Analysis for the angular deformation of steel plates in a high-frequency induction forming process with a triangle heating technique

A triangle heating technique with the use of a heat source of high-frequency induction heating to make a steel plate deformed into a curved shape was modeled and analyzed using the numerical analysis of the finite element method in order to predict the angular deformation of the steel plate formed by the technique. For the analysis of the deformation, heat generation by an electromagnetic field was first analyzed with consideration of the preheat effect, and heat flow using the heat generated from the plate as the heat source was then analyzed. Thermal history of the plate predicted by numerical analysis was compared with that measured in an experiment of triangle heating on a steel plate. Deformations of the plates were then analyzed with changes of heating parameters including heating dimensions and plate thickness. The analyses were also verified with a series of experiments. In order to derive a simplified equation to readily predict deformation from the triangle heating technique, deformations predicted by numerical analyses and measured by the experiments were synthesized in association with the heating parameters using a statistical method of recursion analysis. The equation was verified to be able to predict the deformations conversely and expected to be practically used in the industry to select the heating parameters for the desired shapes of curved plates.