Dual-Output Extended-Power-Range Quasi-Resonant Inverter for Induction Heating Appliances

Abstract

Induction heating technology provides efficient and reliable heating processes that outperform other classical heating methods based on fossil fuels or resistive heating. Among its many industrial, domestic, and biomedical applications, domestic induction heating appliances are a popular choice due to these advantages. This technology requires high-performance and cost-effective inverters that take most of the power devices and the converter topology. Depending upon the desired performance and output-power range, different power converters are employed. However, currently, most platforms rely on the well-known series resonant half-bridge topology. Single-switch topologies offer a cost-effective implementation but are limited to the low-cost low-performance markets due to their limitations in terms of output power and power control. In this context, this paper proposes a high-performance dual-output quasi-resonant inverter for modern induction heating appliances. Unlike state-of-the-art proposals, this converter achieves a full-output-power operating range of up to 3.6 kW. Consequently, it provides a high-performance cost-effective alternative to current implementations. The proposed converter is analyzed in this paper and experimentally verified using a dual-output 3.6-kW induction heating appliance prototype.