Electromagnetic analysis of composite structures subjected to transient magnetic fields

When carbon composites are exposed to a transient electromagnetic field, a rapid temperature increase can be observed due to joule heating from magnetic induction. The electromagnetic induction heating and heat transfer in the composite are anisotropic and concentrated upon the carbon fiber orientation and distribution. In addition, the strength and frequency of transient electromagnetic fields have great influence on the final quality of the composite. A computational model has been developed by solving coupled Maxwell’s and heat transfer equations. The analysis accounts for the three-dimensional transient electromagnetic field and electrical conductivity of the composite material. This paper will illustrate the derived formulation and numerical solution based on finite element methods. The developed code is validated with a 2D closed-form solution. Numerical simulations of a cylinder and a flat laminated plate are conducted to illustrate the computational capability. The induction heating for composite manufacture is also discussed for current Army’s applications.