First self-resonant frequency of power inductors based on approximated corrected stray capacitances

Inductive devices are extensively employed in power electronic systems due to their magnetic energy storage and power transfer capabilities. The current trend is towards increasing the frequency of operation in order to reduce the size of the magnetic components, but the main drawback is that the parasitic capacitance effect can become significant, and degrade the performance of the system. This work analyses the influence of this stray capacitance, and considers how to improve the performance of the device. In general, the impact of the stray capacitance on a magnetic component can be reduced by two methods: reducing the parasitic capacitance between turns of the winding or, alternatively, modifying the arrangement of the connection between turns. To evaluate the last option, an approximated expression of the first self-resonant frequency of the magnetic device is proposed. This gives a rapid assessment of the performance of different devices maintaining the overall equivalent inductance. The proposed expression accounts for the influence of the connection between turns in the bandwidth of the component. Finally, some numerical results are verified with planar coils manufactured on two-layer printed circuit boards

Limits on nu_e and anti-nu_e disappearance from Gallium and reactor experiments

The deficit observed in the Gallium radioactive source experiments is interpreted as a possible indication of the disappearance of electron neutrinos. In the effective framework of two-neutrino mixing we obtain $\sin^{2}2\vartheta \gtrsim 0.03$ and $\Delta{m}^{2} \gtrsim 0.1 \text{eV}^{2}$. The compatibility of this result with the data of the Bugey and Chooz reactor short-baseline antineutrino disappearance experiments is studied. It is found that the Bugey data present a hint of neutrino oscillations with $0.02 \lesssim \sin^{2}2\vartheta \lesssim 0.08$ and $\Delta{m}^{2} \approx 1.8 \text{eV}^{2}$, which is compatible with the Gallium allowed region of the mixing parameters. This hint persists in the combined analyses of Bugey and Chooz data, of Gallium and Bugey data, and of Gallium, Bugey, and Chooz data.Comment: 21 pages. Final version to be published in Phys. Rev.

Product development methodology "scalability"

In industrial manufacturing environments, where production requires a detailed product development, delivery times to customer are highly affected by the time required for development. Usually, product development takes long before arriving to the final solution Therefore, an improvement of the product development process can imply a very high potential in reducing the product delivery time to customer. This paper outlines a new product development methodology, based on the foundations of collaborative design and lean and agile methodologies. For that, we analyze and optimize the value stream of the product engineering process flow in a company of the sector of design, manufacturing, and commercialization of equipment in retail, through lean tools, to implement the “product scalability” concept. The case study shows a reduction of the product development lead time around 10-20%, regarding the present process, in the pilot tests conducted. Consequently, product development methodology “scalability” could have an enormous potential in reducing lead time and product development cost, in sectors with similar characteristics in terms of number of product variants and life cycles than the development of furniture and equipment for retail sector

Printed circuit board coils of multi-track litz structure for 3.3 kW inductive power transfer system

This paper presents the optimization procedure of an inductive power transmission (IPT) system which utilizes large size spiral printed circuit board (PCB) coils for high- power transfer. Printed circuit boards for coil assembly provides advantages in the manufacturing process through the use of cost- effective flexible fabrication techniques. Furthermore, this kind of construction offers a low profile device, which is of great interest for applications with space constraints. PCB-based IPT system coils can achieve high energy efficiency by applying litz-structure braiding techniques, as investigated in this work, where the objective was to obtain an optimized balance between the conduc- tion losses and proximity losses associated with the number and dimensions of the traces. Considering the geometrical dimensions and manufacturing constraints, we will proceed to obtain the characteristics of the coil to achieve optimal performance. The estimation of coil losses were in part based on finite element simulations, and the results were conveniently processed with the appropriate mathematical methods. Numerical simulation and experimental results were conducted for validation on a prototype suitable to transfer up to 3.3 kW for a transmitter- receiver distance of 10 cm. In the experimental arrangement, a maximum efficiency in the coils of 93% has been measured, and the overall efficiency of 88% has been reached for the entire IPT system

Adapting of Non-Metallic Cookware for Induction Heating Technology via Thin-Layer Non-Magnetic Conductive Coatings

We analyze the feasibility of heating non-metallic cookware, unappropriate for heating by means of induced currents, with the purpose of extending the applicability range of the current induction heating cooktops. In order to turn materials as glass, ceramic, wood or plastic into suitable for the induction heating technology, we propose the use of thin layers of a metal (not necessarily a ferromagnetic material) which can be deposited on a surface by means of a thin or thick layer technology. For this purpose, the inductive performance of these layers is investigated by means of an analytical electromagnetic model, finite element simulations and experimental measurements. Calculations point out that for a specific induction arrangement working at a fixed frequency, it exists a thickness which maximizes the induction efficiency for each layer material. The suitability of this result is tested by means of a set of samples with copper thin layers whose thicknesses range from one hundred of nanometers to tens of micrometers, which are implemented using a phase vapor deposition (PVD) technology. The obtained induction efficiency and equivalent resistance are compared with those obtained with conventional ferromagnetic materials. As a proof of concept, the inner and outer bottoms of two glass pots are covered with a copper layer of 2µm, and 1.5µm , respectively, and 1 kW is inductively supplied by means of a series resonant inverter, reaching the boiling water conditions

Printed circuit board coil design with reduced series resistance for high power inductive wireless power transmission systems

Due to the growing use of the popular wireless power transmission (WPT) technology, an innovative method of coil design and optimization is presented in this paper. This method has been applied to develop spiral printed circuit board (PCB) coils with litz-wire structure. From the geometry definition, the design process is carried out by means of finite element analysis (FEA). In addition, as a complement to the design process, some prototypes of spiral PCB coils were built to contrast the simulation results and experimental measurements by means of the small-signal characterization, which reflects the success of the applied method

A flexible cooking zone composed of partially overlapped inductors

Domestic induction cookers are evolving from fixed cooking areas to flexible surfaces in such a way that the pot can be placed at any position. This implies the use of a larger number of reduced-sized inductors, which present a lower efficiency. As a solution to increase the efficiency while maintaining the flexibility, we propose the use of partially overlapped inductors of a larger size. This concept is currently in use in wireless power transfer systems, where the transmitter arrangement consists of several overlapped coils. The aim of this paper is to evaluate this concept applied to domestic induction heating appliances, with special emphasis in analyzing the effects of introducing the multicoil system with dissipative media. Moreover, the losses in the winding will be studied in detail. The system will be prototyped and tested, delivering up to 3.7 kW

Analysis and design of tubular coils for wireless inductive power transfer systems

We evaluate copper tubes as alternative of litz wire for planar coils of inductive power transfer (IPT) systems. For this purpose, a design methodology focused on maximizing the product of the magnetic coupling and the quality factor is proposed. The methodology is based on a combination of FEA simulations and analytical calculations of the skin and proximity losses in the tube. Analytical calculations are based on solutions of Maxwell''s equations for a tubular geometry. These solutions are oriented to extract both skin and proximity losses in the tube. Performance of a prototype of 1.5 kW is evaluated and compared with a conventional litz-wire implementation

Analytical solution of the induced currents in multilayer cylindrical conductors under external electromagnetic sources

We present a closed-form solution for the induced losses in round conductors consisting of several concentric layers. The geometry under study corresponds to an infinitely-long and isolated multilayer cylinder where layers can have different electromagnetic properties and the number of layers is not restricted. The multilayer conductor is under an external time-varying magnetic field which induces currents and, accordingly, generates Joule dissipation. Total induced losses are obtained by integrating the losses of each layer. Mathematical expressions of the current distribution in each layer are derived from the solution of Maxwell''s equations. These expressions consist of a combination of Bessel functions of different kinds and orders. The current distribution in a particular layer not only depends on the properties of the layer but also on the properties of the rest of layers. Consequently, matrix formalism is adopted for describing current distribution of layers. Matrix description is numerically solved and results are compared with finite element simulations for different arrangements and cases