Pool power control in remelting systems

A method of controlling a remelting furnace having a crucible provided with an ingot pool, an upper electrode comprising an upper portion and a tip and an inter-electrode region between the ingot pool and upper electrode, the method comprising the steps of:

• adjusting current supplied to the upper electrode based upon a predetermined pool power reference value, the pool power reference value comprising the sum total of a melt power entering the ingot pool due to enthalpy contained in molten metal dripping from the upper electrode plus a fraction of an electrical arc plasma power collected by the ingot pool;
• wherein the melt power is the energy input into the ingot pool due to heat carried by molten metal dripping from the upper electrode tip, wherein enthalpy is the heat contained in the dripping molten metal, wherein electrical arc plasma power is the sum of the electrical power collected by the upper electrode tip, crucible wall and ingot pool from an electrical arc burning throughout the inter-electrode region;
• and
• adjusting the upper electrode drive speed based upon the predetermined pool power reference value.