Modelling and design of the half-bridge resonant inverter for induction cooking application

In this paper the design process of an half-bridge resonant inverter for induction cooking application is presented: firstly, the electrical behaviour of the system is investigated. The second step consists in finding a methodology for the computation of the losses of the inverter. Then a prototype board has been build and a numerical methodology that identifies the characteristic impedance of the pan+inductor system has been found. Using these results and the thermal analysis of the IGBTs+heatsink system, the design process ends with the choice of the IGBTs and of the heatsink, as well as the determination of suitable and unsuitable types of pans, the selection of the proper operating points and the design of the controller, which must cope with the large variability and the time-varying behaviour of the load