SIMULATION ASSISTED DESIGN OF INDUCTORS IN POWER ELECTRONICS SYSTEMS

Inductors are main components in power electronics systems, e.g. switching mode power supplies used in grid-connected inverters for photovoltaic systems. Inductive components mainly contribute to losses, therefore there is a big potential to increase the overall efficiency. In addition to the electric requirements due to the system architecture, energy effciency and thermal behavior are the main aspects for an optimal inductor design. To achieve this it requires an accurate prediction of the occurring electromagnetical and thermal effects and their mutual interactions. The design procedure is a rather complex task and the result is highly dependent on the experience of the design engineer. To reduce the time to market and in order to standardize the design process, a computer aided design tool was developed. The aim is an accurately and fast prediction of the inductors physical behavior and the optimization of all significant design parameters.