Electrothermics

I.4. Industrial potential of induction

Induction heating was used for decades (and is still used today) for the fusion, soldering, elaboration, and the surface treatment of metals (especially steel). It is, however, almost absent in other industrial sectors, although it presents numerous advantages and a great potential for innovation in many fields.

In our opinion, the absence of induction in these sectors is not only due to the ignorance of users and manufacturers of non-metallic materials regarding induction, but also due to the lack of mastery in modeling and experimentation of the induction experts in these fields. This mastery begins by making simulations of these materials in an induction heating process, which must be applied to the real cases to be validated and modified. Since 1987, the LRTI (Laboratoire de Recherche en Techniques Inductives, which later became a member of the IREENA) has worked on innovative applications of induction heating. It has developed an analysis and conception methodology for the control of these applications, at the levels of both academic research and industrial collaboration. This book takes up some of these research activities.

Induction heating creates coupled electromagnetic and thermal phenomena (and sometimes flow). Chapter 1 of this book presents the methodology and mathematical tools required to overcome the difficulties linked to these problems, not only in a general context but also in applications with low-conductivity or anisotropic ...