Electrical Engineering ⇒ Topic : Dielectric Heating

Dielectric Heating Dielectric Heating sometimes called high frequency capacitance heating, is employed for heating non-metal like wood, plastic etc. Dielectric Heating operates on the principle that when a capacitor is placed in an electric field, its molecules are subjected to stress and are disturbed. The current drawn by it is never leading the voltage by exactly 900. The angle between current and voltage is slightly less with the result that there is a small in phase component of the current which produces power loss in the dielectric of the capacitor.

   The material to be heated is placed between two electrodes which may be two parallel plates across which high frequency voltage is applied. The material acts as the dielectric between two electrodes and heat is produced inside the material. Thus dielectric heating consists in utilising the dielectric loss in any poorly conducting material for the production of heat.