How To Thermally Model Magnetic Components

Focus:

The most difficult aspect of magnetic component design is the quantification of thermal behavior. Core and winding temperatures are the ultimate limitation on how much power can be transferred through a magnetic device, yet to calculate allowable power transfer at maximum design temperatures is challenging. This article surveys some of what is involved in thermal modeling and how to conceptualize it. First, a simple network model is derived that describes the flow of thermal power (i.e. the heating rate) via conduction and convection from a magnetic component’s core and windings to the air. Then, complex models are derived that account for the core and winding configurations associated with the different types of cores that are popular in power electronics. Two possible methods of determining current density and thus maximum winding loss are presented. The article concludes by presenting a simpler method that determines allowable core loss from the core shape.

What you’ll learn:

• How to develop thermal network models for power magnetic components
• How to determine maximum allowable winding loss and core loss in a magnetic component

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Author & Publication:

Dennis Feucht, Innovatia Laboratories, Cayo, Belize, How2Power Today, Mar 15 2019

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