Veröffentlichungen und Präsentationen

Induction heating is increasingly adopted in manufacturing as a rapid and energy-efficient alternative to conventional furnace-based heating processes. In assembly applications, it enables localised, contactless heating of components to facilitate joining operations, significantly reducing cycle times and improving process flexibility. Within the MUSIC project, an induction heating demonstrator has been developed to replace traditional oven heating for the preparation of workpieces prior to assembly with mating components. This work presents a multiphysics modelling framework developed in COMSOL Multiphysics® to simulate the coupled electromagnetic and thermal behaviour of the induction heating process. The AC/DC Module is used to resolve induced currents and magnetic fields, while the Heat Transfer Module captures the transient thermal response, including temperature-dependent material properties. To efficiently resolve the skin effect while limiting computational cost, a split meshing strategy is implemented following established COMSOL methodologies. A boundary layer mesh is applied over the workpiece surface to capture the skin depth, while the remaining bulk volume is partitioned into a separate domain. Electromagnetic fields are solved only within the coil, surrounding air, and the boundary layer region, while heat transfer is solved across the full volume. This approach significantly reduces degrees of freedom without compromising solution accuracy, as electromagnetic field penetration into the bulk is negligible. Parametric studies are performed to investigate the influence of coil geometry, excitation frequency, and power input, with a focus on minimising heating time relative to conventional oven-based methods while maintaining uniform and controlled distributions for assembly. Experimental validation is conducted using thermocouple measurements and thermal imaging data from the MUSIC demonstrator. These results are used to calibrate and validate the model, demonstrating strong agreement between simulation and experiment. The developed workflow enables rapid virtual optimisation of induction heating processes, supporting the transition from batch furnace heating to agile, on-demand thermal processing in assembly operations. This work highlights the value of multiphysics simulation in reducing process time, improving energy efficiency, and enabling more flexible and responsive manufacturing systems.