Simulating induction heating processes using harmonic balance FEM

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine a solution strategy for coupled nonlinear magnetic-thermal problems and apply it to the heating process of a thin moving steel sheet. Performing efficient numerical simulations of induction heating processes becomes ever more important because of faster production development cycles, where the quasi steady-state solution of the problem plays a pivotal role. Design/methodology/approach To avoid time-consuming transient simulations, the eddy current problem is transformed into frequency domain and a harmonic balancing scheme is used to take into account the nonlinear BH-curve. The thermal problem is solved in steady-state domain, which is carried out by including a convective term to model the stationary heat transport due to the sheet velocity. Findings The presented solution strategy is compared to a classical nonlinear transient reference solution of the eddy current problem and shows good convergence, even for a small number of considered harmonics. Originality/value Numerical simulations of induction heating processes are necessary to fully understand certain phenomena, e.g. local overheating of areas in thin structures. With the presented approach it is possible to perform large 3D simulations without excessive computational resources by exploiting certain properties of the multiharmonic solution of the eddy current problem. Together with the use of nonconforming interfaces, the overall computational complexity of the problem can be decreased significantly.