{"id":3326,"date":"2026-04-09T15:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/?p=3326"},"modified":"2026-05-13T13:46:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:46:48","slug":"induktive-heizung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/2026\/04\/09\/induktive-heizung\/","title":{"rendered":"Simulation of inductive heating \u2013 Elmer and OpenFOAM"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Inductive heating is an established and highly efficient process in modern manufacturing and process engineering. Whether hardening, brazing, shrinking, or targeted heat treatment \u2013 the contactless, rapid, and locally precise heat input makes induction heating the method of choice in numerous industries. However, the underlying physical interactions between the electromagnetic field, induced current, and resulting heat distribution are complex and difficult to predict without numerical simulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We simulate inductive heating processes for technical components made from various materials \u2013 in 2D and 3D, including surrounding media. We combine electromagnetic field simulation with <strong>Elmer<\/strong> and the heat transfer calculation with <strong>OpenFOAM<\/strong> to a powerful, coupled multiphysics simulation \u2013 integrated into our software environment <strong>InsightCAE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does inductive heating simulation achieve?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Numerical simulation of induction heating allows for a complete, physically consistent description of the heating process \u2013 from coil geometry to the temperature distribution in the component and its surroundings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Calculation of the electromagnetic field distribution<\/strong> \u2013 Magnetic field strength, current density, and eddy current losses as a function of frequency, coil geometry, and material parameters<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Spatial distribution of heat sources<\/strong> local heat input derived from Joule losses as the basis for thermal analysis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stationary and transient heat propagation<\/strong> \u2013 Temperature trends over time and space, cooling behavior, thermal gradients, and hot spots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environmental influence<\/strong> \u2013 Heat conduction into adjacent components, radiation, and convection at surfaces are fully accounted for<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Material Nonlinearities<\/strong> \u2013 temperature-dependent electrical conductivity, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity are correctly represented<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coupled Multiphysics Simulation: Elmer + OpenFOAM in InsightCAE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The physical peculiarity of inductive heating lies in the close coupling of electromagnetics and heat transport. Both domains influence each other: the electromagnetic field determines the heat sources, while the temperature changes the material-dependent electromagnetic properties. This bidirectional coupling requires specialized simulation tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Elmer (FEM)<\/strong> resolves the Maxwell equations for electromagnetic field simulation, calculates eddy currents and Joule loss power in the component and its surroundings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>OpenFOAM (FVM)<\/strong> \u2013 handles the heat transfer calculation, maps stationary and transient temperature fields, and considers conduction, convection, and radiation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>InsightCAE<\/strong> \u2013 our own simulation environment coordinates the data exchange between both solvers, manages the coupling steps, and provides an end-to-end workflow environment from geometry preparation to result evaluation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2D and 3D Simulations \u2013 Materials and Geometries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on the complexity of the task, we use rotationally symmetric 2D models for rapid parameter studies or complete 3D models for geometrically complex components and asymmetric coil arrangements. Components made of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Steels and special steels \u2013 ferromagnetic and austenitic, with and without phase transformation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aluminum and copper alloys \u2013 high electrical conductivity, low skin effect at high frequencies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Titanium-based alloys - relevant for aerospace and medical technology<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Composite materials and multilayer systems \u2013 e.g., coated components or cast-in inserts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Typical applications of induction heating simulation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The simulation of inductive heating processes is crucial in a wide variety of processes and industries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Induction hardening<\/strong> \u2013 Prediction of hardening depth, temperature profiles, and quenching behavior for gears, shafts, and bearing rings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Induction soldering and welding<\/strong> Optimization of heat input for reproducible bonded joints<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Shrink fits<\/strong> \u2013 Thermally controlled expansion of hubs and rings for mounting press fits<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Preheating before forming<\/strong> \u2013 Forging, cold forming, or hot bending with targeted local preheating<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Plastics processing and composite materials<\/strong> \u2013 inductive heating of inserts or tools<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Test and Measurement Technology<\/strong> \u2013 non-destructive testing using eddy current testing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advantages of numerical simulation over purely experimental approaches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visualization of internal temperature fields that are not accessible or only accessible with great effort through measurement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Systematic variation of coil geometry, frequency, power, and component position without physical prototypes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Early identification of overheating zones, insufficient penetration depth, or uneven heating<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduction of development times and reduction of scrap and rework in series production<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Securing and Documenting Process Parameters for Quality Management and Certifications<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Request induction heating simulation now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you want to optimize an induction heating process, design a new procedure, or test an existing component for thermal load capacity? <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/kontakt\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"396\">Speak to us<\/a><\/strong> - We analyze your task and develop a customized simulation model using Elmer, OpenFOAM, and InsightCAE.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Die induktive Erw\u00e4rmung ist ein etabliertes und hocheffizientes Verfahren in der modernen Fertigungs- und Prozesstechnik. Ob H\u00e4rten, L\u00f6ten, Schrumpfen oder gezielte W\u00e4rmebehandlung \u2013 die ber\u00fchrungslose, schnelle und lokal pr\u00e4zise W\u00e4rmeeinbringung macht Induktionsheizung zum Verfahren der Wahl in zahlreichen Industriezweigen. Die zugrunde liegenden physikalischen Wechselwirkungen zwischen elektromagnetischem Feld, induziertem Strom und resultierender W\u00e4rmeverteilung sind jedoch komplex [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1498,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[968],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thermodynamik"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3326"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3414,"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3326\/revisions\/3414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silentdynamics.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3326"}],"curies":[{"name":"WordPress","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}