Comparative energy consumption analyses of an ultra high frequency induction heating system for material processing applications

Abstract

This study compares an energy consumption results of the TI-6Al-4V based material processing under the 900 kHz induction heating for different cases. By this means, total power consumption and energy consumptions per sample and amount have been analyzed. Experiments have been conducted with 900 kHz, 2.8 kW ultra-high frequency induction system. Two cases are considered in the study. In the first case, TI-6Al-4V samples have been heated up to 900 °C with classical heating method, which is used in industrial applications, and then they have been cooled down by water. Afterwards, the samples have been heated up to 600 °C, 650 °C and 700 °C respectively and stress relieving process has been applied through natural cooling. During these processes, energy consumptions for each defined process have been measured. In the second case, unlike the first study, can be used five different samples have been heated up to the various temperatures between 600 °C and 1120 °C and energy consumptions have been measured for these processes. Thereby, the effect of temperature increase on each sample on energy cost has been analyzed. It has been seen that as a result of heating the titanium bulk materials, which have been used in the experiment, with ultra high frequency induction, temperature increase also increases the energy consumption. But it has been revealed that the increase rate in the energy consumption is more than the increase rate of the temperature.