Matrix-Based Inductor Structure for MV Applications

Acrucial aspect of designing medium voltage (MV) converters is the design of the MV inductor, which demands a reliable insulation design that can achieve good performance, manufacturability, modularity, and repeatability. This article shows the design and development of a novel modular medium voltage high-frequency inductor using a matrix-based concept to achieve both the inductance requirement and high-voltage insulation. The concept uses the air gap of the inductor to achieve the required inductance and medium-voltage insulation. The design is carried out using five separate cores and the partial discharge (PD) voltage of 5 kV RMS between the individual core structures is observed experimentally, which translates to a PD voltage of 20 kV for the entire structure. Experimental results in a 20 kW, 10 kV silicon carbide (SiC) <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">mosfet</small>-based converter has been shown to demonstrate the feasibility of the inductor design in high-voltage applications. The medium-voltage matrix inductor design is aimed at providing an air insulated, modular, and easily manufacturable solution to design medium voltage magnetic structures for commercial applications.