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    High-Frequency Magnetics

    D11.8 - FEM-Driven High-Frequency Transformer Design, Fabrication and Loss Characterization

    Thursday, March 26, 2026
    12:00 PM - 1:45 PM CT
    Location: Poster 11
    Dual Active Bridge (DAB) converters are becoming more and more popular considering their inherent advantages and advancing control algorithms that enable them to be versatile across numerous applications. High Frequency Transformer (HFT) at the heart of a DAB require careful design to guarantee efficient DAB operation. This paper presents a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) based design, and characterization (parameters and losses) of the fabricated HFT based on the FEA design. A comprehensive methodology is proposed, covering optimal FEM and loss-based HFT design, fabrication, impedance and inductance measurement, and the evaluation of core and copper losses. A prototype 15 kW, HFT was designed using Nanocrystalline core material and Litz wire winding for a frequency range of 30kHz to 50kHz. The preliminary results demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology for both loss and thermal characterization, with detailed demonstrations and full-power validation to be reported in the final paper. The results presented provides unique insight into how the actual parameters and losses correlate with FEA results, as well as a case study for others to follow from a practical perspective.