Thermal design of high frequency magnetic components in power electronics

Abstract

The increasing demand for high power density in modern power-electronic systems requires efficient thermal management of high-frequency magnetic components, particularly in applications such as microinverters, magnetic amplifiers, uninterruptible power supply systems and DC–DC converters. This thesis aims to analyze recent thermal design strategies, approaches and trends for high-frequency magnetic components with emphasis on advanced cooling techniques; including the main focus on the liquid cooling and phase-change materials to enable higher power density and enhance operational stability. Furthermore, a full-fledged literature review is conducted to identify recent trends, key challenges, and performance limitations associated with the heat extraction in these compact magnetic structures. The study analyzes the thermal behavior, loss distribution, and cooling effectiveness reported in prior research, and evaluates the suitability of different thermal-management techniques for improving temperature control and reliability based on the reviewed findings, design considerations and practical recommendations that are discussed for enhancing power density and operational stability of these magnetic components. The results provide well-structured overview of some of the current thermal-design methodologies and reinforces the ongoing development related to high-power electronic devices implemented and examined at the university.