Electrothermics

1.6. Conclusion

Induction heating of conductive materials involves the electromagnetic and thermal phenomena described by Maxwell and heat transfer equations. Solving these equations, in their simplest form, can be done using analytic methods. However, for more complex geometries, we must solve them using numerical methods or through a judicious combination of analytic and numerical methods. Calculating the magnetic field and the heat distribution in an object, along with analyzing the results, then depends on the existence of software that gives the necessary tools to answer these constraints. The classical schema of such software is shown in Figure 1.16. This schema gives the typical structure of software capable of generating geometries, solving electromagnetic and thermal equations in all instances, and gives the tools necessary to analyze the data. Some parts of this software (e.g. homogenization methods) are not developed in this chapter, but will be subsequently developed in relevant chapters. Such a software was developed by the book’s authors using MATLAB® [TRI 00, BEN 06, RAM 09, BEL 09].