Inductor Geometry With Improved Energy Density

Design and evaluation of the constant-flux inductor with enclosed-winding

“…The behavioral model of constant-flux inductor was constructed in [9]. With given specifications, winding configuration with uniform flux distribution can be achieved by following the design equations and procedures.…”

“…In order to improve energy density, a variety of techniques have been reported in the literature [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] to minimize inductor volume without sacrificing performance. The matrix inductor from [2][3][4] has low profile and good heat dissipation, but it encounters non-uniform flux density among elements which results in poor space utilization.…”

“…Recently, the concept of constant-flux inductor (CFI) was demonstrated in [7] aiming at improving the space utilization by making the flux uniform throughout the core volume. Based on the position of the core and the winding, the design of constant-flux inductor with enclosed-core geometry, such as toroids, was introduced in [8]; inductor with enclosed-winding geometry, such as injection-molded inductor, was discussed in detail in [9]. By following the design procedures given by [9], the flux distribution inside the core material is regulated by the uniformity factor α.…”

“…Based on the position of the core and the winding, the design of constant-flux inductor with enclosed-core geometry, such as toroids, was introduced in [8]; inductor with enclosed-winding geometry, such as injection-molded inductor, was discussed in detail in [9]. By following the design procedures given by [9], the flux distribution inside the core material is regulated by the uniformity factor α. As shown in Figure 1, by eliminating the high-flux regions in the core of a commercial inductor, the total volume of the commercial inductor can be reduced by a factor of two while keeping the inductance and resistance the same.…”

“…As shown in Figure 1, by eliminating the high-flux regions in the core of a commercial inductor, the total volume of the commercial inductor can be reduced by a factor of two while keeping the inductance and resistance the same. Based on the model for the constant-flux inductor constructed in [9], this paper focuses on the design procedure of constant-flux inductors with normalized parameters in order to achieve the optimal performance and studies the impact of uniform flux distribution on performance metrics with comparisons to commercial inductors.…”