T. Learman, Alpha 1, Columbus, OH

Summary: Most forging shops started using natural gas fired furnaces to heat the parts to be forged. With the use of induction heating the parts are heated faster, more control, semiautomatic, more efficient, with less decarb and much less scale. With induction heating a much better is produced with less energy. It is possible to use the natural gas to generate electricity and use this electricity to power and operate the induction heating systems. The generating system can range from a few hundred kilowatts to many megawatts with a turbine generating system. We will investigate the cost and payback time for this type of systems. With the cogeneration the problem of electrical noise on the electrical line from the induction heating would be eliminated for both the Domestic and Europe electricity standards for 3rd,5th and 7th harmonics noise. The heat from the exhaust from the cogeneration can be used to generate steam to run the forging hammers. Or an additional gas powered air compressor can be used to compress the large amount of compressed air needed in the forge shop. With fuel cell just around the corned this will further increase the efficiency of the system and further reduce the cost.