diameter of the element (m), and ρ is the specific
resistance (Ω-m)

According to Stefan's law, heat dissipated per unit area is

where T1 is the absolute temperature of the element (K), T2 is the absolute temperature of
thecharge (K), e is the emissivity, and k is the radiant efficiency.

The surface area of the circular heating element:

S = πdl.

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 ∴ Total heat dissipated = Surface area × H

= Hπdl.

Under thermal equilibrium,

Power input = heat dissipated
P = H × πdl.

Substituting P from Equation (4.2) in above equation:

By solving Equations (4.3) and (4.4), the length and diameter of the wire can be determined.

Ribbon-type element

Let ‘w’ be the width and‘t’ be the thickness of the ribbon-type heating element.

We know that,

(for ribbon or rectangular element, a = w × t)

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 The surface area of the rectangular element (S) = 2 l × w.

∴ Total heat dissipated = H × S

= H × 2 lw.

∴ Under the thermal equilibrium,

Electrical power input = heat dissipated
P = H × 2 lw

By solving Equations (4.7) and (4.8), the length and width of the heating element can be
determined.

Example 4.1: A 4.5-kW, 200-V, and 1-φ resistance oven is to have nichrome wire heating
elements. If the wire temperature is to be 1,000°C and that of the charge 500°C. Estimate the
diameter and length of the wire. The resistivity of the nichrome alloy is 42.5 μΩ-m. Assume the
radiating efficiency and the emissivity of the element as 1.0 and 0.9, respectively.

Solution:

Given data

Power input (P) = 4.5 kW Supply

voltage (V) = 200 V
Temperature of the source (T1) = 1,000 + 273

= 1,273 K.

Temperature of the charge T2 = 500 + 273

= 773 K.

According to the Stefan's law,

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 The heat dissipation is given by:

By solving Equations (1) and (2):

d3 = 0.7466

d = 0.907 mm.
Substitute the value of ‘d’ in Equation (2):

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 l = 135.14 m.

Example 4.2: A20-kW, 230-V, and single-phase resistance oven employs nickel—chrome strip
25-mm thick is used, for its heating elements. If the wire temperature is not to exceed 1,200°C and
the temperature of the charge is to be 700°C. Calculate the width and length of the wire.
Assume the radiating efficiency as 0.6 and emissivity as 0.9. Determine also the temperature of
the wire when the charge is cold.

Solution:
Power supplied, P = 20 × 103 W.

Let ‘w’ be the width in meters, t be the thickness in meters, and ‘l’ be the length also in
meters. Then:

According to the Stefan's law of heat radiation:

The total amount of the heat dissipation × the surface area of strip = power supplied

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 P=H×S

= H × 2 lw (S = surface area of strip = 2lw)

From Equations (1) and (2):

Substitute the value of ‘w’ in Equation (2) then:

l = 7.435 m.

When the charge is cold, it would be at normal temperature, say 25°C.

Example 4.3 Determine the diameter and length of the wire, if a 17-kW, 220-V, and 1-
φresistance oven employs nickel-chrome wire for its heating elements. The temperature is not
exceeding to 1,100°C and the temperature of the charge is to be 500°C. Assume the radiating
efficiency as 0.5 and the emissivity as 0.9, respectively.

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 Solution:

For a circular element:

According to Stefan's law of heat dissipation:

At steady temperature, crucial power input = heat output:

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 Solving Equations (1) and (2), we get:

Substitute the value of ‘d' in Equation (2) gives:

l = 21.198 m.

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