Design, Analysis and Experimental Verification of the Self-Resonant Inverter for Induction Heating Crucible Melting Furnace Based on IGBTs Connected in Parallel

Borislav Dimitrov,Steve Barker,Gordana Collier,Khaled Hayatleh

doi:10.3390/electricity2040026

Borislav Dimitrov, Steve Barker + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/electricity2040026

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Journal: Electricity	Publication Date: Oct 11, 2021
Citations: 1	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Warwick, Oxford Brookes University

Abstract

The object of this research was a self-resonated inverter, based on paralleled Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs), for high-frequency induction heating equipment, operating in a wide range of output powers, applicable for research and industrial purposes. For the nominal installed capacity for these types of invertors to be improved, the presented inverter with a modified circuit comprising IGBT transistors connected in parallel was explored. The suggested topology required several engineering problems to be solved: minimisation of the current mismatch amongst the paralleled transistors; a precise analysis of the dynamic and static transistors’ parameters; determination of the derating and mismatch factors necessary for a reliable design; experimental verification confirming the applicability of the suggested topology in the investigated inverter. This paper presents the design and analysis of IGBT transistors based on datasheet parameters and mathematical apparatus application. The expected current mismatch and the necessary derating factor, based on the expected mismatch in transistor parameters in a production lot, were determined. The suggested design was experimentally tested and investigated using a self-resonant inverter model in a melting crucible induction laboratory furnace.

Highlights

This paper aimed to design, analyse, prototype, and experimentally test a self-resonant inverter for crucible inductance furnaces to verify the suggested circuit based on Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) connected in parallel
The reported efficiency for cooking induction heating converters is over 95%, which can be expected as a parameter for a powerful induction heating crucible system
The analysis shows that the datasheet transistor current must be selected

Summary

Introduction

This paper aimed to design, analyse, prototype, and experimentally test a self-resonant inverter for crucible inductance furnaces to verify the suggested circuit based on IGBTs connected in parallel. For this purpose, a methodology for analysing the transistors’. Characteristics and the expected mismatch in a production lot was suggested and implied as part of the design procedure It was based on trend analysis of the transistors’ datasheets, digitalising the graphical data and deriving precise polynomial equations. Such a study aimed to compensate for the lack of data on the mismatch of IGBT parameters. The theoretical basis of induction systems has been described in multiple well-established literature sources [1,2,3,4,5,6], giving fundamental knowledge for the system inductor-workpiece

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