A high-density heat-sink-mounted inductor for automotive applications

Passive components, and inductors, in particular, contribute greatly to the overall volume of power electronic converters. These components are normally packaged individually with little concern for the overall system. For high-density switching power supplies it is imperative to minimize the volume to as great an extent as possible which implies that the passive component volume usage needs to be improved. This can be accomplished by applying suitable packaging and cooling techniques to these components. In this paper, two inductor structures finding application in a 2.1-kW synchronous automotive converter are described. The air-gap placement, losses, cooling methods, and thermal profiles are analyzed and verified experimentally with an inductor designed for operation at 85(degree)C ambient.