Full PEEC Modeling of EMI Filter Inductors in the Frequency Domain

Abstract

In this paper, the performance of a new method based on the coupling of the partial element equivalent circuit method and boundary integral method (the PEEC-BIM method) for 3D modeling of toroidal inductors, which are typically used in electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter applications, is presented. The presence of magnetic materials is modeled by replacing the surface of magnetic regions with an equivalent distribution of fictitious current loops. It is shown that the influence of the magnetic core on the impedance and the stray field of EMI filter inductors can be modeled and explained in detail by PEEC-BIM simulation results. The developed PEEC-BIM approach is verified by both 3D finite-element method (FEM) simulations and near-field measurements for different winding configurations and magnetic cores. Regarding computational complexity, the developed PEEC-BIM method applied to toroidal inductors performs extremely well. The PEEC-BIM simulation is at least twice faster than the corresponding FEM-based analysis. The PEEC-BIM method has been implemented in a PEEC-based simulation tool, which facilitates the simulation of entire EMI filter structures.