An Application of Electromagnetic Levitation to Welding

The results of a study of levitation by induction applied to metal welding are presented. To achieve the levitation of liquid metal, a special flat inductor, based on the "magnetic potential hole," is used. This inductor consists of a double oscillating circuit supplied by an induction generator and is analyzed from an electrical point of view. It is shown that the optimal levitation conditions can be obtained by two working modes: the first one with a phase shift between the two currents of the two half-circuits having the same oscillating frequency and the second one with each of these currents having different frequencies. Some practical details are also given for the optimization of the inductor. Finally, a laboratory levitation experiment is described.