Eddy current analysis of thin metal container in induction heating by line integral equations

In recent years, induction‐heating cookers have spread rapidly. It is desirable to commercialize flexible and disposable food containers that are suitable for induction heating. In order to develop a good‐quality food container for moderate heating, the eddy currents induced in a thin metal plate must be accurately analyzed. The integral equation method is widely used for solving induction‐heating problems. If the plate thickness approaches zero, the surface integral equations on the upper and lower plate surfaces tend to become the same and the equations become ill‐conditioned. In this paper, we first derive line integral equations from the boundary integral equations under the assumption that the electromagnetic fields in the metal are attenuated more rapidly than those along the metal surface. Next, to test the validity of the line integral equations, we solve for the eddy current induced in a thin metal container in induction heating and obtain the power density imparted to the container and the impedance characteristics of the heating coil. We then compare the computed results with those obtained by the FEM. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 168(2): 20–27, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20813