Introduction to the Special Section on Induction Heating Systems

I NDUCTION heating (IH) systems are a faster, cleaner, and more efficient alternative to conventional heating systems. Its contactless nature provides superior heating performance that has been successfully applied in industrial, domestic, and medical applications. Since the early IH developments in the late 19th century, technology has evolved to provide high-performance and reliable equipment with a wider application spectrum. Nowadays, the number of applications and installed power makes IH of great interest not only from an industrial and economic point of view but also considering its social and environmental impact. Following this interest, the Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON) has organized since 2011 a special session devoted to IH technology. During these years, the main achievements and research lines in the fields of power electronics and semiconductor technology, magnetic component design, and control of power converters for IH have been presented and discussed in these sessions. After these experiences, it is now a pleasure for us to introduce this " Special Section on Induction Heating Systems " of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS. This Special Section aims at bringing some of the most recent and interesting ideas in this area by the worldwide research community and at presenting some of the latest advancements and developments in the field of IH technology. The first paper of this Special Section is a review paper written by the Special Section Guest Editors Lucia et al. [1], which covers some of the most relevant IH research papers published in recent years, details the current state of the art of IH systems, and identifies some future design trends for such systems. This paper categorizes the main enabling technologies that have made possible the advancement and spread of IH systems and its main applications. Following this classification, the remaining papers of this Special Section can be classified according to the enabling technology focused upon and its main application (see Table I). From this point of view, IH systems can be subdivided into the power electronic system, which generates the required medium frequency currents; the inductor system, which creates the alternating magnetic field to heat up the IH target; and the control system. Papers [2]–[6] are focused on the power electronic systems, papers [7]–[9] are focused on the inductor system, and papers [10]–[12] are focused on the control system. From the application point of view, papers [2] and [5]–[8] are intended for …