Dielectric Heating

Dielectric Heating
(Industrial Electronics)
Engr. M. Laiq Ur Rahman
Dielectric Heating
• When an insulating material is subjected to an
alternating electric field, the atoms get
stressed and because of the inter-atomic
friction, heat is produced.
• This heating process is known as dielectric
heating.
• This inter-atomic friction caused by repeated
deformation and rotation of the atomic
structure (polarization).
Electronic Theory of Dielectric Heating
• When an atom is not under any electric field,
the centers of the positive and negative
charges coincide as shown in following figure,
and atom acts as a neutral particle.
• When the atom is subjected to an electric
field, the charge distribution is disturbed.
• The atom in this state is said to be polarized.
• As the electric field is increased, the degree of
polarization keeps increasing.
• It is seen that the loss increases with the
increase in frequency and strength of the
electric field.
• If the electric field is very strong, it may result
in a rupture of the dielectric medium.
• Hence in dielectric heating, it is desirable not
to apply high voltages but to use high
frequencies.
Principle of Operation of Dielectric
Heating
• In this process, the job (material to be heated)
is placed in between two electrodes and the
electrodes are fed with a high frequency
supply.
• The arrangement is shown in following figure.
• The two electrodes act as the two plates of
the capacitor and the job acts as the dielectric
material between two electrodes.
Principle of Operation of Dielectric
Heating
• The current flowing in the circuit is given by:
Ic = E/Xc
Where
Ic is current flowing through capacitor
E is high-frequency supply voltage
Xc is capacitive reactance.
• The phenomenon of dielectric loss (heating)
taking place in insulating materials is just
analogous to the hysteresis loss in magnetic
materials.
Sources of High Frequency Supply for
Dielectric Heating
• Dielectric heating operates on the principle of
converting high frequency electric energy into
heat energy.
• The basic arrangement of dielectric heater is
shown in following figure.
• The ac supply voltage is stepped up by means
of a step-up transformer and further rectified
by a bridge rectifier.
Dielectric Heating
Dielectric Heating
• The ripple components are minimized by the
use of an LC filter.
• This ripple free high voltage dc is fed to an RF
oscillator.
• This RF oscillator produces high frequency,
i.e., about 1MHz or above.
• Since the energy conversion takes place
throughout the work piece, the heating effect
is uniform.
Dielectric Heating Equation
• The dielectric loss is given by
P = E2*2*π*f*A*K0*Kr*δ / d
Where
A is area of electrode
K0 is absolute permittivity
Kr is relative permittivity
δ is phase angle (complement of power factor
angle
d is distance between electrodes.
Factors affecting Dielectric Heating
• The amount of heat generated is directly
proportional to
– Square of the Supply Voltage
– Frequency
– Area of the electrode plates
– Relative permittivity of dielectric
– Power factor
• And inversely proportional to
– Distance between two electrodes.
Salient Features of Dielectric Heating
• As far as possible, a uniform electric field should
be employed. For this, the two essential
conditions are
– The electrodes should be larger than the size of job
– The length of electrodes should be more than the
distance between them.
• There is a limit up to which the supply voltage
should be limited to avoid corona and arcing
effect.
Salient Features of Dielectric Heating
• The charge must touch each plate. There
should be no air gap between the electrodes
which will otherwise introduce series
capacitance and cause loss of efficiency.
• In case of heating non conducting material,
dielectric heating is the most efficient method
for uniform heating.
Applications
• This method is extensively used in plastic and
wood industries.
• It is specially of immense utility where multiply
woods are to be heated and glued.
• This method is also employed in the textile,
rubber, chemical and food industries.
• Sterilization of food and medical supplies.
• Plastic sheets are joined together by the
technique involving a combination of heat and
pressure.
Applications
• This technique is very useful for
manufacturing plastic products such as
raincoats and waterproof products etc.
• This method is also used for manufacturing
polyvinyl material products.
• Dielectric heating using RF circuits is a quicker
method of heating as compared to others.
Issues or Problems
• When a job is being heated the air dielectric is
replaced by the job which causes variation in
resonant frequency of tuning circuit.
• The electrode structure is to be designed
properly.
• For efficient heating proper field is to be
established within the job being heated.
• Voltage gradient is another problem. Because of
non uniform voltage gradient non uniform
heating takes place.
Issues or Problems
• Some air gaps will exist between electrodes
and job for a number of reasons such as
– Irregular shape of the job.
– Keeping provision for movement of job between
electrodes.
– Non uniform heating required for different parts
of the job, etc.
Difference between Induction Heating
and Dielectric Heating
• Induction heating is caused by eddy currents
in imperfect dielectrics.
• Dielectric heating depends on the electrostatic
effect.
• The operating frequencies are of the order of
200 to 500 kHz in induction heating.
• The operating frequencies range from 1 to 50
MHz in dielectric heating.
Difference between Induction Heating
and Dielectric Heating
• Induction heating is termed surface heating.
• Dielectric heating is termed volume heating.
• The cost of equipment required in induction
heating is low.
• The cost of equipment required in dielectric
heating is comparatively high.

Dielectric Heating

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