Veröffentlichungen und Präsentationen

Induction heating of moving metallic charges is widely used in industrial processes requiring precise control of thermal exchanges. A core issue is to ensure both thermal homogeneity and sufficient exposure of all material points to temperatures above the melting threshold during the down motion of the moving charge. This work presents the development of a numerical model using Comsol Multiphysics®, designed to predict the temperature field in a moving load subjected to induction heating and correlated with experimental data. The model couples electromagnetic and heat transfer physics. Induced currents are computed from the electromagnetic field and used as volumetric heat source for thermal model, enabling also the treatment of phase change. The significant motion of the load through the inductor is considered through a moving and sliding mesh approach. A dedicated post-processing method is implemented to evaluate the time spent above the melting temperature, providing a relevant metric to assess process performance. The modeling approach is first validated against experimental measurements, demonstrating good agreement in terms of temperature evolution and spatial distribution. Once validated, the model is used to perform parametric studies aimed at optimizing operating conditions. In this context, the influence of input power and charge velocity is studied to meet process objectives. The results highlight the interplay between power and velocity in controlling both thermal gradients and exposure time. The proposed approach enables the identification of optimized operating conditions that ensure all points within the charge reach and maintain temperatures above the melting threshold while preserving acceptable thermal homogeneity. This work provides a predictive framework for process optimization in induction heating applications involving moving loads.