Power Magnetics @ High Frequency- Solving the Black Magic!
Date: Saturday March 19, 2016
APEC 2016 Long Beach California

he PSMA Magnetics Committee and IEEE PELS will hold an inaugural “Power Magnetics @ High Frequency – Solving the Black Magic!” workshop for the day before APEC 2016, Saturday March 19, 2016 from 7:30 AM thru 5:00 PM, at the same venue as APEC2016.

The purpose and focus of the workshop is to

• identify the latest improvements in areas of magnetic materials, coil (winding) design, construction and fabrication,
• identify, discuss and demonstrate evaluation and characterization techniques as well as modelling and simulation tools needed to meet the technical expectations and requirements for power magnetics operating at higher frequencies
  
• identify and discuss the technical expectations and requirements of higher application frequencies and emerging topologies that are being driven by continuous advances in circuits topologies, semi-conductor devices driven by new market applications.

The target audience for the workshop are the designers of power magnetic components for use in electronic power converters who find it necessary to implement the most technologically advanced power magnetic components to achieve higher power densities, specific physical aspect ratios such as low profile, higher power efficiencies, improved thermal performance etc., as well as the supply chain for the power magnetics industry ranging from manufacturers of magnetic materials and magnetic structures, fabricators of magnetic components, providers of modelling and simulation software as well as manufacturers of test and characterization equipment.

The agenda of the workshop is designed so that there will be keynote presentations by three invited speakers (Dr. Charles Sullivan (Dartmouth), Dr. David Perreault (MIT), and Dr. Ray Ridley (Ridley Engineering) followed by a question and answer forum addressing the latest trends in

• conductor geometries and magnetic core geometries for reducing physical size while minimizing ac power losses
• characterization and comparison of magnetic materials
• design and fabrication (manufacturing) techniques
• design techniques, simulation tools and modelling
• power conversion topologies and applications driving the reduce the physical size while improving the efficiency of power magnetics technologies

The keynote presentations will be followed by an interactive session of round robin sequencing of table top displays each demonstrating specific technical disciplines and capabilities consistent with the workshop agenda. The table top displays will be a combination of e-poster type displays, modelling and simulation demonstrations and measurements of actual magnetic components. Interaction between the attendees and the presenters is highly recommended during this portion of agenda as a segue from the opening keynote presentation and the following structured problem solving session. The interactive round robin session will coincide with a buffet lunch.

The technical disciplines that will be demonstrated displayed during the round robin technical capabilities session are as follows:

• Ac power loss measurements
• Core loss modelling and simulation
• Inductor modelling
• Near magnetic field estimation and measurements
• Thermal measurements
• Impedance measurements

Ranjith Bramanpalli (Wurth Elektronik), Len Crane (Coilcraft), Cedric Cauldron (EMSCAN) and Rodney Rodgers (Vacuumschmelze) are among the list of presenters for this session.

There are still some slots available for presenters during this session. If anyone would like to participate as a presenter during the round robin display of technical capabilities please contact Matt Wilkowski at mwilkows@altera.com with a description of your proposed technical capabilities topic.

The third session of the workshop will be a structured problem solving sessions. There will be three (3) structured problems with each problem having its own set of electrical, physical and thermal design requirements specific to its target application, The facilitator for each structure problem will provide a typical traditional design solution and then interact with the attendees to identify alternative approaches based on leading edge technologies and materials to improve some aspect of the original design requirements whether it be efficiency, physical size, thermal performance, etc.,

The structured problems and corresponding facilitators will address

• trade-offs between design approaches using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and analytical solutions, - Jenna Pollack (Tesla)
• magnetic design issues for resonant converter topologies operating in the low MHz range for power range in low kilo-watts initially targeted for automotive applications. – Dr Khurram Afridi (University of Colorado)
• matrix transformer design for 5 kW applications and potential building blocks for higher power solid state transformers intended for energy router applications - James Lau (CWS)

The fourth and final session will be a wrap-up session. The session will be used to identify items of interest to be addressed by a roadmap for the magnetics industry covering de-facto industry practices and standards and emerging trends as well as both short term goals covering incremental improvements and longer term evolutions that are on the horizon. A white board will be made available during the session to allow participants to record some ideas that come about during their informal discussions with their colleagues before they leave the meeting.

The registration fee for the workshop is $250 per participant reducing to $150 for PSMA members and IEEE PELS members. Breakfast and lunch buffet will be provided as part of the workshop. Electronic copies of the keynote presentations and the structured problem session will be made available to the workshop participants.

The agenda for the workshop as well as registration for the workshop is available on the PSMA website: http://www.psma.com/technical-forums/magnetics/workshop ).

Provided by the Organizing Committee:
Steve Carlsen, Raytheon
Ed Herbert, Independent Inventor
Rodney Rogers, Vacuumschmelze
Matt Wilkowski, Altera

If you or anyone in your company is interested in getting on the distribution list for future issues of PSMA UPDATE, please send e-mail to: power@psma.com. Be sure to include your name and the name of your company.