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I nduc t anc e of a Powe r I nduc t or
Introduction
Power inductors are a central part of many low-frequency power applications. They
are, for example, used in switched power supplies and DC-DC converters. The
inductor is used in conjunction with a high-power semiconductor switch that operates
at a certain frequency, stepping up or down the voltage on the output. The relatively
low voltage and high power consumption put high demands on the design of the
power supply and especially on the inductor, which must be designed with respect to
switching frequency, current rating, and hot environments.
A power inductor usually has a magnetic core to increase its inductance value, reducing
the demands for a high frequency while keeping the sizes small. The magnetic core also
reduces the electromagnetic interference with other devices. There are only crude
analytical formulas or empirical formulas available for calculating impedances, so
computer simulations or measurements are necessary in the design of these inductors.
This model uses a design drawn in an external CAD software, imports the geometry
to COMSOL Multiphysics, and finally calculates the inductance from the specified
material parameters and frequency.
Model Definition
The model uses the Magnetic and Electric Fields physics, taking electric and
magnetically induced currents into account. This formulation, often referred to as an
AV-formulation, solves both for the magnetic vector potential A and the electric
potential V. For stabilization, it also solves for the Gauge fixing on the vector potential,
See the sections Theory of Magnetic and Electric Fields and Gauge Fixing for A-field
of the AC/DC Module Users Guide for details.
At low frequencies the inductance is almost constant. For high frequencies the
capacitive effects play a role, causing a frequency-dependent inductance. A model
limiting factor in increasing the frequency is the skin depth, so at a frequency in the
vicinity of 10 kHz the model either needs a finer mesh at the conductor boundary or
A 0 =
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an impedance boundary condition. The following table lists the material properties
used in this model:
Using a low non-zero conductivity for the surrounding air improves the stability of the
iterative solver. This has negligible impact on the solution as long as the resulting skin
depth is much greater than the size of the geometry.
The outer boundaries are mainly the default magnetic insulation and electric
insulation,
For the boundaries to the conductor, one end is grounded, and the other end uses a
Terminal boundary condition. The terminal condition applies an electric potential of
1 V and gives the admittance of the inductor. You can calculate the inductance from
the formula
,
where is the angular frequency, and Y
11
the admittance.
Results and Discussion
The model is solved at a frequency of 1 kHz and calculates an inductance of 97 H.
Figure 2 shows the distribution of the real (resistive) part of the electric potential
distribution. You could also plot the imaginary part of the electric potential to study
the inductive contribution.
Figure 2 shows the magnetic flux density, both its norm as a slice plot and its local
direction and strength at zero phase as an arrow plot.
MATERIAL PARAMETER COPPER CORE AIR
5.99710
7
10 1

r
1 1 1

r
1 10
3
1
n A 0 =
n J 0 =
L
11
Im
1
Y
11
------------- -


=
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Figure 1: Real part of the electric potential distribution.
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Figure 2: The final plot of the power inductor, showing the potential on the coil, the
magnitude of the flux density inside the ferrite core, and the direction of the same as
arrows.
Model Library path: ACDC_Module/Inductive_Devices_and_Coils/
power_inductor
Modeling Instructions
MO D E L WI Z A R D
1 Go to the Model Wizard window.
2 Click Next.
3 In the Add physics tree, select AC/DC>Magnetic and Electric Fields (mef).
4 Click Next.
5 Find the Studies subsection. In the tree, select Preset Studies>Frequency Domain.
6 Click Finish.
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G E O ME T R Y 1
The geometry of the inductor is available as a CAD file. You will import this and create
a surrounding air box.
Import 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1 right-click Geometry 1 and choose
Import.
2 In the Import settings window, locate the Import section.
3 Click the Browse button.
4 Browse to the models Model Library folder and double-click the file
power_inductor.mphbin.
5 Click the Import button.
Block 1
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Geometry 1 and choose Block.
2 In the Block settings window, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Width edit field, type 0.2.
4 In the Depth edit field, type 0.15.
5 In the Height edit field, type 0.12.
6 Locate the Position section. In the x edit field, type -0.1.
7 In the y edit field, type -0.08.
8 In the z edit field, type -0.04.
9 Click the Build All button.
10 Click the Wireframe Rendering button on the Graphics toolbar.
MA T E R I A L S
This model uses two materials that are already available in the Material Library and one
that you define yourself.
1 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1 right-click Materials and choose Open
Material Browser.
2 In the Material Browser window, locate the Materials section.
3 In the tree, select Built-In>Copper.
4 Right-click and choose Add Material to Model from the menu.
Copper
1 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1>Materials click Copper.
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2 In the Material settings window, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
3 Click Clear Selection.
4 Select Domain 3 only.
5 In the Model Builder window, right-click Materials and choose Open Material Browser.
6 In the Material Browser window, locate the Materials section.
7 In the tree, select Built-In>Air.
8 Right-click and choose Add Material to Model from the menu.
Air
1 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1>Materials click Air.
2 Select Domain 1 only.
The Material Library data for air includes a zero conductivity. To improve the
stability of the solution, change it to 1 S/m.
3 In the Material settings window, locate the Material Contents section.
4 In the table, enter the following settings:
Material 3
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Materials and choose Material.
2 Right-click Material 3 and choose Rename.
3 Go to the Rename Material dialog box and type Core Material in the New name
edit field.
4 Click OK.
5 Select Domain 2 only.
6 In the Material settings window, locate the Material Contents section.
7 In the table, enter the following settings:
MA G N E T I C A N D E L E C T R I C F I E L D S
First, add a gauge fix in order to get a unique solution.
PROPERTY NAME VALUE
Electric conductivity sigma 1
PROPERTY NAME VALUE
Electric conductivity sigma 10
Relative permittivity epsilonr 1
Relative permeability mur 1000
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Ampre's Law and Current Conservation 1
In the Model Builder window, expand the Magnetic and Electric Fields node.
Gauge Fixing for A-Field 1
1 Right-click Ampre's Law and Current Conservation 1 and choose the domain setting
Gauge Fixing for A-Field.
Next, set up the Terminal and Ground conditions driving the current through the
model.
Magnetic Insulation 1
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Model 1>Magnetic and Electric
Fields>Magnetic Insulation 1 node.
2 Right-click Magnetic Insulation 1 and choose the boundary condition Ground.
Ground 1
Select Boundary 63 only.
Terminal 1
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Model 1>Magnetic and Electric
Fields>Magnetic Insulation 1 and choose the boundary condition Terminal.
2 Select Boundary 17 only.
3 In the Terminal settings window, locate the Terminal section.
4 From the Terminal type list, choose Voltage.
ME S H 1
In the Model Builder window, under Model 1 right-click Mesh 1 and choose Free
Tetrahedral.
Size
1 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1>Mesh 1 click Size.
2 In the Size settings window, locate the Element Size section.
3 From the Predefined list, choose Coarse.
4 Click the Build All button.
S T U D Y 1
Step 1: Frequency Domain
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Study 1 node, then click Step 1: Frequency
Domain.
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2 In the Frequency Domain settings window, locate the Study Settings section.
3 In the Frequencies edit field, type 1[kHz].
The model is now ready for solving. In order to compute the admittance with
sufficient accuracy, lower the relative tolerance of the solver to 10
-6
.
4 In the Model Builder window, right-click Study 1 and choose Show Default Solver.
5 Expand the Study 1>Solver Configurations node.
Solver 1
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Study 1>Solver Configurations>Solver 1
node, then click Stationary Solver 1.
2 In the Stationary Solver settings window, locate the General section.
3 In the Relative tolerance edit field, type 1e-6.
4 In the Model Builder window, click Study 1.
5 In the Study settings window, locate the Study Settings section.
6 Clear the Generate default plots check box.
7 Click the Compute button.
R E S U L T S
3D Plot Group 1
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Results and choose 3D Plot Group.
2 Right-click 3D Plot Group 1 and choose Slice.
3 In the Slice settings window, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of the
Expression section. From the menu, choose Magnetic and Electric
Fields>Magnetic>Magnetic flux density norm (mef.normB).
4 Locate the Plane Data section. From the Plane list, choose zx-planes.
5 In the Planes edit field, type 1.
6 Click the Plot button.
7 In the Model Builder window, right-click 3D Plot Group 1 and choose Arrow Volume.
8 In the Arrow Volume settings window, click Replace Expression in the upper-right
corner of the Expression section. From the menu, choose Magnetic and Electric
Fields>Magnetic>Magnetic flux density (mef.Bx,...,mef.Bz).
9 Locate the Arrow Positioning section. Find the x grid points subsection. In the Points
edit field, type 20.
10 Find the y grid points subsection. In the Points edit field, type 20.
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11 Find the z grid points subsection. In the Points edit field, type 10.
12 Locate the Coloring and Style section. Select the Scale factor check box.
13 In the associated edit field, type 15.
14 Click the Plot button.
The plot should now look like Figure 2.
To add a surface plot of the potential distribution, add a new plot group.
3D Plot Group 2
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Results and choose 3D Plot Group.
2 Right-click 3D Plot Group 2 and choose Surface.
Data Sets
Take a look inside by hiding a few of the exterior boundaries.
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Data Sets node.
2 Right-click Solution 1 and choose Add Selection.
3 In the Selection settings window, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
4 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
5 From the Selection list, choose All boundaries.
6 Select Boundaries 3 and 579 only. The quickest way to do this is to remove
Boundaries 1, 2, and 4 from the selection.
3D Plot Group 2
Going back to 3D Plot Group 2, the plot should look like Figure 1.
The remaining instructions show you how to extract the admittance and the
inductance.
Derived Values
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click Derived Values and choose
Global Evaluation.
2 In the Global Evaluation settings window, click Replace Expression in the upper-right
corner of the Expression section. From the menu, choose Magnetic and Electric
Fields>Terminals>Admittance (mef.Y11).
3 Click the Evaluate button.
The admittance evaluates to (0.59-1.39i) S. The inductance is the inverse of its
imaginary part divided by the angular frequency.
4 In the Global Evaluation settings window, locate the Expression section.
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5 In the Expression edit field, type imag(1/mef.Y11)/(2*pi*freq).
6 Click the Evaluate button.
The inductance is 97 uH.