Extraction of Fringing-Effect Power Loss from Total Dissipation in Magnetic Component

Abstract

Power magnetics in the energy storage configuration are not able to handle a significant amount of power without the introduction of a physical discontinuity in their magnetic path. This frequently takes the form of a discrete air gap giving rise to certain consequences such as extra power dissipation in the coils mounted on gapped cores. The ascertainment of the impact of the fringing magnetic field at the air gap on the efficiency of power conversion is highly problematic due to the complex nature of the phenomenon. The fringing-effect power loss typically coexists and is combined with all the other power-dissipation mechanisms, which greatly complicates the extraction of losses brought about solely by the fringing flux at the air gap from the total amount of dissipation in a given magnetic component. Magnetic cores of composite materials do not require a discrete air gap, as the air gap in them is distributed throughout the entire material, thus preventing the fringing magnetic flux from forming. However, there is a downside to this approach, as power loss in the material is comparably greater and so are the manufacturing costs. As shown here, distributed-gap-type core materials, due to the absence of physical discontinuity, and hence the lack of registerable fringing-effect power loss, can be utilized to comparatively ascertain and extract the extra power dissipation due to the fringing effect phenomenon in gapped magnetic components.