Critical Temperature for Thermal Runaway in a Magnetic Material

This paper provides an analytical approach for calculating the critical temperature in a magnetic component above which thermal runaway takes place. Thermal runaway implies that there is no steady-state balance between the generation of heat due to core and winding losses and the removal of heat by convection and radiation. The temperature in the magnetic component increases until a new balance is achieved at a much higher temperature close to the Curie temperature. The magnetic loss, as provided by manufacturers, is expressed as a quadratic function of temperature. The impact of the ambient temperature and winding losses on the critical temperature for a magnetic component is also included in the analysis.