Is there a power consumption quota for induction heat treatment?

Induction heat treatment is energy-saving heat treatment, and its power consumption quota has always been a problem. In the past, the domestic calculation method was based on the total mass of the parts, that is, how many kilowatt-hours of electricity per ton of induction heat treated parts. This brings about an unfair problem. The quality difference between the quenched part and the non-quenched part of small workpieces (such as track shoe pins) is very small, while large parts (such as large gears, crankshafts, etc.) only quench a small local area. The quality of the non-quenched parts is much worse, and it is unfair to use a power consumption quota in general.

GB/T 10201-2008 “Guidelines for Rational Use of Heat Treatment” has given the electricity consumption quota for induction heating furnace quenching, see Table 2-18.

Table 2-18 Induction heating quenching electricity consumption quota

Heat penetration depth/mm	W1	>1 —2	>2 -4	>4-8	>8-16	>16
Power consumption rating/ (kW • h/m 2 )	W3	W5	CIO	W22	W50	W60
Equivalent / (kW-h/kg)	<0. 38	<0. 32	<0. 32	<0. 35	<0.4	<0. 48

It is more reasonable to use the area and depth of the heating layer (ie volume) to calculate the power consumption quota, which can be revised to be more accurate in future implementation. Table 2-19 lists the actual power consumption of some metal induction heating of some companies in the United States, which can be used as a reference for design estimation.

Table 2-19 Actual power consumption of induction heating for some metals

Material	Heating temperature / none	Power consumption/ (kW・h/t)
Carbon steel	21 -1230	325
Carbon steel pipe quenching	21 -954	200
Carbon steel pipe tempering	21 -675	125
Pure copper	21 -871	244 — 278
brass	21 -760	156 –217
Aluminum parts	21 -454	227 — 278

Induction heat treatment has a power consumption quota that can promote process improvement, and can encourage users to choose energy-saving power supplies, high-efficiency hardening machines and high-efficiency inductors, so that energy-saving heat treatment can truly save energy.