Influence of the Distributed Air Gap on the Parameters of an Industrial Inductor

Air gaps are often used in a design of power inductors. Different arrangements of air gap in a magnetic circuit influence the parameters of an inductor. Understanding this dependence allows a design of more efficient inductors. In this paper, the influence of different air-gap arrangements on the distribution of the magnetic flux density, the value of saturation current, and the power losses is presented. The 3-D finite-element analyses and laboratory measurements were realized for the exemplary inductor made of grain-oriented steel and copper foil. Additionally, the main rules of the design of inductors with distributed air-gap arrangement are also given.