Simulation and measurement of AC resistance for a high power planar inductor design

In order to obtain a reliable high power inductor, it is necessary to precisely determine the inductor equivalent circuit parameters. This paper discusses two PCB winding configurations for a planar power inductor, where the ac resistance is investigated. Three different 5kW planar inductors are designed and investigated. A simulation of the ac resistance of the three designs are preformed with Ansys Q3D. The simulations are verified with measurements from all three planar inductors, and the results are shown to be in close agreement. It is also proven that the ac resistance is almost unaffected by the height of a parallel connection, even when the dc resistance is reduced by one third.