Computational Modeling of Two Partly Coupled Coils Supplied by a Double Half-Bridge Resonant Inverter for Induction Heating Appliances

In this paper, an induction heating system composed of two partly coupled coils connected to a double half-bridge resonant inverter is deeply analyzed. Induction coils are electrically characterized by their electrical equivalents, usually a series RL circuit, where the inductance is determined by the magnetic energy stored in the system and the resistance is associated with the power dissipated in the load, generally, a metallic workpiece. The aim of this work is to obtain the electrical equivalent of an inductor system with two concentric coils used in domestic cookers by means of computational methods, in order to be included into the models used in computational aided electronic tools to simulate the time-domain behavior of the associated electronics. The multiple-coil system is characterized with a frequency-dependent impedance matrix, where the diagonal terms are the impedance of each isolated coil, and the nondiagonal terms are coupling impedance components describing the mutual coupling between coils. The impedance matrix is calculated with finite-element analysis tools, and equivalent passive networks are proposed to perform time-domain simulation with a good accuracy in the frequency range of interest. The proposed system has been experimentally verified, obtaining accurate time-domain waveforms and output power calculation.