An Improved Design Method for Gapped Inductors Considering Fringing Effect

Abstract

This paper proposes a simple and accurate design method for air gapped inductors. Using inductor models with fringing effect, the proposed method systematically evaluates possible combinations of cores, turn numbers, and air gap lengths within the given constraints, including core geometries and magnetic saturation. Design examples show that the proposed method reduces the number of turns as well as the core size compared to the conventional methods. The method features simplicity in both algorithm and calculation since it only requires a small number of iteration loops. Various models involved in inductor design, including inductance, flux density, loss and thermal, can be readily incorporated into the proposed method.