Interstitial Wire Interleaving Packs More Conductor Into Magnetic Windings

Focus:

In power supply magnetics, one of the limitations on winding efficiency is the packing factor, kp, the fraction of winding area that is conductor. Ideally the conductive part of a winding—the copper or aluminum part of the wire turns—would completely fill the area allotted to a particular winding, and the current and power density would then be maximum. However, gaps between round wires result in areas not conducting current. This article proposes a way to reduce gaps and thus increase the winding fill factor, kf by filling these gaps with smaller wires. After reviewing the various packing factor components that quantify winding density, the article analyzes how to determine the optimum wire size for the smaller wire in square-layered and hexagonal- layered winding configurations. It also determines the improvement in fill factor obtained in each case, and assesses the relative benefit of adding the extra wire in one winding configuration versus the other.

What you’ll learn:

• How to improve the winding efficiency of transformers and inductors in power supply designs
• How to fill a transformer or inductor winding window with more conductor by adding a small wire in the gaps in a winding

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Author & Publication:

Dennis Feucht, Innovatia Laboratories, Cayo, Belize, How2Power Today, Jul 15 2020

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