A novel and simple method to distinguish winding loss from inductor loss under practical excitations

Previous methods for measuring magnetic core loss are either only suitable for sine wave excitations or cannot separate winding loss from inductor loss. In this paper, we present a new method to distinguish winding loss from inductor loss under practical excitations. This method utilizes a converter to generate the actual excitation waveforms and uses a calorimetric setup to quantify the losses. By splitting up the inductor in a converter into an air core inductor and a magnetic core inductor, both equipped with exactly the same winding structure, the air core inductor loss can be used as the reference of the magnetic cored inductor winding loss. In this way, magnetic core losses can be determined in the actual operation condition of a converter in which the inductor is to be used. The method requires simple setup and is easy to execute. It worked well in assessing different magnetic core materials.