High power density PCB coil array applied to domestic induction heating appliances

Printed circuit board technology provides a cost constrained manufacturing option for low profile inductors due to its highly standardized process, however, the transferred power is limited by the losses in the winding, which may produce overheating. In this work, PCB inductors are evaluated for a high power application as domestic induction heating appliances. Moreover, in the seek of flexible cooking surfaces which can adapt to the size and shape of the pot, the use of partially overlapped inductors generating coil arrays is considered. The work includes the analysis of the coupling between overlapped coils when placed under a dissipative material, a study of the losses in the winding considering rectangular cross section conductors and presents the main implementation techniques. The method is employed for the design of a prototype which was tested under real working conditions delivering up to 4.2 kW.