Aluminium Multi-Wire for High-Frequency Electric Machines

In order to limit losses in high-frequency transformers and inductor windings, special and expensive solutions such as Litz Wire are often adopted. The high cost of these wires is due to the complex process needed for realizing a thin insulating coating for each of the several single copper wires that form the strand. In this paper, an aluminium multi-wire is proposed as a low cost alternative to Litz Wire. Insulation between conductors is achieved by anodization, which is a commonly used process in the aluminium industry. Hence, the proposed solution can potentially drop the cost in electrical machines and in many other applications operating at high-frequency.