Design and Implementation of a 120A Resonant

Inverter for Induction Furnace.

Oscar Fernández1, Juan Delgado2†, Fernando Martínez3, Javier Correa4 and Mario Heras5 .
IEEE Student member 1, 5, IEEE member2, 3, 4
Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia
Morelia, Michoacán, México
oscar0611@gmail.com 1 ,fdomtzc@yahoo.com3, javrcorrea@gmail.com 4, marheras_3@hotmail.com5

Abstract— This paper presents the design and
implementation of a series resonant inverter operating at
high frequency for induction heating applications. The
main advantage of this work is focused in applying power
electronics, particularly a series resonant inverter based
on an IGBT’s full bridge and a series RLC Load matched
with a high frequency coupling transformer. The series
resonant inverter is designed to deliver a current load up
to 120A with a one phase AC source. Due to the inherent
high speed operation and high efficiency of switching
converters, other advantages of the induction furnace
presented in this paper are that it require less time to start
melting, and require less physical space than other
traditional furnaces.
Keywords— Induction heating, resonant converters, Zero
voltage switching, Zero current switching.
I. INTRODUCTION
The birth of the electromagnetic induction
technology occurred in November 1831, when the British
physicist Michael Faraday, made two coils of wire wound on a
metal ring and observed that when an alternating current flows
through a coil, it induces a voltage in the other coil [1]. During
the subsequent decades, researchers have worked on this
effect by focusing on the development of equipment that
works with alternating current at a high frequency [1].
Induction heating is widely used in both industrial and
household fields because it provides high efficiency, can be
accurately controlled, and also presents a low level of
contamination on the workpiece to be treated [2, 3].
There are various types of converters used for induction
heating as rotary converters. Its use is for medium frequency
applications (250 Hz to 10 kHz). They consist essentially of a
three-phase asynchronous motor powered by the 60Hz electric
system and mechanically coupled to a single phase alternator
at the required frequency.
This generator supplies the load formed by the inductor and
compensation capacitors. The operating frequency is constant
because the coupling between the induction motor and the
†
Deceased
alternator remains fixed. Currently the rotary converters have
become virtually obsolete and have been replaced by other
types of static converters with better performance [1, 4, 5].
Years later with the development of electronic rotary
converters were replaced by static thyristor converters
operating at a low frequency (3-10 kHz) but afforded better
performance compared to the rotary converters. At present
various types of converters are used for induction heating
applications, however resonant converters are widely used
because with adequate switching control their losses can be
minimized using zero voltage switching and zero current
switching techniques.
The resonant tank can be connected in different
configurations, such as: series, parallel and hybrid model
(series-parallel). For this case study the series connection is
proposed because it does not require any auxiliary starting
circuits. This quality is particularly interesting for applications
in high rate heating, as it can deliver the maximum power
almost instantaneously. Moreover, the voltage source is
formed by an uncontrolled rectifier and capacitor filter whose
cost and complexity are much smaller than the controlled
rectifier and its bulky isolation inductance that constitute the
current source of a parallel generator. The series load is one of
the most used techniques because of its good cost-efficiency
relation [6, 7, 8].
With the correct triggering of the switches, a sinusoidal
current is obtained through the load. The oscillation frequency
is set by the inverter control and the power output can be
regulated if the frequency is closer to the series resonance of
the load [9,10].
In this paper, a resonant inverter with full bridge configuration
powered by a voltage source to obtain a 120A current in the
induction coil is presented.
II. RESONANT INVERTER
Induction heating is carried out when an electrically
conductive material or object, not necessarily magnetic, is
introduced into a variable magnetic field. Induction heating is

978-1-4799-2370-0/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE

due to two effects, known as hysteresis losses and eddy If:
current losses. These losses are described by the laws of 1
induction (Faraday's law and Ampere's law) and the Joule 2π fL − =0 (3)
effect.
2π fC
The frequency must have a defined value called critical or
The proposed scheme for the construction of the induction resonance frequency, designated as fc , so we have:
furnace is shown in Figure 1, which shows the full-bridge
inverter configuration (H-bridge) consisting of power IGBTs, 1
2π f c L = (4)
powered by a DC voltage source built with a single-phase 2π f c C
rectifier. A matching transformer is included in order to
couple the resonant circuit (RLC) and provide electrical
Finally, solving for fc we have:
isolation for the operator. 1
fc = (5)
2π LC
Single Phase
Full bridge Matching RLC resonant
CA Non-Controlled
Rectifier
inverter transformer tank B. Calculation of the resonant circuit

Control
Proposing a resonant frequency fc = 48kHz and the
Figure 1: General schematic of the induction furnace. resonance capacitor C = 3.1μ F . L is obtained from equation
5.
1
A. Resonant Circuit L= = 3.54μ H (6)
4 f c π 2C
2

The inverter can be analyzed by a simplified equivalent, as

shown in Figure 2. Using equation 7 the number of turns N can be determined to
build an air core inductor as shown in Figure 3[11].
0.394r 2 N 2
L= (7)
R C 9r + 10l
Where L is the inductance given in micro-Henrys, r is the
V G3
L C R
G1
V1
V
L

G2 G4 radius of the circle in centimeters, N is the number of turns

and l is the length in centimeters.

Figure 2: Simplified Equivalent of the H Bridge.

Considering a series circuit consisting of a resistor, an

inductor and a capacitor. The impedance circuit Z is expressed
in a complex form: l
⎛ 1 ⎞
Z = R + j ⎜ 2π fL − ⎟ (1)
⎝ 2π fC ⎠
The current I in the circuit is: Figure 3: Physical construction of a single-layer air core coil.
E
I= For equation (7) to be valid it is necessary that the length l is
⎛ 1⎞ (2)
R + j ⎜ 2π fL − ⎟ greater than 0.67r . Equation (7) has a 1% accuracy, to
⎝ 2π fC ⎠
achieve a high quality factor Q , it is desirable that the length
Where E is the voltage across the RLC circuit and is used as
the reference axis.
l = 2r but for practical purposes sometimes it is not possible
to meet the criterion and there is the need to recalculate the
When the expression in brackets is equal to zero, the expression to fulfill equation (7). [11]. The mathematical form
impedance is reduced to a pure resistive circuit, so that the to compute the quality factor Q is shown in equation 8,
current is in phase with the voltage. Moreover, the impedance where f is the operating frequency, L the value of the
is reduced to its minimum value while the current reaches its induction coil and R is the resistance of the workpiece.
maximum value. When these conditions are met, it is said that
the circuit is in resonance.
2π fL
Q= (8)
R
Using equation (7) following parameters are proposed that: 1
T
V ( t ) dt = 0
T ∫0
a0 = (16)
r = 3cm
l = 10cm

Substituting values into equation (7), From (13)

T
2
V ( t ) cos ( nωt )dt = 0
T ∫0
an = (17)
0.394 ( 3) N 2
2

3.54 = (9)
9 ( 3) + 10 (10 )
From (14)
Solving equation 9: cos (π n − 1) ⎛ − cos ( 2π n ) + cos ( π n ) ⎞
bn = −8.5945 − 8.5945 ⎜ ⎟
n ⎝ n ⎠
N = 11.260 ≅ 11 turns (10)
(18)
The expansion of the first hundred harmonics are shown in
For the induction coil flexible copper tube 1/4 " was used
Figure 4.
which is commonly used for cooling systems. Coil was coated 100
with a fiberglass material resistant to high temperatures, to V0 ( t ) = ∑ bn sin ( 2π fnt ) (19)
provide thermal and electrical insulation in the coil. Taking n =1
advantage of this hollow coil, water is used as coolant to
prevent damage to the coil due to the high current circulation.

C. Resonance circuit analysis with Fourier series Voltage (V)

1) Voltage Analysis

Fourier series constitute the basic mathematical tool for

harmonic analysis in periodic functions as voltage and current
by decomposing the function into an infinite sum of sinusoidal
functions. The Fourier series is define as:
∞ Time (s)
a0 + ∑ ( an cos ( nωt ) + bn sin ( nωt ) ) (11) Figure 4: Fourier series expansion of the voltage in the
n =1 resonant circuit.
Where an , bn are known as Fourier coefficients. a0 is the 2) Current Analysis
average of the signal.
1
T Harmonic impedance Zn of the resonant circuit shown in
V ( t ) dt
T ∫0
a0 = (12) Figure 2 is defined as:
j
Where T is the minimum period of the signal V ( t ) Z n = R + jω nL − (20)
ω nC
T
2 If capacitor C = 3.1μ F and inductor L = 3.54 μ H assuming
V ( t ) cos ( nωt )dt
T ∫0
an = (13)
a resistance R = 0 , the impedance is:
2
T ⎛ 3.3602 ⎞
V ( t ) sin ( nωt )dt Z n = j ⎜ 0.33984π n −
T ∫0
(21)
bn = (14)
⎝ π n ⎟⎠
The harmonic current in is:
If V ( t ) is a symmetric square wave with 27V amplitude, a
b
frequency f c = 48kHz and a duty cycle of 50% as slated in in = n sin ( 2π fnt − arg ( Z n ) ) (22)
15, the drive signal of the resonant circuit shown in Figure 2. Zn
Harmonic current is represented as an infinite sum, but for
⎧ 27V ⎫ −5 practical purposes, the first hundred current harmonics and
0 < t < 1.0417 × 10
V (t ) = ⎨ −5 −5 ⎬
(15) spectrum frequency in the resonant circuit are shown in Figure
⎩−27V 1.0417 × 10 < t < 2.083 × 10 ⎭ 5.
100

Applying Fourier analysis: i ( t ) = ∑ in (23)

n =1
From (12)
 500

Current (A) A. Amplitude Control

0 Assuming that the output frequency does not affect the quality
heating for a specific load, the voltage amplitude can be
controlled by moving the operating frequency close to
-500
0 1 2
resonance frequency. The frequency must be moved to a
5
Time (s)
x 10
-4 slightly higher frequency than the resonance frequency, thus,
with the increase of frequency, the filter quality increases
4
3rd Harmonic thereby decreasing harmonics. Otherwise with reduction of the
3
144kHz
1st Harmonic*
operating frequency the resonant frequency increases the
|i(t)|

2
48kHz 5th Harmonic 7th Harmonic amplitude of the third harmonic thereby markedly decreasing
240kHz 336kHz
the power output. This prototype uses open loop control by me
1 *attenuated 45
times
tuning the frequency by means of a knob located on the front
0 panel of the induction furnace.
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
5
Frequency (Hz) x 10
Figure 5: Fourier series expansion and spectrum frequency for
IV. CASE STUDY
the current in the resonant tank.
To perform tests to the induction furnace using a “cold rolled”
In Figure 5 shows the frequency spectrum of the current, magnetic material bar 4"x 3/8”.The magnetic material is
where the first harmonic is attenuated by 45, to show that the initially at room temperature and is submitted to induction
3rd, 5th and 7th harmonics do not contribute significantly to the heating for 100 seconds. The material is suspended in the air
output current. by a thin copper wire.

III. INVERTER DRIVING SIGNALS The test conditions are:

• The operating frequency of the oven is kept constant
For inverter driving signals a microcontroller was used, with • The workpiece is in direct contact with the
the main function to generate pulses to drive the IGBTs. environment

Real switches do not turn on or off instantaneously, therefore,
switching transition times must be considered when driving
the switches. Overlap of switch "on" times will result in a
short circuit, sometimes called a shoot-through fault, across
the dc voltage source. The time allowed for switching is called
blanking time, for this particular case includes a dead time of
1.1µs to avoid short circuit. This time was calculated by
making several tests of the IGBTs to ensure complete
shutdown of an IGBT.
Figure 6 shows the gate-emitter voltages for power IGBTs at
resonance frequency. Where it can be seen that switches are
not turned on simultaneously.
Within the cold rolled bar there is a K-type thermocouple that
is connected to a data acquisition card connected to the
computer to keep records for temperature measurements.
V. RESULTS
Figure 7 shows a photograph of the front panel of the
induction furnace. Wherein the induction coil is located,
furnace controls and some gauges that serve as a reference to
the operator are also located on the front panel.

Figure 7: Front panel of the induction furnace.

Figure 6: Gate-emitter voltages for power IGBTs 5V/div,
5µs/div.
Figure 8 shows the internal parts of the induction furnace, in Figure 10 shows the voltage across the induction coil, it can be
1) Shows the IGBT’s H bridge from SEMIKRON® model observed a quasi-sinusoidal behavior with a voltage of 240V.
SKM200GB rated up to 600V and 200A. In 2) show startup
oven elements, 3) Single phase non controlled rectifier, 4)
Capacitors bank that serve as a voltage source for the inverter,
5) Coupling transformer for resonant circuit, 6) Blocking DC
capacitor, 7) Capacitor in resonant tank and finally 8) Driving
signls for IGBT based on a microcontroller Atxmega from
Atmel®.

1)
2)

6)
4) Figure 10: Voltage across the induction coil 50/div, 10µs/div.
5) So the power dissipated in the workpiece is approximately
3) 80kW.
B. Thermal tests
7) 8)
Figure 8: Internal parts of the induction furnace. Figure 11 shows the induction heating of the piece of “cold
rolled” heated from room temperature to a maximum
A. Electrical tests
temperature of 766 ° C measured in a time of 80 seconds.
Switching the IGBTs near the resonance frequency of the
resonant RLC circuit enables the possibility to obtain a
sinusoidal current in the induction coil, as shown in Figure 8. 820
Temperature °C

620
Traces seen in Figure 9 correspond to the primary and
secondary windings of the matching transformer shown in 420
Figure 8, subsection 5). This matching transformer is used in
220
step-down form with 7:1 relation ratio. Due to the
transformation ratio, the current in the primary winding is less 20
than the current in the secondary winding where can be seen 0 20 40 60 80 100
that the maximum output current is 336A.
Time (seconds)

Figure 11: Induction heating of a magnetic piece of cold rolled

from room temperature.

Figure 12 shows a photograph of different magnetic pieces at

red hot point with induction heating.

Figure 9: Maximum current in resonance 1)50A/div, 2)

20A/div, 5µs/div Figure 12: Magnetic pieces at red hot point with induction
heating.
 VI. CONCLUSIONS [11] Cris Bowick, “RF Circuit Design,” Ed. Newnes, 1982, pp. 10-27.

This paper describes the design and implemeentation of a full BIOGRAPHIIES

bridge series resonant inverter topology for iinduction heating Fernández M. Oscar receiv ved the B.S. degree in electronics
for ferromagnetic materials. The main addvantage of the engineering from Instituto Tecnologico
T de Morelia, Morelia
proposed inverter topology is that it can achieeve high power in Michoacán, Mexico, in 2010 0. In 2013 he obtained his MSEE
comparison with other topologies, even connnected to a single from Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia (ITM), México. His
research interests are control systems applied to power
phase, it require less time to start melting, and require less electronics.
physical space than traditional furnaces.
Delgado Romero. JJD. received the M. S. and the Ph.D.
The induction furnace built is able to put maggnetic metal parts degrees in electric engin neering, from the Universidad
in red hot point in less than a minute. The maximum Autónoma de Nuevo León n (UANL) unfortunately passed
temperature reached was 766°C, even when tthe work piece is away on November 28, 20 012 and this work was the last
not in a vacuum chamber and room tempeerature affect the project that worked. Their areas of work were automatic
control and power electronics.
maximum temperature of the part.
VII. REFERENCES Martínez-Cárdenas F. (IEE EE Member) received the B. Eng
and the M.Sc. degrees in Eleectronics Engineering and Electric
[1] S.Zinn and S.L Semiatin “Applications of indduction heating”, in Engineering respectively froom the Instituto Tecnológico de
Elements of induction heating Design, Control, annd Applications, Ed. Morelia, Michoacán, México o in 1992 and 2000 and the PhD in
ASM International, 1998, pp. 1-75. Electrical Engineering from
m the Universidad Michoacana de
San Nicolás de Hidalgo (México)
( in 2008. He holds a
[2] Mu-Ping Chen; Jan-Ku Chen; Murata, K.; Nakahaara, M.; Harada, K.; ,
permanent position at the Instituto
I Tecnológico de Morelia
"Surge analysis of induction heating power supplyy with PLL," Power
since 1995. His research innterests are in power electronics,
Electronics, IEEE Transactions on , vol.16, no.5, ppp.702-709, Sep 2001.
parallel processing, real-tiime simulation and renewable
[3] Hyoyol Yoo; Eunyong Shim; Jeabong Kang; Gilyyong Choi; Changyo energies.
Lee; Byeongsu Bang; , "100kHz IGBT inverter usee of LCL topology for
high power induction heating," Power Electroniics and ECCE Asia Correa G., Javier received the
t M. S. and the Ph.D. degrees in
(ICPE & ECCE), 2011 IEEE 8th International Conf nference on , vol., no., electronics engineering, from
m the National Center of Research
pp.1572-1575, May 30 2011-June 3 2011. and Technological Developm ment (CENIDET) in Cuernavaca,
[4] Kamli, M.; Yamamoto, S.; Abe, M.; , "A 50-1150 kHz half-bridge Mexico in 1997 and 2003 respectively.
r From 1997 to 2003
inverter for induction heating applications," Industrrial Electronics, IEEE was employed as an electron nic ballast designer for fluorescent
Transactions on , vol.43, no.1, pp.163-172, Feb 19996 lamps in Electromag Corp, in Mexico City. He presently
[5] Hathairatsiri, V.; Chudjuarjeen, S.; Chakkuchan, P.; Sangswang, A.; works as professor at the Electronics Department of the
Koompai, C.; , "A half-bridge resonant inverter wiith three-phase PWM Morelia Technological Institute, Michoacan, Mexico. His
rectifier for induction heating," Electrical Enggineering/Electronics research interest includees power electronics, power
Computer Telecommunications and Information Technology (ECTI- semiconductor devices and electronic ballast for fluorescent,
CON), 2010 International Conference on , vol., no.,, pp.838-841, 19-21 HID lamps and Led lighting systems.
May 2010
Heras C., Mario received d the B.S. degree in electronics
[6] Sarnago, H.; Lucia, O.; Mediano, A.; Burdio, JJ.M.; , "Dual-mode-
engineering from Morelia Technological Institute (ITM),
operation half-bridge resonant converter for improved-efficiency
Morelia Michoacán, Mexico o, in 2011, He received the M. S.
induction heating system," Applied Power Electroonics Conference and
degree in electronics en ngineering, from the Morelia
Exposition (APEC), 2012 Twenty-Seventh Annuaal IEEE , vol., no.,
pp.2184-2188, 5-9 Feb. 2012 Technological Institute, in Michoacán,
M Mexico in 2013. His
research interests are FDI sysstems and virtual instrumentation.
[7] Young-Sup Kwon; Sang-Bong Yoo; Dong-Seok H Hyun; , "Half-bridge
series resonant inverter for induction heating appplications with load-
adaptive PFM control strategy," Applied Power Eleectronics Conference
and Exposition, 1999. APEC '99. Fourteenth Annuaal , vol.1, no., pp.575-
581 vol.1, 14-18 Mar 1999
[8] Lucia, O.; Burdio, J.M.; Millan, I.; Acero, J.; Puyal, D.; , "Load-
Adaptive Control Algorithm of Half-Bridge Series R Resonant Inverter for
Domestic Induction Heating," Industrial Electronicss, IEEE Transactions
on , vol.56, no.8, pp.3106-3116, Aug. 2009
[9] Sinha, D.; Bandyopadhyay, A.; Sadhu, P.K.; Pal, N N.; , "Performance of
H.F. mirror inverter with different semiconductor sw witches for induction
heating," Emerging Trends in Electrical and Co Computer Technology
(ICETECT), 2011 International Conference on , vvol., no., pp.465-468,
23-24 March 2011K. Elissa, “Title of paper if know wn,” unpublished.
[10] Millán, I.; Burdío, J.M.; Acero, J.; Lucía, O.; Lllorente, S.; , "Series
resonant inverter with selective harmonic operationn applied to all-metal
domestic induction heating," Power Electronics, IET , vol.4, no.5,
pp.587-592, May 2011.