A new single-phase direct frequency controller having reduced switching count without zero-crossing detector for induction heating system

Induction heating (IH) is an environmentally friendly solution for heating and melting processes. The required high-frequency magnetic field is accomplished through frequency controllers. Direct frequency controllers (DFC) are preferred to dual converters as they have low conversion losses, compact size, and simple circuit arrangement due to low component count. Numerous frequency controllers with complex switching algorithms are employed in the induction heating process. They have a complicated circuit arrangement, and complex control as their switching sequences have to synchronize with source voltage that requires the zero-crossing detection of the input voltage. They also have a shoot-through problem and poor power quality. Therefore, this research proposes a novel frequency controller with a low count of six controlled switching devices without a zero-crossing detector (ZCD) having a simple control arrangement. The required switching signals are simply generated by using any pulse-width-modulated (PWM) generator. The performance of the proposed topology is verified through simulation results obtained using the MATLAB/Simulink environment and experimental setup.