Air gap fringing flux reduction in a high frequency inductor for a solar inverter

In a gapped inductor, air gap fringing flux induces eddy currents in conductors in the vicinity of the air gap producing unwanted power loss and heat in the coil. This paper presents a detailed analysis to evaluate the performance changes of a high frequency inductor used in a solar inverter by new arrangement scheme of the air gap locations. The effect of air gap positioning in the core and the ac-resistance and leakage inductance of the high frequency inductor used in a solar inverter is investigated by using the 2-D finite element analysis. The simulation results show that a significant improvement can be achieved with limited changes in the air gap locations.