Finite-Element Analysis of a Shielded Pulsed-Current Induction Heater -- Experimental Validation of a Time-Domain Thin-Shell Approach

Purpose – The aim of this paper is the experimental validation of an original time-domain thin-shell formulation. The numerical results of a three-dimensional thin-shell model are compared with the measurements performed on a heating device at different working frequencies.
Design/methodology/approach – A time-domain extension of the classical frequency-domain thin-shell approach is used for the finite-element analysis of a shielded pulse-current induction heater. The time-domain interface conditions at the shell surface are expressed in terms of the average flux density vector in the shell, as well as in terms of a limited number of higher-order components.
Findings – A very good agreement between measurements and simulations is observed. A clear advantage of the proposed thin-shell approach is that the mesh of the computation domain does not depend on the working frequency anymore. It provides a good compromise between computational cost and accuracy. Indeed, adding a sufficient number of induction components, a very high accuracy can be achieved.
Originality/value – The method is based on the coupling of a time-domain 1D thin-shell model with a magnetic vector potential formulation via the surface integral term. A limited number of additional unknowns for the magnetic flux density are incorporated on the shell boundary.