Applications for High Frequency Electrical Induction
Posted on: 14 April 2017
Electrical induction is used in many applications, including welding, bending, heating and hardening processes. High frequency induction transfers energy at an efficient rate compared with lower frequency processes, and this means it is preferred in a number of industrial settings in Australia nowadays.
Hardening
High frequency electrical charges are induced in the process of induction hardening. A metalworking process, this procedure uses martensitic transformation in the metal itself to create a tougher and more durable layer in the metal. The process makes use of electromagnetic induction to produce heat that is felt on the surface of the metal being worked on. Although the process makes metal harder so that it is less easily drilled or scratched into, the approach also makes metal more brittle. As a result, even though high frequency induction is good for hardening metal in certain places, perhaps where it will be used abrasively, it is not a suitable process for load bearing types of metal work, such as for beams.
Heating
Heating systems are also able to take advantage of high frequency induction. With an approach of this type, a heating element is charged all the way along its length to heat the surrounding air. However, no electrical charge is generated in the metal being used to heat the system because the high frequency inductor does not ever come into contact with the element. Induction heating systems are generally used in specialist applications rather than domestic ones where immersion elements which heat water are preferred over metal inductors.
Bending
High frequency induced electrical charges are used as the power source for induction pipe bending. The process was originally developed from a similar one that was used to harden steel, but metalworkers soon discovered that an adapted process could utilise induction in order to bend metal. These days, induction pipe benders are able to manipulate all sorts of metal tubing in order to create smooth turns and bends. Often used in the formation of air-conditioning ducting, high precision pipe bending is also a highly regarded process of metalwork fabricators who construct items from tubular steel and similar metals.
In many cases, the metal is bent under the heat of the inducted electrical power and cooled at either side of the section being worked in order. This helps to ensure that the bend is created in just the right place without any unnecessary deformation being caused to the pipe at other places. Pipes that have been precisely bent to allow liquid or gasses to flow through with less resistance create greater efficiencies — a big advantage for pipework in large, industrial applications.
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