A Practical, Accurate and Very General Core Loss Model for Nonsinusoidal Waveforms

Nonsinusoidal voltage waveforms are quite common in high frequency power conversion magnetics. Low frequency nonsinusoidal waveforms are also common in ac motor applications with waveforms such as pulsewidth modulation and six-step. Previous attempts to model these losses, based on the Steinmetz equation, can work only in a limited range of frequencies, flux density excitations, and waveforms. In this paper, we present a very practical, yet very general and accurate model, for core loss calculations in case of nonsinusoidal voltage waveforms. We show the model is equally applicable to low and high frequencies, metallic as well as nonmetallic (e.g., ferrites) core materials, by comparing the model prediction with measured data for various waveforms, frequencies, and flux densities. The model can be used for the design of high frequency transformers and inductors for use in switched mode power supplies. The model can also be used for ac motors where it is hard to estimate "derating factor" and to avoid uncontrolled temperature rise