Thermal and Magnetisms Design of an Inductor Using Finite Element Method

Thermal stress points in an inductor can cause insulation deterioration and ageing, leading to winding faults, while high magnetic flux causes interference. In this paper, the thermal and magnetic behaviors of inductors with different winding geometries are investigated using the Finite Element Method (FEM) based on 2-Dimension and 3-Dimension model of an inductor. Inductors with different winding geometries have different thermal envelopes and the geometry with the slowest thermal transition has fewer thermal stress points potentially reducing winding faults at the conductor. Furthermore, slow thermal transition would result in greater magnetic field coverage with no magnetic flux outside boundary of the inductor.