Protective atmosphere induction heating

Abstract

Induction heating is used for a wide range of industrial applications. This energy efficient process converts up to 90% of the energy used into useful heat. Since start-up is virtually instantaneous induction requires no warm-up or cool-down cycle and stand-by heat losses are reduced to a bare minimum. However, it is usually associated with poor surface quality particularly oxidation and surface roughness that requires further energy intensive processing. The use of protective atmospheres eliminates this step, further improving the energy efficiency of the process route. This paper describes some practical applications of protective atmosphere induction heating from a broad spectrum of heat treatment processes.

Keywords:

• Induction heating
• Protective atmospheres

This paper is based on a presentation at the 1st International Conference on ‘Energy and the future of heat treatment and surface engineering’, organised by IFHTSE in Bangkok, Thailand on 25–27 June 2012.