A FEM/BEM for axisymmetric electromagnetic and thermal modelling of induction furnaces

In this paper, we propose a numerical method to solve a mathematical model for axisymmetric induction furnaces used for melting materials like metals or silicon. A finite/boundary element method (FEM/BEM) is introduced to solve the eddy current problem giving the electromagnetic field. In order to solve the non-linear heat transfer problem involving change of state, we use an enthalpy formulation and propose an iterative algorithm to solve the corresponding finite element approximation. Numerical results for an industrial induction heating system are presented. Copyright q 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd