Improving Multiphase Induction-Heating Systems: Several Configurations and Resonant Control Show Promise

This article presents a new configuration for multiphase induction-heating (IH) systems and their control schemes. Instead of using separate voltage inverters to supply the required current to the inductors in each phase, we specifically configured the inverters to reduce the number of power switches. A modification of the inverter-setting parameters ensured the proper operation of the system. We obtained the best references through a specific optimization procedure and tested several solutions for neutral current minimization, including a new arrangement of the coils. In addition, proportional-resonant (PR) controllers allowed us to achieve current control in the different phases. We developed the application on a reduced-power, three-phase coupled resonant test bench, which provided simulation and experimental results.