15
Transformer Design
In the design methods of the previous chapter, copper loss and maximum flux density are speci-
fied, while core loss is not specifically addressed. This approach is appropriate for a number of appli-
cations, such as the filter inductor in which the dominant design constraints are copper loss and
saturation flux density. However, in a substantial class of applications, the operating flux density is lim-
ited by core loss rather than saturation. For example, in a conventional high-frequency transformer, it is
usually necessary to limit the core loss by operating at a reduced value of the peak ac flux density
This chapter covers the general transformer design problem. It is desired to design a k-winding
transformer as illustrated in Fig. 15.1. Both copper loss and core loss are modeled. As the operat-
ing flux density is increased (by decreasing the number of turns), the copper loss is decreased but the
core loss is increased. We will determine the operating flux density that minimizes the total power loss
It is possible to generalize the core geometrical constant design method, derived in the previ-
ous chapter, to treat the design of magnetic devices when both copper loss and core loss are significant.
This leads to the geometrical constant a measure of the effective magnetic size of core in a trans-
former design application. Several examples of transformer designs via the method are given in this
chapter. A similar procedure is also derived, for design of single-winding inductors in which core loss is
significant.
15.1 TRANSFORMER DESIGN: BASIC CONSTRAINTS
As in the case of the filter inductor design, we can write several basic constraining equations. These
equations can then be combined into a single equation for selection of the core size. In the case of trans-
former design, the basic constraints describe the core loss, flux density, copper loss, and total power loss
566 Transformer Design
vs. flux density. The flux density is then chosen to optimize the total power loss.
15.1.1 Core Loss
As described in Chapter 13, the total core loss depends on the peak ac flux density the operating
frequency f, and the volume of the core. At a given frequency, we can approximate the core loss by a
function of the form
Again, is the core cross-sectional area, is the core mean magnetic path length, and hence is the
volume of the core. is a constant of proportionality which depends on the operating frequency. The
exponent is determined from the core manufacturers published data. Typically, the value of for fer-
rite power materials is approximately 2.6; for other core materials, this exponent lies in the range 2 to 3.
Equation (15.1) generally assumes that the applied waveforms are sinusoidal; effects of waveform har-
monic content are ignored here.
15.1.2 Flux Density
An arbitrary periodic primary voltage waveform is illustrated in Fig. 15.2. The volt-seconds applied
during the positive portion of the waveform is denoted
These volt-seconds, or flux-linkages, cause the flux density to change from its negative peak to its posi-
tive peak value. Hence, from Faraday's law, the peak value of the ac component of the flux density is
15.1 Transformer Design: Basic Constraints 567
Note that, for a given applied voltage waveform and we can reduce by increasing the primary
turns This has the effect of decreasing the core loss according to Eq. (15.1). However, it also causes
the copper loss to increase, since the new windings will be comprised of more turns of smaller wire. As a
result, there is an optimal choice for in which the total loss is minimized. In the next sections, we
will determine the optimal Having done so, we can then use Eq. (15.3) to determine the primary
turns as follows:
It should also be noted that, in some converter topologies such as the forward converter with conven-
tional reset winding, the flux density B(t) and the magnetizing current are not allowed to be nega-
tive. In consequence, the instantaneous flux density B(t) contains a dc bias. Provided that the core does
not approach saturation, this dc bias does not significantly affect the core loss: core loss is determined by
the ac component of B(t). Equations (15.2) to (15.4) continue to apply to this case, since is the peak
value of the ac component of B(t).
15.1.3 Copper Loss
As shown in Section 14.3.1, the total copper loss is minimized when the core window area is allo-
cated to the various windings according to their relative apparent powers. The total copper loss is then
given by Eq. (14.34). This equation can be expressed in the form
where
568 Transformer Design
is the sum of the rms winding currents, referred to winding 1. Use of Eq. (15.4) to eliminate from Eq.
(15.5) leads to
The right-hand side of Eq. (15.7) is grouped into three terms. The first group contains specifications,
while the second group is a function of the core geometry. The last term is a function of to be chosen
to optimize the design. It can be seen that copper loss varies as the inverse square of increasing
reduces
The increased copper loss due to the proximity effect is not explicitly accounted for in this
design procedure. In practice, the proximity loss must be estimated after the core and winding geome-
tries are known. However, the increased ac resistance due to proximity loss can be accounted for in the
design procedure. The effective value of the wire resistivity is increased by a factor equal to the esti-
mated ratio When the core geometry is known, the engineer can attempt to implement the wind-
ings such that the estimated is obtained. Several design iterations may be needed.
15.1.4 Total power loss vs.
The total power loss is found by adding Eqs. (15.1) and (15.7):
The dependence of and on is sketched in Fig. 15.3.
15.1 Transformer Design: Basic Constraints 569
15.1.5 Optimum Flux Density
Let us now choose the value of that minimizes Eq. (15.8). At the optimum wecan write
Note that the optimum does not necessarily occur where Rather, it occurs where
The derivatives of the core and copper losses with respect to are given by
Substitution of Eqs. (15.11) and (15.12) into Eq. (15.10), and solution for leads to the optimum flux
density
The resulting total power loss is found by substitution of Eq. (15.13) into (15.1), (15.8), and (15.9). Sim-
plification of the resulting expression leads to
This expression can be regrouped, as follows:
The terms on the left side of Eq. (15.15) depend on the core geometry, while the terms on the right side
depend on specifications regarding the application and the desired core material
The left side of Eq. (15.15) can be defined as the core geometrical constant
570 Transformer Design
Hence, to design a transformer, the right side of Eq. (15.15) is evaluated. A core is selected whose
exceeds this value:
The quantity is similar to the geometrical constant used in the previous chapter to design magnet-
ics when core loss is negligible. is a measure of the magnetic size of a core, for applications in which
core loss is significant. Unfortunately, depends on and hence the choice of core material affects
the value of However, the of most high-frequency ferrite materials lies in the narrow range 2.6 to
2.8, and varies by no more than 5% over this range. Appendix D lists the values of for various
standard ferrite cores, for the value
Once a core has been selected, then the values of and MLT are known. The peak ac
flux density can then be evaluated using Eq. (15.13), and the primary turns can be found using Eq.
(15.4). The number of turns for the remaining windings can be computed using the desired turns ratios.
The various window area allocations are found using Eq. (14.35). The wire sizes for the various windings
can then be computed as discussed in the previous chapter,
where is the wire area for winding j.
15.2 A STEP-BY-STEP TRANSFORMER DESIGN PROCEDURE
The procedure developed in the previous sections is summarized below. As in the filter inductor design
procedure of the previous chapter, this simple transformer design procedure should be regarded as a first-
pass approach. Numerous issues have been neglected, including detailed insulation requirements, con-
ductor eddy current losses, temperature rise, roundoff of number of turns, etc.
The following quantities are specified, using the units noted:
Wire effective resistivity
Total rms winding currents, referred to primary
Desired turns ratios
Applied primary volt-seconds
15.2 A Step-By-Step Transformer Design Procedure 571
Allowed total power dissipation
Winding fill factor
Core loss exponent
Core loss coefficient
The core dimensions are expressed in cm:
Core cross-sectional area
Core window area
Mean length per turn
Magnetic path length
Peak ac flux density
Wire areas
The use of centimeters rather than meters requires that appropriate factors be added to the design equa-
tions.
15.2.1 Procedure
1. Determine core size.
Choose a core that is large enough to satisfy this inequality. If necessary, it may be possible to use a
smaller core by choosing a core material having lower loss, i.e., smaller
2. Evaluate peak ac flux density.
Check whether is greater than the core material saturation flux density. If the core operates with a flux
dc bias, then the dc bias plus should not exceed the saturation flux density. Proceed to the next step if
adequate margins exist to prevent saturation. Otherwise, (1) repeat the procedure using a core material
having greater core loss, or (2) use the design method, in which the maximum flux density is speci-
fied.
3. Evaluate primary turns.
572 Transformer Design
4. Choose numbers of turns for other windings
According to the desired turns ratios:
5. Evaluate fraction of window area allocated to each winding.
6. Evaluate wire sizes.
Choose wire gauges to satisfy these criteria
A winding geometry can now be determined, and copper losses due to the proximity effect can
be evaluated. If these losses are significant, it may be desirable to further optimize the design by reiterat-
ing the above steps, accounting for proximity losses by increasing the effective wire resistivity to the
value where is the actual copper loss including proximity effects, and is the
copper loss obtained when the proximity effect is negligible.
If desired, the power losses and transformer model parameters can now be checked. For the
simple model of Fig. 15.4, the following parameters are estimated:
Magnetizing inductance, referred to winding 1:
Peak ac magnetizing current, referred to winding 1:
15.3 Examples 573
Winding resistances:
The core loss, copper loss, and total power loss can be determined using Eqs. (15.1), (15.7), and (15.8),
respectively.
15.3 EXAMPLES
15.3.1 Example 1: Single-Output Isolated Converter
As an example, let us consider the design of a simple two-winding transformer for the converter of
Fig. 15.5. This transformer is to be optimized at the operating point shown, corresponding to D = 0.5.
The steady-state converter solution is The desired transformer turns ratio is
574 Transformer Design
The switching frequency is corresponding to A ferrite pot core
consisting of Magnetics, Inc. P-material is to be used; at 200 kHz, this material is described by the fol-
lowing parameters: A fill factor of is assumed. Total power loss of
W is allowed. Copper wire, having a resistivity of is to be used.
Transformer waveforms are illustrated in Fig. 15.6. The applied primary volt-seconds are
The primary rms current is
It is assumed that the rms magnetizing current is much smaller than the rms winding currents. Since the
transformer contains only two windings, the secondary rms current is equal to
The total rms winding current, referred to the primary, is
The core size is evaluated using Eq. (15.19):
15.3 Examples 575
The pot core data of Appendix D lists the 2213 pot core with for Evaluation of Eq.
(15.16) shows that for this core, when In any event, 2213 is the smallest standard
pot core size having ~ The increased value of should lead to lower total power loss.
The peak ac flux density is found by evaluation of Eq. (15.20), using the geometrical data for the 2213
pot core:
This flux density is considerably less than the saturation flux density of approximately 0.35 Tesla. The
primary turns are determined by evaluation of Eq. (15.21):
The secondary turns are found by evaluation of Eq. (15.22). It is desired that the transformer have a 5:1
turns ratio, and hence
In practice, we might select and This would lead to a slightly higher and slightly higher
loss.
The fraction of the window area allocated to windings 1 and 2 are determined using Eq. (15.23):
For this example, the window area is divided equally between the primary and secondary windings, since
the ratio of their rms currents is equal to the turns ratio. We can now evaluate the primary and secondary
wire areas, via Eq. (15.24):
The wire gauge is selected using the wire table of Appendix D. AWG #16 has area and
is suitable for the primary winding. AWG #9 is suitable for the secondary winding, with area
These are very large conductors, and one turn of AWG #9 is not a practical solution! We
can also expect significant proximity losses, and significant leakage inductance. In practice, interleaved
foil windings might be used. Alternatively, Litz wire or several parallel strands of smaller wire could be
employed.
576 Transformer Design
It is a worthwhile exercise to repeat the above design at several different switching frequencies,
to determine how transformer size varies with switching frequency. As the switching frequency is
increased, the core loss coefficient increases. Figure 15.7 illustrates the transformer pot core size, for
various switching frequencies over the range 25 kHz to 1 MHz, for this converter example using P
material with W. Peak flux densities in Tesla are also plotted. For switching frequencies below
250 kHz, increasing the frequency causes the core size to decrease. This occurs because of the decreased
applied volt-seconds Over this range, the optimal is essentially independent of switching fre-
quency; the variations shown occur owing to quantization of core sizes.
For switching frequencies greater than 250 kHz, increasing frequency causes greatly increased
core loss. Maintaining W then requires that be reduced, and hence the core size is
increased. The minimum transformer size for this example is apparently obtained at 250 kHz.
In practice, several matters complicate the dependence of transformer size on switching fre-
quency. Figure 15.7 ignores the winding geometry and copper losses due to winding eddy currents.
Greater power losses can be allowed in larger cores. Use of a different core material may allow higher or
lower switching frequencies. The same core material, used in a different application with different speci-
fications, may lead to a different optimal frequency. Nonetheless, examples have been reported in the lit-
erature [14] in which ferrite transformer size is minimized at frequencies ranging from several hundred
kilohertz to several megahertz. More detailed design optimizations can be performed using computer
optimization programs [5, 6].
15.3.2 Example 2: Multiple-Output Full-Bridge Buck Converter
As a second example, let us consider the design of transformer for the multiple-output full-bridge
buck converter of Fig. 15.8. This converter has a 5 V and a 15 V output, with maximum loads as shown.
The transformer is to be optimized at the full-load operating point shown, corresponding to D = 0.75.
Waveforms are illustrated in Fig. 15.9. The converter switching frequency is In the full-
bridge configuration, the transformer waveforms have fundamental frequency equal to one-half of the
switching frequency, so the effective transformer frequency is 75 kHz. Upon accounting for losses
15.3 Examples 577
caused by diode forward voltage drops, one finds that the desired transformer turns ratios are
110:5:15. A ferrite EE consisting of Magnetics, Inc. P-material is to be used in this example; at 75 kHz,
this material is described by the following parameters: A fill factor of
is assumed in this isolated multiple-output application. Total power loss of or
approximately 0.5% of the load power, is allowed. Copper wire, having a resistivity of
is to be used.
The applied primary volt-seconds are
578 Transformer Design
The primary rms current is
The 5 V secondary windings carry rms current
The 15 V secondary windings carry rms current
The total rms winding current, referred to the primary, is
The core size is evaluated using Eq. (15.19):
The EE core data of Appendix D lists the EE40 core with for Evaluation of Eq.
(15.16) shows that for this core, when In any event, EE40 is the smallest standard
EE core size having The peak ac flux density is found by evaluation of Eq. (15.20), using
the geometrical data for the EE40 core:
This flux density is less than the saturation flux density of approximately 0.35 Tesla. The primary turns
are determined by evaluation of Eq. (15.21):
The secondary turns are found by evaluation of Eq. (15.22). It is desired that the transformer have a
110:5:15 turns ratio, and hence
15.3 Examples 579
In practice, we might select and This would lead to a reduced with reduced
core loss and increased copper loss. Since the resulting is suboptimal, the total power loss will be
increased. According to Eq. (15.3), the peak ac flux density for the EE40 core will be
The resulting core and copper loss can be computed using Eqs. (15.1) and (15.7):
Hence, the total power loss would be
Since this is 50% greater than the design goal of 4 W, it is necessary to increase the core size. The next
larger EE core is the EE50 core, having of 0.0284. The optimum ac flux density for this core, given
by Eq. (15.3), is operation at this flux density would require and would lead to a
total power loss of 2.3 W. With calculations similar to Eqs. (15.45) to (15.48) lead to a peak flux
density of T. The resulting power losses would then be
With the EE50 core and the fraction of the available window area allocated to the pri-
mary winding is given by Eq. (15.23) as
The fraction of the available window area allocated to each half of the 5 V secondary winding should be
The fraction of the available window area allocated to each half of the 15 V secondary winding should be
The primary wire area 5 V secondary wire area and 15 V secondary wire area are then given
580 Transformer Design
by Eq. (15.24) as
It may be preferable to wind the 15 V outputs using two #19 wires in parallel; this would lead to the same
area but would be easier to wind. The 5 V windings could be wound using many turns of smaller par-
alleled wires, but it would probably be easier to use a flat copper foil winding. If insulation requirements
allow, proximity losses could be minimized by interleaving several thin layers of foil with the primary
winding.
15.4 AC INDUCTOR DESIGN
The transformer design procedure of the previous sections can be adapted to handle the design of other
magnetic devices in which both core loss and copper loss are significant. A procedure is outlined here for
design of single-winding inductors whose waveforms contain significant high-frequency ac components
(Fig. 15.10). An optimal value of is found, which leads to minimum total core-plus-copper loss. The
major difference is that we must design to obtain a given inductance, using a core with an air gap. The
constraints and a step-by-step procedure are briefly outlined below.
15.4.1 Outline of Derivation
As in the filter inductor design procedure of the previous chapter, the desired inductance L must be
obtained, given by
The applied voltage waveform and the peak ac component of the flux density are related according to
The copper loss is given by
where I is the rms value of i(t). The core loss is given by Eq. (15.1).
15.4 AC Inductor Design 581
The value of that minimizes the total power loss is found in a manner similar
to the transformer design derivation. Equation (15.54) is used to eliminate from the expression for
The optimal is then computed by setting the derivative of to zero. The result is
which is essentially the same as Eq. (15.13). The total power loss is evaluated at this value of and
the resulting expression is manipulated to find The result is
where is defined as in Eq. (15.16). A core that satisfies this inequality is selected.
582 Transformer Design
15.4.2 Step-by-step AC Inductor Design Procedure
The units of Section 15.2 are employed here.
1. Determine core size.
Choose a core that is large enough to satisfy this inequality. If necessary, it may be possible to use a
smaller core by choosing a core material having lower loss, that is, smaller
2. Evaluate peak ac flux density.
3. Number of turns.
4. Air gap length.
with specified in and expressed in meters. Alternatively, the air gap can be indirectly expressed
via (mH/1000 turns):
5. Check for saturation.
If the inductor current contains a dc component then the maximum total flux density is greater
than the peak ac flux density The maximum total flux density, in Tesla, is given by
If is close to or greater than the saturation flux density then the core may saturate. The filter
inductor design procedure of the previous chapter should then be used, to operate at a lower flux density.
6. Evaluate wire size.
15.5 Summary 583
A winding geometry can now be determined, and copper losses due to the proximity effect can be evalu-
ated. If these losses are significant, it may be desirable to further optimize the design by reiterating the
above steps, accounting for proximity losses by increasing the effective wire resistivity to the value
where is the actual copper loss including proximity effects, and is the copper
loss predicted when the proximity effect is ignored.
7. Check power loss.
15.5 SUMMARY
1. In a multiple-winding transformer, the low-frequency copper losses are minimized when the available
window area is allocated to the windings according to their apparent powers, or ampere-turns.
2. As peak ac flux density is increased, core loss increases while copper losses decrease. There is an optimum
flux density that leads to minimum total power loss. Provided that the core material is operated near its
intended frequency, then the optimum flux density is less than the saturation flux density. Minimization of
total loss then determines the choice of peak ac flux density.
3. The core geometrical constant is a measure of the magnetic size of a core, for applications in which
core loss is significant. In the design method, the peak flux density is optimized to yield minimum
total loss, as opposed to the design method where peak flux density is a given specification.
REFERENCES
[1] W. J. GU and R. LIU, A Study of Volume and Weight vs. Frequency for High-Frequency Transformers,
IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 1993 Record, pp. 11231129.
[2] K. D. T. NGO, R. P. ALLEY, A. J. YERMAN, R. J. CHARLES, and M. H. KUO, Evaluation of Trade-Offs in
Transformer Design for Very-Low-Voltage Power Supply with Very High Efficiency and Power Density,
IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference, 1990 Record, pp. 344353.
[3] A. F. GOLDBERG and M. F. SCHLECHT, The Relationship Between Size and Power Dissipation in a 1-
10MHz Transformer, IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 1989 Record, pp. 625-634.
[4] K. D. T. NGO and R. S. LAI, Effect of Height on Power Density in High-Frequency Transformers, IEEE
Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 1991 Record, pp. 667-672.
[5] R. B. RIDLEY and F. C. LEE, Practical Nonlinear Design Optimization Tool for Power Converter Compo-
nents, IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 1987 Record, pp. 314-323.
[6] R. C. WONG, H. A. OWEN, and T. G. WILSON, Parametric Study of Minimum Converter Loss in an
Energy-Storage Dc-to-Dc Converter, IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 1982 Record, pp.
411-425.
584 Transformer Design
PROBLEMS
15.1 Forward converter inductor and transformer design. The objective of this problem set is to design the
magnetics (two inductors and one transformer) of the two-transistor, two-output forward converter
shown in Fig. 15.11. The ferrite core material to be used for all three devices has a saturation flux density
of approximately 0.3 T at 120C. To provide a safety margin for your designs, you should use a maxi-
mum flux density that is no greater than 75% of this value. The core loss at 100 kHz is described by
Eq. (15.1), with the parameter values and Calculate copper loss at 100C.
Steady-state converter analysis and design. You may assume 100% efficiency and ideal lossless compo-
nents for this section.
(a) Select the transformer turns ratios so that the desired output voltages are obtained when the duty
cycle is D = 0.4.
(b) Specify values of and such that their current ripples and are 10% of their respective
full-load current dc components and
(c) Determine the peak and rms currents in each inductor and transformer winding.
Inductor design. Allow copper loss of 1 W in and 0.4 W in Assume a fill factor of Use
ferrite EE corestables of geometrical data for standard EE core sizes are given in Appendix D. Design
the output filter inductors and For each inductor, specify:
(i) EE core size
(ii) Air gap length
(iii) Number of turns
(iv) AWG wire size
Transformer design. Allow a total power loss of 1 W. Assume a fill factor of (lower than for the
filter inductors, to allow space for insulation between the windings). Use a ferrite EE core. You may
neglect losses due to the skin and proximity effects, but you should include core and copper losses.
Design the transformer, and specify the following:
(i) EE core size
(ii) Turns and
Problems 585
(iii) AWG wire size for the three windings
Check your transformer design:
(iv) Compute the maximum flux density. Will the core saturate?
(v ) Compute the core loss, the copper loss of each winding, and the total power loss
15.2 A single-transistor forward converter operates with an input voltage V, and supplies two out-
puts: 24 V at 2 A, and 15 V at 6 A. The duty cycle is D = 0.4. The turns ratio between the primary wind-
ing and the reset winding is 1:1. The switching frequency is 100 kHz. The core material loss equation
parameters are You may assume a fill factor of 0.25. Do not allow the core maximum
flux density to exceed 0.3 T.
Design a transformer for this application, having a total power loss no greater than 1.5 W at
100C. Neglect proximity losses. You may neglect the reset winding. Use a ferrite PQ core. Specify: core
size, peak ac flux density, wire sizes, and number of turns for each winding. Compute the core and cop-
per losses for your design.
15.3 Flyback/SEPIC transformer design. The transformer of the flyback and SEPIC converters is an energy
storage device, which might be more accurately described as a multiple-winding inductor. The magne-
tizing inductance functions as an energy-transferring inductor of the converter, and therefore the
transformer normally contains an air gap. The converter may be designed to operate in either the con-
tinuous or discontinuous conduction mode. Core loss may be significant. It is also important to ensure
that the peak current in the magnetizing inductance does not cause saturation.
A flyback transformer is to be designed for the following two-output flyback converter application:
Input: 160 Vdc
Output 1: 5 Vdc at 10 A
Output 2: 15 Vdc at 1 A
Switching frequency: 100 kHz
Magnetizing inductance 1.33 mH, referred to primary
Turns ratio: 160:5:15
Transformer power loss: Allow 1 W total
(a) Does the converter operate in CCM or DCM? Referred to the primary winding, how large are (i)
the magnetizing current ripple (ii) the magnetizing current dc component I, and (iii) the peak
magnetizing current
(b) Determine (i) the rms winding currents, and (ii) the applied primary volt-seconds Is pro-
portional to
(c) Modify the transformer and ac inductor design procedures of this chapter, to derive a general
procedure for designing flyback transformers that explicitly accounts for both core and copper
loss, and that employs the optimum ac flux density that minimizes the total loss.
(d) Give a general step-by-step design procedure, with all specifications and units clearly stated.
(e) Design the flyback transformer for the converter of part (a), using your step-by-step procedure of
part (d). Use a ferrite EE core, with and Specify: core size, air gap
length, turns, and wire sizes for all windings.
(f) For your final design of part (e), what are (i) the core loss, (ii) the total copper loss, and (iii) the
peak flux density?
586 Transformer Design
15.4 Over the intended range of operating frequencies, the frequency dependence of the core-loss coefficient
of a certain ferrite core material can be approximated using a monotonicalty increasing fourth-order
polynomial of the form
where and are constants. In a typical converter transformer application, the applied
primary volt-seconds varies directly with the switching period It is desired to choose the opti-
mum switching frequency such that and therefore the transformer size, are minimized.
(a) Show that the optimum switching frequency is a root of the polynomial
Next, a core material is chosen whose core loss parameters are
The polynomial fits the manufacturer's published data over the range 10 kHz </< 1 MHz.
(b) Sketch
(c) Determine the value of f that minimizes
(d) Sketch (100 kHz), over the range How sensitive is the trans-
former size to the choice of switching frequency?
15.5 Transformer design to attain a given temperature rise. The temperature rise of the center leg of a fer-
rite core is directly proportional to the total power loss of a transformer: where is
the thermal resistance of the transformer under given environmental conditions. You may assume that
this temperature rise has minimal dependence on the distribution of losses within the transformer. It is
desired to modify the transformer design method, such that temperature rise replaces total power
loss as a specification. You may neglect the dependence of the wire resistivity on temperature.
(a) Modify the n-winding transformer design method, as necessary. Define a new core geomet-
rical constant that includes
(b) Thermal resistances of ferrite EC cores are listed in Section D.3 of Appendix D. Tabulate for
these cores, using
(c) A 750 W single-output full-bridge isolated buck dc-dc converter operates with converter switch-
ing frequency dc input voltage and dc output voltage V = 48 V. The
turns ratio is 6:1. The core loss equation parameters at 100 kHz are and
Assume a fill factor of You may neglect proximity losses. Use your design pro-
cedure of parts (a) and (b) to design a transformer for this application, in which the temperature
rise is limited to 20C. Specify: EC core size, primary and secondary turns, wire sizes, and peak
ac flux density.
