Electric furnace for steel making

An electric furnace for steel making, said furnace including a combination of:

• a furnace transfer car;
• a drive for linearly displacing said furnace transfer car along rails between a furnace operating position and a furnace exchange position;
• an anchor to secure said furnace transfer car at said furnace operating position;
• a lower furnace shell supported by said furnace transfer car, said lower furnace shell having a floor with a sloping contour to form an area of every increasing liquid metal depth, the sloping contour of the floor forming a maximum metal bath depth proximate a tap hole for discharging a heat treated in the furnace;
• an upper shell furnace supported by said furnace lower shell;
• a furnace roof supported by said upper furnace shell;
• said furnace roof including apertures for electrodes and exhaust of fume from the interior of the furnace;
• electrodes extending through apertures through said furnace roof for heating said heat in said lower furnace shell;
• a control including plugging for said tap hole to control tapping of said heat said lower furnace shell;
• a cooling duct for receiving exhaust fume emitted from, an aperture in said furnace roof;
• and
• members for supporting said furnace roof or said furnace roof and said upper furnace shell at said furnace operating position to allow removal of said lower furnace shell and upper furnace shell or said furnace lower shell to said furnace exchange position.

A method for producing steel in an electric furnace, said method of including the steps of:

• providing an electric furnace including a lower furnace shell having a sloping floor extending downwardly to a tap hole;
• refining a steel melt in said furnace using electric current to form a first heat;
• tapping a sufficient quantity of steel from said first heat to a ladle while said lower furnace shell remains stationary to maintain a liquid hot heel in said furnace consisting of at least 70% of the tapped steel;
• maintaining flat bath furnace operation by using electric current and latent heat of said liquid hot heel to refine charged material in said furnace for forming a second heat;
• and
• tapping a sufficient quantity of steel from said second heat while said lower furnace shell remains stationary to maintain a liquid hot heel in said furnace consisting of at least 70% of the tapped steel.