Design of High Frequency Power Transformer for

Switched Mode Power Supplies

P. Seshasai Kumar,
Power Electronics Design Engineer,
Research & Development Department,
Amararaja Power Systems Ltd,
Tirupati, A.P.-517501,
seshasaikmr@gmail.com

Abstract Application of high frequency power transformers losses. Also in some distribution transformers amorphous
has become abundant in most of the power electronic switched magnetic cores are used for high distribution efficiency.
mode power supplies. As the contextual idea behind the evolution
of power electronic switched mode powers supplies against the But, in the high frequency transformers which are used in
general linear grid power supplies is, to convert and control the power electronic switched mode supplies the core geometry of
electrical power in accordance to the load requirements in an
efficient way using power transformers, inductors, capacitors,
shell type is in common usage. The leading motive for opting
and electronic switches which ideally do not dissipate any power. shell type topology is, for high frequency applications the
This paper will noticeably convey the step by step design strategy third harmonic components will circulate with in the primary
of high frequency power transformer distinguishing, how it is without inflowing in to the secondary power circuit which is
variant from normal fundamental frequency distribution & similar to advantage brought out by the three phase delta
power transformers, its mathematical electrical circuit modeling, connection. Also as the magnetic flux divides in the outer
magnetic circuit modeling, mathematical relationship between limbs, these cores offers less magnetic core losses compared
various electrical and magnetic quantities to the geometry of the to conventional transformer. In high frequency transformers
magnetics, some customer and designer specifications while generally Ferrite Cores are used as magnetic medium. For
processing the practical design, A practical design example to
how one has to design high frequency transformer right from the
frequencies less than 5megaHertz manganese-zinc ferrites are
core selection with the idea of mathematical power capacity used above which nickel-zinc ferrites are of common
derivations and data sheets considerations, number of turns application. These ferrites offer very low coercivity, which
calculation, wire gauge calculation considering the skin effect as means the material magnetization can easily reverse the
it is high frequency operation, core loss calculations, calculation direction without dissipating much energy, which in common
of some non-idealities that comes to picture like winding termed as hysteresis loss. Also these ferrite cores are not
magnetizing inductances, energy stored in the transformer due to laminated to reduce eddy current losses as the Powder ferrite
non-idealities, peak primary magnetizing current calculations core itself offers High resistance. Only concern with ferrite
and so on. Some of the practical design tips & safety tips are also cores is its operating Maximum flux density which is limited
included in path way of the design processing.
to maximum of 0.5Tesla typically. While for conventional
Keywords Transformer core selection, turns and wire gauge
ferromagnetic core it is maximum of 2.2Tesla & 1.8Tesla for
calculation, skin effect, saturation, core loss, primary &secondary amorphous magnetic cores.
magnetizing inductances, peak magnetizing current, energy stored The electromagnetic circuitry of a transformer can be
in a transformer. categorized in to electrical circuit and magnetic circuit. The
electrical equivalent circuit of a transformer is shown in Fig.1
I. INTRODUCTION where the primary is represented with a dependent current
In most of the power electronic switch mode power supplies source, such a way that the primary current [I1] is
the high frequency power transformers plays a vital role in transformation ratio times secondary current [I2]. It is given
proving the voltage levels matching between the source and by,
the sink and providing the electrical isolation, where the N
primary and secondary grounds are variant in concern to the I1 = 2 * I 2 (1)
safety, and in some cases as per the customer specifications. N1
The conventional fundamental 50Hertz frequency distribution
& power transformer is considerably different in regards with Where, (N2/N1) is transformation ratio, N2 is number of
the application and geometry to high frequency transformer. secondary turns and N1 is number of primary turns.
The fundamental frequency transformers are basically
classified depending on the core geometry as, shell and core N
type. In transmission and distribution wing the core type V2 = 2 * V1 (2)
N1
transformer geometries are commonly used. The magnetic
core is made up of cold rolled grain oriented silicon steel
ferromagnetic material and it is laminated to limit eddy current

978-1-4673-6725-7/16/$31.00 2016 IEEE

 application be a D.C. to D.C. isolation power converter.
Therefore the output voltage waveform from the input
electronic switch will be a pulsating D.C. as shown in the
Fig.4. This gets applied to the transformer.

Fig. 1. Electrical equivalent circuit

The magnetic circuit equivalent of a transformer can be

represented as shown in Fig.2. Where the primary and
secondary circuits are coupled magnetically through a
torroidal core.

Fig. 4. D.C.pulsating waveform

A. Design tip:
While using a power transformer in a power electronic
converter circuit, care must be taken to allow the core to reset.
This means, as shown in the Fig.4 the output voltage
waveform from the electronic switch is a pulsating D.C. If this
output is directly fed to the transformer, it will lead to the core
saturation. Because for a pulsating waveform the average
value of the voltage over a full switching cycle is not zero, it
Fig. 2. Magnetic equivalent circuit
has a finite value. Since the magnetic flux is integral of the
voltage, a finite value of residual flux exists even after a
Where, V1 is the primary voltage, V2 is the secondary
complete switching cycle as shown in the Fig.5. In the next
voltage, is the magnetic permeability, AC is the core area
switching cycle the flux starts from that previous residual flux
and AW is window area. Various core geometries are available
value and slowly the flux reaches its maximum value within
like ETD cores, low profile EFD cores, pot cores and so on.
few switching cycles and the core saturates.
Of which most popular geometry is EE cores as shown in the
Fig.3, in various isometric views.

Fig. 5. Core saturation with pulsating D.C. excitation

Fig. 3. Goemetry of EE- Core

To avoid that, a symmetrical square waveform is made to
Where, AC is the effective core area which is offered appear across the primary of a transformer through some
for the main flux to link both primary and secondary. AW is auxiliary circuits or topologies, so that the average voltage
the window area through which primary and secondary turns over a switching cycle is zero which in turn makes the average
are wound. value of magnetic flux to return zero after a switching cycle.
In next switching cycle the flux starts from zero as shown in
Fig.6. Thus protecting against core saturation. Therefore volt-
II. EMF (ELECTRO MOTIVE FORCE) EQUATION FORHIGH second balance must be satisfied with the primary excitation to
FREQUENCY POWER TRANSFORMER avoid core walking in to saturation.
Most commonly, all the switched mode power supply
transformers are supplied through an electronic switch which
operates at predefined switching frequency. Let the
 d
V = N * (slope of the flux);= slope of the flux.
dt
maximum flux - minimum flux ( m )
V = N* = N* m
time Ts / 2

V = (4 * Fs * m * N )volts (3)
Where Ts=1/Fs
Equation (3) can be rewritten as
V = (4 * Fs * Bm * Ac * N ) (4)
Fig. 6. Symmetrical square wave excitation (m = Bm * Ac )
Where Bm = maximum flux density in Telsa.
B. Safety: Ac = Effective core area

Even though a symmetrical waveform is made to appear

From the equation (4) core area [AC] is a function of
across the primary of the transformer, if the sufficient turn-off
applied voltage [V] and switching frequency [FS].
time is not allowed for the core flux to return zero, this will
again leave a finite value of residual flux after a switching
cycle and slowly leads the core to walk in to saturation as III. DEDUCING RELATION FOR WINDOW AREA [AW]
shown in Fig.7. So care must be taken with the pulse width
Let, A1 is cross sectional area of primary winding, A2 is
modulation controller to provide sufficient turn-off time for
cross sectional area of secondary winding, J is Current density
the transformer magnetizing flux to return zero within a
of copper, KW is window space factor. N1 is number of
switching cycle.
primary turns, N2 is number of secondary turns, I1 is primary
current & I2 is secondary current.

Fig. 7. Core saturation with reduced turn-off time.

A typical transformer primary voltage & flux waveforms

are as shown in the Fig.8. For which the EMF (Electro Motive
Force) equation is derived.
Fig. 9. EE-Core geometry

As shown in the Fig.9. AW is the window area through the

primary and secondary turns are wound. But entire window
area is not used for the winding, a portion of it is being used
for insulation, therefore a factor KW is introduced which is
called window space factor or window utilization factor.

Volume of the conductor N1A1 +N2A2 = KW*AW

Fig. 8. Typical voltage and flux waveforms

From the faradays law of electromagnetic induction we

have,
d
V = N*
dt
V is the excitation, N is the number of turns, let TS is
total switching time & FS is total switching frequency.
 I I I I Step 2: Primary [N1] and Secondary [N2] number of
= N1 * 1 + N 2 * 2 = K w * Aw ; J = 1 = 2 turns
j j A1 A2 We know that, from [4],
= (2 * N * (I J )) = K w * Aw N1= V1/ (4*Bm*Ac* FS)
N1=48/ (4*0.2*211*10-6*50000)
(N1I1=N2I2=NI (say), from transformation ratio. From N1= 5.68 = 6(approximately)
equation [4] & [5],
V *I Note: The Core Area[AC] Value is taken from the
Ac * Aw = (6) ETD/49/25/16 Core data sheet magnetic characteristics as
2 * KW * J * Bm * Fs
shown in the below Fig.10. Where Ae = Ac (effective core
area). For worst case design, can consider Amin =AC.
Therefore area product of core area [AC] and window area
[AW] is directly proportional to power to be handled and
inversely proportional to switching frequency. Thus higher the
switching frequency less the transformer size.

IV. DESIGN EXAMPLE

Let a DC-DC converter will be taken as an example. The Fig. 10.
customer or application specifications are as below:
Input dc voltage [V1] = 48Volts, Similarly,
Output dc voltage [V2] = 400Volts, N2= V2/ (4*Bm*Ac* FS)
Output dc current [I2] = 3Amperes. N2= 400/ (4*0.2*211*10-6*50000)
Designer Specifications: N2= 47.39 = 47(approximately)
1. Maximum flux density [Bm] = 0.2Tesla.
2. Copper current density [J] = 3Amperes. Design tip: For worst case design, add the secondary diode
3. Window utilization factor [KW] = 0.35. and devices voltage drops and transformer winding voltage
4. Switching frequency [FS] = 50kiloHertz. drops, while calculating the turns.

STEP 1: Selection of core Step 3: Primary [A1] and Secondary [A2] conductor gauge
From equation[6], A relation for transformers core I I
area[AC] and window area[AW] with respect to power We know that current density J = 1 = 2 , therefore,
handling capacity is deduced, therefore, A 1 A2

V *I I1 25
Ac * Aw = A1 = = = 8.33mm 2
2 * KW * J * Bm * Fs j 3

Ac * Aw =
400 * 2
2 * 0.35 * 3 * 0.2 * 5000
I1 V1
=
I V
(
, I1 = V2
V1
) ( )
* I2 = 400 * 3 = 25A
48

2 2
Ac * Aw = 57142 mm 4 (7) Similarly,
I 3
A2 = 2 = = 1mm 2
A typical ETD cores data with area product of core area j 3
[AC] and window area [AW] is as tabulated in Table.1. Skin effect:
The current distribution through a conductor for an A.C.
Table.1 ETD Cores geometry data.
system will not be uniform throughout the conductor and the
Type Number AC mm2 AW mm2 ACAW mm4 most of the charges will accumulate towards the surface of the
conductor than the center portion, which literally know to be
ETD 29/16/10 76 128 9728
as skin effect. This skin effect will be more prominent at high
ETD 34/17/11 97 171 16587
frequencies and it is directly proportional to the switching
ETD 39/20/13 125 234 29250
frequency.
ETD 44/22/15 173 279 48267
ETD 49/25/16 211 343 72373 As a rule of thumb,
ETD 54/28/19 280 412 115360
1
ETD 59/31/22 368 473 174064 Skin Depth =
0 * * * Fs
From the Table.1 ETD 49/25/16 core best suits for the Where resistivity of copper = 59.6*106 per ohm-meter,
application from the calculated core area [AC] and window 0 = absolute permeability = 4*10-7 Henry per meter,
area [AW] product. therefore,
 1
Skin Depth = Step 6: Peak primary magnetizing current and energy stored in
7
4 *10 * * 59.6 *106 * 50000 the core

Skin depth = 0.291 mm = 0.26 mm2 = 24 standard wire gauge Peak primary magnetizing current [I1max]:
(SWG) copper wire. We know that for an inductor, voltage applied [V] = L* (di/dt)
Therefore, considering skin effect, For primary, 32 number of = L * (slope of the current), therefore considering the
24 SWG wires have to be used in parallel for A1=8.33mm2 For waveform shown in Fig.8.
secondary, 4 number of 24 SWG wires have to be used in [V1]= L1* (dI1/dT)= L1*4*I1max *FS
parallel for A2=1mm2 I1max = V1/ (L1*4*FS) = 48/0.14*10-3*4*50000 =1.71A.
This is very less than the rated primary current of 25A.
Design tip: While calculating current density, use root mean
square value of currents for the worst case conditions and also Energy stored in the core:
as this current is prime responsible for ohmic losses and Ideally transformers do not store any energy which is in
temperature raise. Also check whether the selected gauge is contradictory to an inductor. Transformer reluctance is ideally
going to accommodate in the window area [Aw] of the selected zero and the magnetizing inductance is infinity, so that with
core by condition, product of (Aw*Kw) should be greater than very less magnetizing current the flux has to build up in the
(N1*A1+N2*A2) core. But, due to the non-ideality in the core reluctances it
stores a finite energy which can be calculated as below,
Note: Energy stored in a inductor,
1. The value of [le] & [Ac] is taken from the core 1 1
magnetic characteristics as shown in the Fig.10. E = * L * I 2 = * L1 * I1max 2
2 2
2. The value of [r] that is [e] in data sheet, is taken
1
from core material characteristics for instant let the = * 0.14 *10 31.712 = 0.2mJ
core material is ungapped N97 material. The data for 2
ETD49/25/16 Core is shown below Fig.11. TEST RESULTS
LCR meter is used for measuring the primary and secondary
inductances. Set frequency in the LCR meter =1kHz. Set
voltage =1V.
Primary inductance [L1] = 0.138 mH.
Secondary inductance [L2] = 8.612 mH.
V. CONCLUSION
Fig. 11. .
This paper considerably addressed the step by step design
strategy for high frequency transformer, Root from the
Therefore, L1 = (N12)/ le/ (o*r*Ac) mathematical modeling of electrical and magnetic equivalent
L1 = (62)/ 114*10-3/ (4*10-7 *1680*211*10-6) circuits, transformer core selection, turns and wire gauge
L1= 0.14 mH calculation, skin effect considerations, data sheets
Similarly, L2 = (N22)/ le/ (o*r*Ac) considerations, core loss, winding magnetizing inductances,
L2 = (472)/ 114*10-3/ (4*10-7 *1680*211*10-6) peak magnetizing current and energy stored in a transformer
L2 = 8.63 mH calculations with intermediate design and safety tips.

Step 5: Core loss References

After selecting the core the material is selected depending [1] Colonel Wm. T. McLyman, Transformer and Inductor design
on the designer switching frequency and power loss in the Handbook, 2nd Ed., Marcel Dekker, 1988.
core. Let us consider N97 as the core material and calculate [2] G. Chryssis, High Frequency Switching Power Supplies Theory and
Design, 2nd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1989.
core losses. From Fig.11 it is clear that power dissipation per
[3] Abraham Pressman, Keith Billings, Taylor Morey,Switching Power
set for N97 material is, Supply Design, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 2009.
PV/set = 10.6watts at 200mT, 100kHz, 1000C, therefore, As [4] ETD 49/25/16- Data Sheet.
the switching frequency is 50kHz, the core loss will
approximate to be 5.3watts/set (as core losses are directly
proportional to switching frequency)