INDUCTION HEATING SYSTEM

Expand What Your Gleeble Can Do

The Gleeble IHS (Induction Heating System) gives materials testing labs a powerful alternative heating method — fully integrated with your existing Gleeble 3500 or 3800 system. Achieve uniform temperature profiles across non-conductive specimens and anvil setups that direct resistance heating alone cannot reach.

What Is the Gleeble Induction Heating System?
Gleeble systems have long been the standard for thermomechanical physical simulation, relying on direct resistance heating to deliver extremely fast, uniform, and responsive heating — with rates up to 10,000 °C/second. That capability remains fully intact with the HIS upgrade.

The Gleeble Induction Heating System® (IHS) is a fully integrated upgrade developed in partnership with a leading induction heating supplier. It adds induction-based heating as a selectable alternative — or complement — to resistance heating on the same Gleeble platform. Each test can independently use either method, selected via the Gleeble software interface.

The IHS is vacuum-rated, rear-mounted, water-cooled, and powered directly from the Gleeble load unit, sharing the existing Gleeble cooling loop with no separate utility infrastructure required.

This upgrade is especially valuable when testing requires thermally non-conductive or electrically non-conductive anvils — situations common in uniaxial compression testing (flow stress), plane strain compression, and specialized thermomechanical simulation research where anvil-to-specimen electrical contact must be avoided.

Technology Explained

Induction + Resistance Heating on One System
One of the most common questions from Gleeble users is whether induction and resistance heating can coexist on the same system. The answer is yes. The IHS is fully integrated so both heating methods are available simultaneously, and the operator selects which to use for each individual test.

• Induction Heating
  • Non-conductive setups
  • Uniform cross-section heating
     
• Resistance Heating
  • Fastest rates
  • Standard specimen geometries

Both methods selectable per test via Gleeble software

Uniaxial Compression Testing (Flow Stress)

Induction heating is ideally suited for flow stress testing because it generates a uniform temperature profile across the full specimen cross-section — from anvil contact face to face. This eliminates the thermal gradient introduced when electrical current must pass through the specimen and into conductive anvils, enabling more accurate constitutive behavior characterization.

Non-conductive anvils and lubricants can be used freely, removing limitations on anvil material selection and enabling the use of high-performance ceramic anvil systems

Plane Strain Compression Testing

Plane strain compression — used to study rolling deformation behavior — benefits significantly from induction heating. Electrically non-conductive tooling and die materials can be employed without compromising the thermal profile, and the 3-axis coil positioning system allows precise targeting of the deformation zone for improved temperature control.

Tensile Testing of Specialty Materials

Tensile testing of electrically resistive, non-homogeneous, or bi-metallic specimens — which may exhibit inconsistent heating under direct resistance — benefits from the electromagnetically driven uniform heating of induction. Magnetic concentrators further direct energy to the gauge section, minimizing thermal gradients across the specimen.

Heat Treatment & Annealing Simulation

Controlled heat treatment cycles — including austenitizing, normalizing, and annealing — can be performed with the IHS, with precise temperature control via the existing Gleeble thermocouple feedback loop. The ability to test in vacuum or inert gas atmospheres makes the IHS ideal for oxidation-sensitive alloys including titanium, nickel superalloys, and advanced high-strength steels.

Bi-Metallic & Non-Symmetrical Specimens

Custom induction coil designs can accommodate non-standard specimen geometries that are difficult to heat uniformly with resistance heating. Induction enables researchers to study welded assemblies, clad materials, and dissimilar-metal joints under controlled thermomechanical conditions without compromising the electrical circuit integrity of the Gleeble's measurement systems.

High-Temperature Materials Research

For advanced materials testing at extreme temperatures — including refractory metals, ceramics, and next-generation aerospace alloys — induction heating provides an efficient, contactless energy delivery mechanism. Combined with the Gleeble's precision mechanical testing capability, the IHS enables comprehensive thermo-mechanical characterization of materials at elevated and ultra-high temperatures.