Fluctuation type

Impact on electrode paste

Adjustment actions

Prolonged power outage / planned maintenance

The electrode cools and shrinks; after re-energizing, the "green electrode" at the bottom tends to a hard break

Slip the electrode into position and bake it hard before the outage; lower the paste column to the minimum during the outage; after re-energizing, bake the electrode for 2–4 h following the "slow temperature rise, small load" procedure

Reduced-load operation

Fin-plate current heating decreases and the sintering speed drops

Reduce slipping amounts and lengthen slipping intervals; add auxiliary heating if necessary; prevent the unsintered section from moving down and leaking paste

Overload / intensified smelting

Consumption accelerates; baking heat is ample but over-burning and oxidation are likely

Moderately speed up slipping and increase the top-up frequency; monitor oxidation loss of the electrode; keep the paste column at the upper limit

Charge collapse / slag turnover

Sudden change of furnace-mouth temperature, thermal shock to the lower electrode section

Pause slipping and resume only after the burden surface is stabilized; check the electrode for cracks and block loss

Raw material change (slag volume / carbon content change)

Chemical consumption changes → total consumption changes abruptly

Re-estimate the unit-consumption baseline and revise the slipping program in time; watch the electrode travel especially closely when the coke ratio fluctuates in silicomanganese furnaces

Changing paste grade / supplier

The old and new pastes differ in volatile matter and softening point; mixed paste in the transition sinter abnormally

Run at reduced load for 1–2 slipping cycles during the transition; prefer a wholesale paste change right after maintenance re-energizing