Modeling and Design of High-Power, High-Current-Ripple Planar Inductors

This article is focused on modeling and design optimization of high-current-ripple planar inductors in liquid-cooled high-power applications, such as electric-vehicle drivetrain systems, where efficiency and power density are the key performance metrics. The planar-inductor optimization is facilitated by innovations in computationally efficient and accurate models of ac winding loss and thermal management. A novel approximate analytical model for the ac winding loss takes into account effects of inside-the-core versus outside-the-core winding geometry as well as the air-gap fringing effect. Furthermore, thermal management strategies are introduced to enhance the vertical thermal flow from the core and the windings to the cold plate, leading to 2.5–3 times higher peak power capability compared with standard solutions. The developed modeling and optimization techniques are applied to planar inductor design in a 16.5-kW-rated SiC-based zero-voltage-switching quasi-square-wave boost converter, and the insights of selecting the core dimensions, number of turns and inductance are discussed in detail. The designed ELP 43-based planar inductor achieves a power density of 175.7 kW/L, and is experimentally validated on the converter prototype, achieving 98.8% efficiency at the typical 9.45-kW point, and less than 60 °C of worst-case temperature rise with a winding loss of 68 W in full power operation.