Operational and mechanical constraints on the DC induction heating of aluminum billets

This paper investigates the heating process of an aluminum billet rotating in a static magnetic field produced by an optimized superconducting magnet. In order to meet the technical specifications of industrial heating in terms of average temperature, temperature homogeneity, and heating time many processes with low-angular velocity in a given highmagnetic field, are simulated. The mechanical stress in the billet due to the applied torque, weight, centrifugal force and resonance are examined by taking into account the weakening of the material properties with the increase of temperature. The operational and mechanical constraints on the heating process are then deduced.