Analysis of variable inductor employing vegetable-based transformer oil with magnetic nanoparticles

Variable inductors using magnetorheological fluids have recently been successfully applied to power-conversion devices; however, the thermal properties of Vegetable oil-based Magnetic Nanofluids (VMNFs) have not been investigated. In this study, the temperature characteristics of a variable inductor embedded with a VMNF were analyzed by developing a multiphysics analysis method and verified experimentally. To analyze the temperature distribution efficiently, a coupled analysis of the Magnetoquasistatic (MQS) field and steady-state heat transfer field based on the finite-element method was performed. The B-H curves of the VMNF and ferrite core were obtained via magnetic property measurement experiments, and the input waveforms were measured from the current and high-frequency pulse voltages applied to the variable inductor of the DC–DC converter. To predict the temperature rise of the VMNF-gap variable inductor, the power dissipation was determined using the Steinmetz experimental equation modified by the Bertotti model in the electronic system solver and input as a heat source in the steady-state heat-transfer analysis. The temperature increase predicted by the multiphysics analysis method agreed well with the experimental data, and an increasing the concentration of magnetic nanoparticles had a cooling effect. The developed MQS–thermal field coupled analytical method and the cooling properties of VMNFs can be applied to the design of power-conversion devices operating with high-frequency power sources.