Towards Standardized Magnetic Components Under Power Electronics Excitation With User-Friendly Loss Maps

Abstract

Nowadays, in a power electronics system, most components such as power electronics devices (MOSFETs, IGBTs, etc.) and capacitors are standardized, i.e., sold as a whole standard item with various values and ratings. However, magnetic components, in particular, high-frequency transformers (HFTs) and inductors, are still primarily designed and built by the end users using discrete components such as magnetic cores and wires. This customized design and built approach by the end users may not achieve the overall best performance, as efficiency, power density, reliability, and accurate loss estimation, without the manufacturers' years of experience and advanced design tools. In addition, if the magnetic components are standardized and sold in large quantities, they can reduce manufacturing costs and improve design and reliability over the years. In the same way as resistors, capacitors, and power devices are sold, it is the authors' hope that the users can buy standardized magnetic components from manufacturers' product catalogues with power loss accurately estimated as well. Therefore, this article aims to pave the way for standardizing magnetic components and provides a practical and accurate power loss estimation method embedded in the datasheets of the standardized magnetic components under power electronics excitation. The presented work explores the purpose and necessity of using a complete loss dataset (i.e. core and winding losses) for one magnetic component design and how to implement them. Replacing magnetic variables with time-domain electrical variables makes it possible to perform a straightforward loss mapping/estimation and prepare for more parameters to be included in the loss map, such as HFTs' load conditions. User-friendly loss maps can conveniently release information about power magnetics losses and can be applied practically to power electronics applications as a brandnew version of the datasheets. This article also provides an example of a future datasheet for rectangular (PWM) voltage excitation of standardized magnetic components.