Volumetric optimal design of passive integrated power electronics module (IPEM) for distributed power system (DPS) front-end DC/DC converter

In most power electronics converters, the overall footprint and profile of the whole system are in large part determined by the footprint and profile of the passive components and the interconnections between them. Planar magnetics, integrated magnetics, and passive integration have been topics of research for the past few years to reduce the count, footprint, and profile of the passive components and, hence, increase the power density of the whole converter. This becomes especially prominent in distributed power system (DPS) front-end converters, as the trend is moving from the 2U (1U=1.75 in) standard toward the 1U standard. Chen, Strydom, and van Wyk presented an integration technology, which combines the planar magnetics, integrated magnetics, and passive integration techniques, to integrate all the high-frequency passive components in a DPS front-end dc/dc converter into a single passive integrated power electronics module (IPEM) to reduce the size and volume of the overall system. To optimally design the passive IPEM, an ac loss model and a thermal model are needed. Based on these models, the volumetric optimal design algorithm is presented. To evaluate the performance of the optimally designed passive IPEM, a passive IPEM prototype is constructed and tested. Comparisons are made between the passive IPEM and the discrete components from viewpoints of volume, profile, efficiency, and thermal management. The optimal design is verified by experimental results.