Homogeneous single-coil induction heating achieved by structure design

Domestic induction heating shows advantages over traditional open fire heating, but the uneven temperature distribution in the pan is still one of the problems to be solved. In this work, to improve the heating uniformity of the induction cooker, the finite element analysis (FEA) is employed to investigate the relationship between the structure of induction coil and the temperature distribution in the heating pan. The results indicate that the structure of single-coil can be optimized by varying the winding turns in different positions. More uniform temperature distribution in the pan has been obtained by increasing the number of turns at the center and edge of the coil. The advance of this design is to achieve uniform induction heating without redesigning the power source or adding an additional coil. Based on the simulation results, the refined induction coil has been fabricated and assembled into a commercial domestic induction cooker with little modification of the power supply system. A specific parameter named relative standard deviation (RSD) is proposed to define the temperature uniformity. By real-time temperature measurement, the improved heating uniformity has been demonstrated for the refined system. The present work provides a cost-effective and efficient solution to improve heating performance of domestic induction cooker.