Multi-parameter magnetic material characterization for high power medium frequency converters

Abstract

With the rapid availability of new magnetic materials and even more options in post-processing techniques such as field and strain annealing, full property maps of materials and final fabricated components are needed for proper system design. This is especially critical in modern wide bandgap power electronics based converters where medium switching frequencies are used to deliver high power. In these systems, the magnetic design has a significant impact in the overall losses. The magnetics constitute a majority of the losses and magnetic properties have a defining influence on the overall systems, e.g. available power flow and soft switching regions. A new lossless structural harness that allows easy testing of cores and the development of property maps is presented. The harness also enables the testing of mechanical variations such as gapping and clamping pressure on the core.