How To Thermally Model Magnetic Components
by Dennis Feucht, Innovatia Laboratories, Cayo, Belize, How2Power Today, Mar 15 2019
Focus:
The most difficult aspect of magnetic component design is the quantification of thermal
behavior. Core and winding temperatures are the ultimate limitation on how much power can be
transferred through a magnetic device, yet to calculate allowable power transfer at maximum
design temperatures is challenging. This article surveys some of what is involved in thermal
modeling and how to conceptualize it. First, a simple network model is derived that describes
the flow of thermal power (i.e. the heating rate) via conduction and convection from a magnetic
component’s core and windings to the air. Then, complex models are derived that account for the
core and winding configurations associated with the different types of cores that are popular
in power electronics. Two possible methods of determining current density and thus maximum
winding loss are presented. The article concludes by presenting a simpler method that
determines allowable core loss from the core shape.
What you’ll learn:
- How to develop thermal network models for power magnetic components
- How to determine maximum allowable winding loss and core loss in a magnetic component
View this Source (requires a PDF Viewer installed on your device)
© 2025 How2Power. All rights reserved.