Modeling and Design of Cookware for Induction Heating Technology With Balanced Electromagnetic and Thermal Characteristics

Abstract

Improving the cooking experience of induction-heating users involves, among other factors, an optimized power distribution at the bottom of the cooking vessel. Conventional ferromagnetic cookware presents high efficiency but unequal temperature distribution with flat inductors, which subsequently leads to uneven cooking results. In this work, we propose an alternative to the traditional cookware arrangement by inserting some aluminum pieces in the ferromagnetic bottom of cookware. This arrangement combines the optimal inductive performance of the ferromagnetic iron an the high thermal conductivity of aluminum. The performance of the proposed arrangement is analyzed by means of a multiphysics tool including electromagnetic and heat transfer sub-models which is applied to predict both the equivalent electrical circuit and the temperature distribution in cookware. As a result, a balanced trade-off between efficiency and temperature distribution is evidenced with the proposed solution. Experimental results also corroborates the predictions of the proposed solution.