A Novel Window Reluctance Calculation to Improve Leakage Inductance Estimation of 'E3E' Integrated Magnetic Components

Integrated magnetic components (IMCs) are used to save volume and increase the efficiency of many dc power converter topologies. However, their design is not a straightforward procedure, and it is possible to find different modeling strategies in the literature. Using one or another modeling approximation significantly impacts the analytical results' accuracy and may lead to erroneous solutions and to the need for a time-consuming redesigning process. In this study, an IMC with an EE-type structure and three air gaps, named E3E, is described and modeled under different modeling alternatives with an increasing degree of complexity. Additionally, a new expression to analytically model the window reluctance, key for coupling coefficient estimation, is proposed inspired by the E3E structure finite element analysis. The error of using each E3E modeling alternative is studied, by comparing the analytical results with the measurements obtained for several assemblies, including one for a dc-dc converter application case.