Thermal analysis of a high energy density pre-biased choke

Abstract

Chokes are important elements in many power electronics circuits, for example in boost converters and current source inverters. Minimizing the choke's volume and mass is desirable in many applications. The main limit of an electromagnetic design lies in its thermal performance. Accurate prediction of the temperature within a new device is therefore very desirable. This paper presents a thermal analysis of a high energy density pre-biased choke. The thermal analysis is carried out using a finite element method (FEM) and a thermal lumped parameter network. The high energy density equal to 0.49 J/kg is demonstrated as a result of improved thermal management and permanent magnet biasing. The theoretical findings for the high energy density choke are compared against a conventionally built choke and test results are obtained from a prototype choke.