Silva Thotabaddadurage SKularatna NSteyn-Ross DA2023-01-222023-01-222023Silva Thotabaddadurage S, Kularatna N, Steyn-Ross DA Magnetic Design Aspects of Coupled-Inductor Topologies for Transient Suppression. Electronics. 12(1). 246-246.2079-9292https://hdl.handle.net/10092/105042<jats:p>Based on the discovery of the surge absorption capability of supercapacitors, a transient protector named supercapacitor-assisted surge absorber (SCASA) was designed and implemented in a commercial device. Despite its simplicity, the circuit topology consisted of a coupled inductor wound around a specially selected magnetic core. This paper elucidates the design aspects of SCASA coupled-inductor topologies with a special focus on the magnetic action of core windings during transient propagation. The non-ideal operation of the SCASA transformer was studied based on a semi-empirical approach with predictions made by using magnetizing and leakage permeances. The toroidal flux distribution through the transformer was also determined for a 6 kV/3 kA combinational surge, and these findings were validated by using a lightning surge simulator. In predicting the possible effects of magnetic saturation, the hysteresis properties of different powdered-iron and ferrite core types were considered to select the optimal design for surge absorption. The test results presented in this research revealed that X-Flux powdered-iron toroid and air-gapped EER ferrite yielded exceptional performance with ∼10% and ∼20% lower load–voltage clamping compared to that of the existing Kool μu design. These prototypes further demonstrated a remarkable surge endurance, withstanding over 250 consecutive transients. This paper also covers details of three-winding design optimizations of SCASA and LTSpice simulations under the IEC 61000/IEEE C62.45 standard transient conditions.</jats:p>enAll rights reserved unless otherwise statedsupercapacitorstransient absorptionmagnetic permeancecoupled inductortransformer modelingLTSpice simulationsferritespowdered ironJournal Article2023-01-13Fields of Research::40 - Engineering::4008 - Electrical engineering::400807 - Engineering electromagneticsFields of Research::40 - Engineering::4008 - Electrical engineering::400802 - Electrical circuits and systemshttp://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12010246