Understanding

Impedance Heating

Smart Impedance Heating Systems

425 HANLEY INDUSTRIAL COURT ST. LOUIS, MO 6314 4 USA T 314.64 4.4300 F 314.64 4.5332 INDEECO.COM
Understanding
Impedance Heating
Fred S. Epstein and Gary L. White of Indeeco
How fast pipes heat up
depends on the interaction
of electrical resistivity,
magnetic permeability and
current density
F or decades, plumbers have thawed
frozen water pipes by connecting
portable welder electrodes to both
ends of the frozen section and running
a low-voltage current through the pipe.
Effectively, the pipe becomes a heating
element, melting the ice inside. That, in
its simplest form, is impedance heating.
In industrial applications, a multi tap a.c.
transformer supplies low-voltage current
to a pipe transporting a gas or liquid.
Connecting cables, a control panel
and electrical isolation of the heated
pipe complete the package. Typical
applications are shown in Table 1.
Impedance heating is used because
it is simple to apply, eliminates the
risk of heater burnout, requires little
maintenance, and provides uniform
heating along the length of the pipe
– a critical factor when dealing with
fluids sensitive to spot overheating.
But despite its long history, impedance
heating and its electrical effects are little
understood.
Impedance, which determines the
heating rate of a pipe and its contents, is
influenced by three key factors:
Electrical resistivity (and its variation
with temperature) is always significant,
since it is the basis for the d.c. resistance
of any conductor
Magnetic permeability is a function of
the metallurgy of the pipe material and
its environment (temperature, magnetic
field, and so forth). For magnetic steels,
such as plain carbon steel, permeability
contributes to both skin effect and
RESISTANCE
R2
R1
–T0 T1 T2 TEMPERATURE
FIGURE 1: As a pipe’s temperature
increase, so does its resistance. The
increase is almost linear
FIGURE 2: In skin effect, the current
tends to concentrate toward the outer
surface. Arrow lengths represent
current magnitudes
proximity effect, as described in the
following pages
Current density is the distribution of
current throughout the cross-sectional
area of a conductor. A high current
density occurs when a large current
flows through a small area.
To gain a thorough understanding
of how these phenomena interact
to produce impedance heating in
a pipe, Industrial Engineering and
Equipment Co. (Indeeco; St. Louis, Mo.),
commissioned a three -year study by
the Electrical Engineering Dept. at the
University of Missouri at Rolla. This
article is based on the findings of that
study.
THEORY OF OPERATION
As current flows through the wall of a
pipe, five major electrical effects take
place simultaneously.
Resistance heating. Also known
as Joule heating, resistance heating
results from the flow of current through
a material with electrical resistance.
The most common form of electrical
heating, it encompasses everything
from toasters to large industrial
immersion heaters. Resistance heating is
the simplest component of impedance
heating in a pipe, which can be viewed
as a long resistor. Heat is generated
according to the well-known formula:
P = I2R (1)
where P is the heat generated, I is the
current, and R is the pipe’s electrical
resistance. As the pipe’s temperature
increases, its resistance also increases.
This increase is roughly linear, modeled
by the formula:
T 2 + T0
R 2 = R1
T1 + T0
(2)
where R1 is the resistance at normal
ambient temperature T1, and R2 is the
resistance at the elevated temperature
T2 . T0, a characteristic of the pipe
material, is the extrapolated base point
for this linear relationship (Figure 1).
Skin Effect. In any current-carry
conductor, the current tends to
concentrate toward the outer surface.
When the conductor is a pipe, the
current concentrates toward the pipe’s
outer surface, in what is known as skin
effect, as shown in Figure 2.
Skin effect is caused by eddy currents.
An a.c. current flowing through a pipe
produces a magnetic field. This field
produces secondary or eddy currents
(Figure 3). These eddy currents, in turn,
produce secondary magnetic fields.
Eddy currents tend to be in phase with
the pipe current nearest the outer
surface, and out of phase with the
 TABLE 1: TYPICAL IMPEDANCE HEATING APPLICATIONS
DIAMETER LENGTH TEMPERATURE D
PRODUCT PIPE MATERIAL SYSTEM (KVA) C
(IN.) (FT) (°F)
Acid Stainless steel 1.5 25 570 3.5
Air Stainless tube 3/8 120 950 13.5 A
Asphalt Carbon steel 6 212 300 30.0 B Eddy current
path D
Caustic slurry Carbon steel 3 800 90 17.0
Direction of C
Chocolate Carbon steel 3 208 140 2.5 magnetic
field
Heavy crude Carbon steel 8 750 225 33.0
A
Lard Carbon steel 2 800 120 15.0
Molten lead Stainless steel 2 36 1,250 18.0 Inner B Outer wall
wall of pipe
Molten salt Stainless steel 2 50 500 9.0 of pipe
Polymer Stainless steel 14 82 600 30.0
Soap Sanitary tubing 6 400 180 20.0 FIGURE 3: Eddy currents are
Sugar Carbon steel 4 40 150 5.5 generated by the magnetic field
Sulfur Carbon steel 12 600 285 35.0 produced when an a.c. current flows
Sulfur Carbon steel 4 1,200 300 60.0
through a pipe
Tar or pitch Carbon steel 6 360 295 40.0
B
Water Carbon steel 2 850 40 3.5
Water slurry Stainless steel 10 2,000 55 80.0
Wax Carbon steel 2 600 180 11.0

pipe current nearest the inner surface,
resulting in a non-uniform current
distribution known as skin effect. Eddy
current losses - in this case, the heat
generated by eddy currents - is given by
the following equation:
Pe = Kef 2B m2 V (3)
where
Ke = eddy current loss constant
f = frequency in Hz
Bm = maximum flux density in webers/m2
V = volume of pipe material in m3
The maximum flux density equals
the magnetic field intensity times the
permeability of the pipe.
Skin effect can be quantified in terms
of the pipe’s skin depth, which is the
portion of the outer wall over which the
current drops by a factor of 1/e, or 0.37.
Skin depth is given by the equation:
∂ = 2/√ µw/p (4)
where
∂ = skin depth in m
w = 2π times the frequency in Hz
µ = permeability in henries/m
p = resistivity in m–ohms
This equation applies strictly to a solid
conductor, but is reasonably accurate for
a hollow conductor, such as a pipe, if the
conductor radius is much greater than
the skin depth.
Consequently, skin effect is stronger
H
for good conductors — those with
low resistivity — as well as for high
frequencies, thick-walled pipes and
high magnetic permeability. For most
applications, the frequency will be 50
or 60 Hz. Although this is in the low-
frequency range, skin effect can be
significant for good conductors, such
FIGURE 4: The hysteresis curve shows
as copper and carbon steel. Even when
the variation in the magnetic field as
using a poor conductor, such as an iron
the current passes through an a.c.
alloy, the skin effect can be significant
cycle. the enclosed area is
when the material’s permeability is high.
proportional to the amount of heat
To analyze skin effect, it is useful to energy generated
view the pipe’s cross-section as a
collection of filaments. An outside In turn, these magnetic fields induce
filament will have a current significantly an electromotive force (EMF) in each
filament. EMF is a function of all filament
above average, while an inside filament
and return conductor currents, the
will have a below-average current,
distance between the filaments, filament
approaching zero in extreme cases.
size, power source frequency, and
The source of skin effect is the magnetic permeability of the pipe material. It is
flux created by those filament currents, EMF that tends to drive filament currents
and its effect on the current in the to higher or lower levels, relative to their
filament of interest. The magnetic flux neighbors.
density, B, is given by:
Proximity Effect. The current inside
B = µI/2πD (5) the pipe is also affected by currents
flowing outside the pipe. When a
where return conductor is installed parallel
µ = permeability of pipe materials to the pipe, its current equals all the
I = filament’s current current in the pipe, but flows in the
D = distance from the filaments carrying opposite direction. Because of that flow
current I direction, the return conductor tends
to attract currents in the portion of the
 26 25
Return 2 1 24
Conductor 3
4 23
5 22
6
D 18
7 20
8 19
r1
6
9 18
10
11
12 13 14 15
FIGURE 5: Shown is a filament model of a pipe with a 24-x-3
grid of filaments. This configuration is tailored for the
non-symmetric distribution of current
pipe closest to it, since these external
currents create lines of magnetic
flux that intersect the pipe. The
resulting proximity effect increases the
concentration of current in the nearby
portion of pipe.
The degree of concentration is affected
by the distance between conductors,
plus the same factors influencing skin
effect. While skin effect and proximity
effect are significant in ferrous steel
pipes, they are of a lower order of
magnitude in nonferrous pipes.
Hysteresis. When a pipe carries an a.c.
current, it produces a magnetic field
both inside the pipe wall and outside
the pipe. For ferromagnetic materials,
such as carbon steel, the magnetic field
is a function of the previous current flow
in the pipe. That is, the magnetic field
varies as the current goes through the
positive and negative portions of the a.c.
cycle. The result is the hysteresis curve,
shown in Figure 4. The area enclosed
by this curve is proportional to the heat
generated per a.c. cycle.
Hysteresis accounts for a significant
fraction of the heat generated in a
current-carrying pipe. However, the
effect is not uniform. The magnetic field
is stronger near the outer surface, and
the hysteresis heat generated is roughly
proportional to the square of the
magnetic flux density, as shown:
Ph = KhfBmn V (6)
where
Ph = hysteresis loss in watts
Kh = the hysteresis constant
f = frequency in Hz
21
Ro
17
16
FIGURE 6: Shell model of a pipe with N = 7 shells. The
intermediate shell radii are rm and rn
Bm = maximum flux density
n = a constant close to 2.0
V = volume in m3
Saturation. Magnetic permeability, µ,
equals magnetic flux density, B, divided
by magnetic field intensity, H:
µ = B/H (7)
For magnetic materials, such as
steel, permeability usually decreases
slightly with increasing temperature.
More importantly, permeability drops
dramatically as the magnetic field
intensity increases to a high level. This
phenomenon, known as saturation,
causes permeability to approach that of
air for highly magnetized fields.
Saturation occurs as the current in a
ferrous pipe is increased to a critical
level. Beyond that point, a higher current
results in only insignificant increases in
the magnetic field. However, the entire
pipe will not become saturated at one
overall current level. The current density
varies across the cross section of the
pipe due to skin effect and proximity
effect. As a result, saturation starts
at the outer surface of the pipe and
progresses inward.
The effects described so far are well
known. But virtually all previously
published information about them
deals with good conductors used in
electrical circuits, and steels with good
permeability characteristics used in
magnetic circuits.
Little is known about the mixed effects
that occur when steel pipes, with their
uncertain electrical and magnetic
properties, are used as electrical
rm
rn
Ri D
Return
Conductor
t
conductors to generate magnetic fields.
The proximity effect caused by the
return conductor further complicates
the picture. The investigators therefore
developed two novel models to
account for the various electromagnetic
phenomena that take place in
impedance heated pipelines.
FILAMENT AND SHELL MODELS
The filament model, shown in
Figure 5, breaks the pipe cross-section
into filaments. The shell model, shown
in Figure 6, is based on concentric shells.
The shell model uses radial symmetry.
This configuration is well-suited to
handling skin effect, and is easily
modified to deal with partial saturation,
since each shell can be given a unique
value for permeability. But it does not
account for the proximity effect caused
by the return conductor.
The filament model, on the other hand,
deals efficiently with non-symmetric
distribution of current caused by the
proximity effect, but is poorly suited to
include saturation.
However, each model contributes to the
development of a better method. As a
result of this study, elements of both the
filament and shell models have been
incorporated in a computer program
designed by Indeeco.
Figure 5 breaks the pipe into 72
filaments, three concentric layers of 24
each. An outside filament will have a
current significantly above average while
an inside filament will have a below-
average current, approaching zero in
extreme cases. For a model consisting
of sufficiently thin filaments, the
voltage drop across the model’s various
filaments should be uniform. There are
two components to this voltage: the
real or resistive component, and the
imaginary or reactive component. Since
both are constant, a one-step solution
can be achieved. Ohm’s Law can be
written as:
E = RI + j XI = Z1 (8)
where
E is a vector representing filament
voltage
R is the resistance matrix for the
filaments
I is the vector of filament currents
j is the square root of -1
X is the matrix of inductive reactances
Z is the matrix of complex impedances
Each filament has a self-inductance,
Lself · Also, each filament interacts
with the other filaments and with the
return conductor, producing a mutual
inductance, Lmutual. The total matrix of
inductances can be calculated from the
formulas:
Lself = (µ0 /π)ln[1/r’ ] (9)
Lmutual = (µ0 /π)ln[D/r’] (10)
where µ0 is the permeability of free
space, r’ the geometric mean radius
of the filament, and D the distance
between filaments, as defined in Figure
5.
The reactance Xself and Xmutual equal their
respective inductances times 2πf, where
f is the frequency:
Xself = 2πf Lself (11)
Xmutual = 2πf Lmutual (12)
Referring to Equation 8, the Z impedance
matrix now becomes
Z = R + j2πf Lself+ j2πf Lmutual (13)
The Z matrix has the self-reactance
and resistance terms on the diagonals,
and the mutual reactances in the
off-diagonal locations. The size of
the matrix, and thus the accuracy of
the calculation, is determined by the
number of filaments chosen. The larger
that number, the greater the accuracy.
The vector representing current
distribution, I, can then be obtained by
inverting the Z matrix:
480-V
power
source
I = Z -1E (14)
Current distribution due to proximity
effect can be calculated using the
above method. But saturation could not
be accommodated with the filament
model, since the model depends on a
constant permeability.
For this task, turn to the shell model,
shown in Figure 6. The cross-section
of the pipe is divided into a number of
thin concentric shells. Within each shell,
the current density is regarded as being
uniform. The magnetic field produced
by any given shell is zero at all points
between the shell’s axis and the shell’s
inner wall.
At points outside the shell, the magnetic
field, B, is directly proportional to the
current flowing through the shell, I, and
inversely proportional to the distance
between an exterior point and the shell’s
axis, D:
B = µ0I/2πD (15)
µ0 is the permeability of free space.
As in the case of the filament model,
an impedance (or Z) matrix can be
developed from the shell model. Just as
the size of the filament model matrix is
controlled by the number of filaments,
the size of this matrix is controlled by
the number of shells. Once again, the
matrix diagonal contains resistance and
self reactance terms; mutual reactance
terms make up the off diagonals.
These reactance terms are the
consequence of self and mutual flux
linkages between the various shells
comprising this model. The diagonal
and off diagonal elements in this matrix
may then be compared with similar
expressions (Equations 9 and 10)
obtained for the filament model.
FIGURE 7: A mid-point
connection used with the
return cables at the grounded
pipe ends prevents conductive
fluids from overriding a pipe’s
impedance
The resulting expression can be
programmed for varying permeability
across the pipe’s cross-section,
permitting saturation of areas with high
flux density and no, or less, saturation of
other regions within the same pipe.
PROCESS VARIABLES
To maintain a constant temperature
along the length of the pipe, impedance
heating must confine heat generation to
the pipe itself. If the fluid in the pipe has
a low enough resistivity, the fluid could
present a preferred path for the current,
effectively overriding the impedance of
the pipe.
Fortunately, few fluids have resistivities
within an order of magnitude of any
known pipe material. Molten metals are
the most common exception. Lead, for
example, has a resistivity about equal to
carbon steel.
The natural tendency for current to flow
near the outside surface of the pipe
due to skin effect helps to overcome
the effect of conductive fluids. When
a conductive fluid is involved, two
steps should be taken. First, instead of
attaching return conductors to each
end of the pipe, a midpoint connection
should be used with the return cables at
the grounded pipe ends (Figure 7). This
effectively puts the two halves in the
pipe in parallel electrically, and prevents
any potential from appearing outside
the length of heated pipe. Second,
a simple d.c. resistance calculation
should indicate if the conducting fluid
is capable of diverting current from the
pipe. Even if it is capable, based on this
approximate calculation, accounting for
skin effect may show that the problem is
not severe.

TABLE 2: PROFILE OF TEST PIPES
MATERIAL DIAMETER (IN.) SCHEDULE
Type 304 3 45
stainless steel
Carbon steel 3 40
Type 304 3 40
stainless steel
Carbon steel 1 40
Carbon steel 3 160
Carbon steel 5 40
Carbon steel 3 40
While impedance heating is used to
maintain temperature in most cases,
some applications call for the fluid
temperature to be raised. The amount
of heat required to raise the fluid’s
temperature is:
P = (M) (c) (∆T) (16)
where P is the heat required, M is the
rate of fluid flow, c is the specific heat of
the fluid, and ∆T is the fluid temperature
rise.
The total heat required will be P plus the
power required to offset losses due to
convection, conduction and radiation
– those losses normally overcome by
impedance heating. Here, however, the
calculation is more complex. It must
account for the increasing temperature,
and consequently increasing losses, as
the fluid progresses through the pipe.
This means that there will be more heat
transferred to the fluid at the inlet end
and less at the outlet end. Conversely,
the losses will be lower at the inlet end
and higher at the outlet.
Because the heat produced is essentially
uniform along the entire length, and
the pipe temperature is higher at the
outlet than the inlet, there will also
be some flow of heat by conduction
along the pipe from the outlet toward
the inlet end. In most cases, however,
this effect can be discounted, since
the pipe diameter is generally small
in comparison to its length. Adequate
computer codes exist to solve this two
dimensional heat-transfer problem.
If the temperature rise, flow rate and or
specific heat of the fluid are high, more
power is required. A longer pipe length
may be needed to achieve the desired
results without exceeding the practical
FEATURES
Thin wall
should have negligible skin effect
Most common size
For comparison with
pipes 1 and 2
Small diameter with standard wall
Very thick wall,
to maximize skin effect
Typical of petroleum-handling pipes
Bent in a U shape to test pipe-return connection
— 40-ft. pipe, 20-ft. long after bending
limits of the pipe. Also, if the fluid does
not have good thermal conductivity
or is highly viscous, a longer pipe may
be needed to lower the power density
(watts/in.2 of pipe) to prevent scorching.
SAFETY ISSUES
Because impedance heating involves
the passage of electrical currents
through exposed piping, safety must
be addressed. Although the currents
involved are significant, normal
operating voltages are relatively low,
making impedance heating inherently
safe for personnel. Most impedance
systems are designed to operate at less
than 30 V, the maximum allowed by
the National Electrical Code without
ground fault protection. The code allows
operating voltages up to 80 V if a Class B
ground-fault current interrupter (GFCI) is
included in the system.
Although the code establishes generally
accepted safety rules, users still want
to be assured that they won’t “feel the
electricity” when using impedance
heating. These concerns can be
defined in terms of Touch Potential and
Step Potential. Touch potential is the
electrical potential difference between
an object accessible to human touch,
and the potential of the earth on which
the person is standing. Step potential
is the electric potential that can exist
between two places on the earth on
which a person’s feet are standing.
In determining which potentials are
hazardous, it is common to refer to three
levels of current through the human
body: Perception Current, Let Go Current,
and Fibrillation Current. For most people,
Let Go and Perception currents are
roughly equal. The code acknowledges
this with the 30-V limitation. To prevent
heart fibrillation, the code specifies that
no system may operate in excess of 80 V.
For additional personnel protection at
any voltage, the code also requires that
“all accessible external surface areas of
the pipeline and or vessel being heated
shall be physically guarded, isolated, or
thermally insulated (with weather proof
jacket for outside installation) to protect
against contact by personnel in the
area.”
The system must be safe not only under
normal conditions, but also under any
foreseeable failure mode. Because
the operating voltages are all below a
life-threatening level, the major concern
is exposure to primary or distribution
system voltage. For this reason, the code
specifies that an isolation transformer,
consisting of dual windings and a
grounded shield between the primary
and secondary is used to isolate the
distribution system from the heating
system. This insures that any primary
winding fault will trip the circuit
protection device of the transformer.
Safety is also a primary concern in
potentially explosive atmospheres.
There are two phenomena that can
cause ignition. First, if the loop is broken
by a return cable being torn from its
contact with the pipe, the high current
and loop inductance will easily have
sufficient energy to ignite an explosive
atmosphere. To prevent this from
occurring, an enclosure to protect the
cable-to-pipe connection is provided.
The second phenomenon involves much
less energy release but may be more
probable. If a grounded object touches
the pipe at a location where there is
sufficient voltage, a current will flow out
of the pipe through the grounded object
and into the ground. When this circuit
is broken, a small arc will be drawn that
may have sufficient energy to cause
ignition of an ex plosive atmosphere. As
stated previously, all external surface
areas must be physically isolated to
eliminate this potential hazard.
EXPERIMENT RESULTS
Electrical tests were conducted in the
Engineering Research Laboratory at
the University of Missouri on different
types of pipes. Measured were overall
 Temperature
data logger
Pipe Insulation
Return cable
FIGURE 8: Schematic of the experimental circuit
consists of a pipe, connectin and return cables,
transformer and controller
performance, d.c. resistance and
its temperature dependence, a.c.
reactance, and magnetic permeability
and its temperature dependence.
Six 20-ft pipes and one 40-ft pipe
were tested (Table 2). A typical circuit,
consisting of the pipe, connecting
cable, return cable, transformer and
controller, was used, with the controller
capable of both contactor (on-off)
and silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR)
control (Figure 8). The transformer was
a 10-kVa dry type with taps of from
1-10 V on the secondary side. Duplicate
instrumentation, analog and digital,
was used to assure that distortion of
the waveforms would not invalidate
readings, and to provide ongoing checks
on data.
The pipes were filled with high-
temperature heat transfer fluid, which
also partially filled an expansion
chamber. The pipes were insulated with
glass fiber insulation.
Temperature was measured along the
length of each pipe at 1-ft intervals. At
two points, roughly one-third the length
of the pipe from each end, temperature
sensors were placed around the
circumference of the pipe. The d.c.
resistance of each pipe was measured at
room temperature.
Temperature readings in the range of
100-350°C were taken for each pipe
at 50° intervals. The on-off controller
held the temperature constant within a
degree or two. The SCR firing angle was
determined from the duty cycle under
contactor control.
480 V
60 Hz
Current, amps
Controller
1–10V
Transformer
FIGURE 9: Experimental and theoretical results are shown
for a Schedule 160 pipe, 3-in. diameter
The normal position for the return cable
was along the length of the pipe, held
tightly against the outside of the pipe’.s
insulation to maximize proximity effect.
A few tests were performed with the
return cable on the floor, about 50 in.
from the centerline of the pipe.
Experimental data were compared to a
computerized model based upon the
theory of operation described above.
The data matched the theoretical model
to a high degree of accuracy. Figure 9,
for example, gives actual and projected
data points for the 3-in., Schedule-160
pipe.
Resistivity. A second series of tests
were performed to determine the
resistivity of steel pipe. A small current,
7.5-8 amps, was conducted through
each pipe using a d.c. power supply.
By measuring voltage drop across a
specified pipe length, and calculating
the pipe’s cross-sectional area,
resistivity was easily determined by
using:
p = V/ILπ (r02 – r 2i) (17)
where p is resistivity, L is the pipe length,
V is the applied voltage, I is the current,
and r0 and ri are the outside and inside
pipe radii respectively. The electrical
data were compared to metallurgical
reports on each pipe provided by the
manufacturers. Care was taken to
include as many manufacturers and
production runs (heats) as possible to
provide a reasonable sample of actual
field piping.
An experiment was conducted on Pipe
#3 to determine the change in resistance
500
400
300
200
100 Theoretical amps
Experimental amps
0
46 164 446 865 1319 1359
Power, watts
with temperature of both the pipe and
a resistive shunt used to measure pipe
current, since reference material was
found lacking in this area.
Eddy currents and hysteresis. Tests
were also performed to distinguish
between eddy current and hysteresis
losses. As discussed, hysteresis loss at
constant flux density is proportional
to frequency, while eddy current loss
is proportional to frequency squared
(Equations 3 and 6). Thus, the total
power dissipated by both effects
combined can be expressed as:
P = Ph + Pe = CKhf + CKef 2 (18)
where C is a constant for given values
of flux density and pipe volume, Kh and
Ke are the hysteresis and eddy current
constants, and f is frequency. A test
was devised where flux density is held
constant while the frequency is varied.
By measuring power, it is possible to
determine Kh and Ke, thus separating the
two types of losses.
Dividing both sides of Equation 15 by f
and adjusting for C:
P/f = Kh+Kef (19)
Thus, if the ratio of power loss to
frequency, P/f, is plotted versus
frequency, a straight line should
result. The vertical axis intercept is the
constant Kh and the slope of the line is Ke
(Figure 10).
To achieve these results, a coil was
wrapped through a short section of
pipe, forming a toroid. A variable-
frequency voltage was applied across

t=0 Rext
I IR
V Rc
P the constants for hysteresis and eddy
f current, the ratio of power loss to
∆y
∆x Kh =
yo
B m2 V
∆y/∆x
yo Ke = 2
Bm V
f of the many electrical effects of
the coil. The voltage was also varied so
that the ratio of the voltage to frequency
was constant. Since the coil reactance
is proportional to frequency, the current
produced in the coil is roughly constant
for all frequencies. And consequently,
the magnetic field was also kept roughly
constant.
Several samples of three different pipe
sizes were tested. Voltage, current
and power were measured using a
root-mean squared digital meter
to compensate for distortion of the
sinusoidal waveforms. The power
measured was the sum of the I 2R losses
in the copper windings, hysteresis losses
and eddy current losses in the core.
The copper losses were subtracted to
yield the sum of the eddy current and
hysteresis losses, and the results plotted
to determine Kh and Ke. The standard
deviation for the resulting values was
less than 7%.
Permeability. A series of step voltage
tests were performed on the same
wound pipe samples as previously
described. In these tests, voltage was
applied to a series combination of an
external resistor, Retx, and a wound-pipe
425 HANLEY INDUSTRIAL COURT ST. LOUIS, MO 6314 4 USA T 314.64 4.4300 F 314.64 4.5332
THEORY MATCHES PRACTICE
Rdc Ll
Using the theoretical framework
developed at the outset of this paper,
IL
and values for resistive and inductive
parameters calculated subsequently,
it was found that the theory closely
Lm VL matched the results of the experiment.
The findings are also consistent with
Indeeco’s extensive experience and
have enabled the company to refine its
computer programs to more precisely
determine power requirements in the
field.
FIGURE 10 (left): If, when determining
From d.c. welding machines to a
comprehensive analysis by process
frequency is plotted versus frequency, a engineers, a long used but little
straight line should result understood technology can now be
utilized with greater confidence in its
FIGURE 11 (above): Model of a coil as an
safety and application. In a competitive
open-circuit transformer marketplace, increased understanding
impedance heating allows equipment
suppliers to offer total packages with the
sample test coil. In Figure 11 the test assurance of product integrity. ■
coil’s resistance is Rdc . Ll is negligible
leakage inductance. The coil inductance
is represented by Lm, while the current
through Lm is the magnetizing current
IL . The core losses of the coil are
represented by the resistance RC .
These core losses are equal to the heat
generated in RC by the current IR .
The voltage across the resistor was
recorded as a function of time using a
digital storage oscilloscope. This voltage
was used to obtain the instantaneous
value of the current using Ohm’s Law.
The voltage across the coil, VL , was
then calculated by subtracting the IR
drops across the external resistance
and across the d.c. coil resistance, Rdc
from the applied voltage. The coil can
be modeled similar to an open-circuit
transformer, as shown in Figure 11. Impedance heating is the smart way to
keep your process flowing smoothly.
The test results determined the relative
permeability of carbon steel pipes in LET US SHOW YOU
the unsaturated state, the value of the
magnetic intensity at which saturation Email sales@indeeco.com or call
begins, and the saturated value of
800.243.8162 to find your nearest
relative permeability, using straight
forward electromagnetic calculations. Indeeco representative.
INDEECO.COM