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Differential Evolution Algorithm-based Identification of Ferrite Core

Inductors Saturation Curves

Conference Paper · July 2015

DOI: 10.1109/INDIN.2015.7281979

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 Differential Evolution Algorithm-based Identification of
Ferrite Core Inductors Saturation Curves
Giulia Di Capua, Nicola Femia, Kateryna Stoyka
Department of Information Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics (DIEM),
University of Salerno, Fisciano (SA), 84084 ITALY
e-mail:{gdicapua@unisa.it, femia@unisa.it, stojkatya@yandex.ua}

Abstract - Identification of saturation curves of Ferrite Core
Inductors (FCIs) based on Differential Evolution Algorithms
Processing of Experimental Measurements (DE-EMP) is
discussed in this paper. It is shown that the DE-EMP approach
provides more realistic data for the prediction of the peak-to-
peak ripple current of FCIs compared with the information
provided by manufacturers. An experimental validation of the
proposed method is presented in the paper, relevant to a step-
down dc-dc power converter application.
Keywords - Differential Evolution; Ferrite Core Inductors;
Saturation Curves.
I. INTRODUCTION
Ferrite Cores Inductors (FCIs) saturation is a core issue in
High Power Density Switch-Mode Power Supplies (HPD-
SMPS) design [1]-[5]. Typically, SMPS designers select FCIs
big enough to prevent their saturation, as it is deemed to cause
overall losses increase and reliability de-rating. This
conservative approach is dictated by the lack of reliable FCI
non linear models and of methods to solve them at SMPS
circuit level. Nevertheless, an appropriate selection of FCIs
working in moderate saturation allows to increase the power
density of HPD-SMPSs, keeping losses and temperature
within acceptable limits [4][5]. In particular, in [5] it is shown
how to predict the magnitude of the current ripple for FCIs
inductors accounting for the saturation. A numerical method is
illustrated in [5] that allows a realistic detection of minimum
size FCIs ensuring sustainable loss and temperature levels in
HPD-SMPSs. Inductors manufacturers provide saturation
curves for their magnetic parts [6]-[8], that can be used in
principle with the method [5]. However, experimental
Saturation curves provided by manufacturers are typically
measured under fixed frequency small-signal sinusoidal
voltage, whereas SMPSs impose FCIs large magnitude square-
wave voltages. This makes the manufacturers data not
sufficiently reliable for a realistic determination of the peak-
to-peak FCI ripple current and losses. Therefore, for reliable
HPD-SMPSs design, the FCIs saturation curves must be
identified from experimental measurements on inductors
working in real SMPS conditions.
Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs), like Genetic Algorithms
(GAs) and Differential Evolutions (DEs), have been widely
used for parameters identification and model parameters
extraction for power electronics devices, especially for
inductors, transformers, batteries and capacitors. GAs have
been applied to RF inductors modeling, to obtain parameters
of a π-based model of RF on-chip inductors [9], or to planar
inductors modeling, in order to minimize the total error
between simulated and measured parameters at given
frequency range [10]. Immune Algorithm and μ-GA have also
been adopted for topology optimization of inductor shapes
[11]. Combined NN and GA approaches have also been
proposed in literature, for modeling and optimizing multilayer
passives [12], or for diagnosing power transformer fault [13].
In [14] the geometric programming has been applied to the
transformer design optimization problem, to minimize the
total mass (or cost) of the core and wire material, while
ensuring proper transformer ratings and design constraints,
like efficiency, voltage regulation, temperature rise and
winding fill factor. In [15] magnetic permeability vs frequency
curve has been used as input of a GA to minimize the
displacement between such measured and simulated curve. DE
method has been used in [16] to extract the parameters of the
Jiles-Atherton model for ferrites [17]. In [18] the DE is the
reference technique for a new parameter extraction method of
photovoltaic cell. In particular, it has been shown that such
method requires few control parameters and converges
rapidly. It has been proved that DEs ensure better and faster
fitting than GAs [18].
In this paper a method for FCIs saturation curves identification
based on Differential Evolution Experimental Measurements
Processing (DE-EMP) is discussed. In particular, the DE-EMP
approach uses experimental voltage, current and temperature
measurements as input data and applies the numerical method
[5] for the non linear analysis of the FCIs. The fundamentals
of the FCIs saturation modeling are summarized in Section II.
The DE-EMP approach is described in Section III. Finally, the
examples of DE-EMP application to commercial FCIs, and the
results of experimental validation relevant to a step-down dc-
dc SMPS are presented in Section IV.
II. BEHAVIORAL MODELING OF FCIS SATURATION
Power FCIs are among the most important devices in
modern HPD-SMPSs, due to their impact on power losses and
size. FCIs are non linear devices. Indeed, the FCIs inductance
decreases while the intensity of the current passing through it
increases, as shown in Fig.1(a). Three main regions for FCIs
operation can be roughly identified: weak saturation region,
wherein the inductance is moderately de-rated with respect to
the nominal inductance value L0; roll-off region, wherein the

978-1-4799-6648-6/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE 1636

magnitude of dL/dI rate is the highest; deep saturation region,
wherein the inductance is much derated with respect to L0 and
approaches the asymptotic inductance Linf. Fig. 1(b) and Fig.
1(c) show the different wave-shapes of FCIs voltage and
current operating in weak saturation region and in roll-off
region, respectively, relevant to a SMPS application. The core
problems of FCIs saturation modeling are that: (i) the shape of
the saturation curve shown in Fig.1(a) is influenced by the
waveforms and frequency of voltage and current and by the
temperature; (ii) the parameters of physical models [17] are
not available for commercial FCIs. Therefore, the only way to
predict a realistic behavior of commercial FCIs in HPD-SMPS
applications involving FCIs moderate saturation is to develop
application-dependent behavioral models. An example is
equation (1), where the inductance vs current characteristic is
modeled by means of an inverse tangent function:
L0 − Linf ⎧ 2
L ( iL ) = Linf + ⎨1 − tan ⎡⎣σ ( iL − I L ) ⎤⎦ ⎬
−1 *
2 ⎩ π
In (1) σ is a smoothness factor representing the rate of the
inductance roll-off while the current increases, and IL* is the
current value such that L(IL*) =0.5(L0+Linf). A typical FCI
current wave-shape relevant to a SMPS application is shown
in Fig. 2. The green trace represents the FCI current
waveform. Given the correct values of parameters L0, Linf, σ
and IL* characterizing equation (1), the numerical method
discussed in [5] allows to solve the non linear equations of the
inductor described by (1), given the voltage applied to the
inductor in the charge and discharge intervals of the specific
SMPS under study. The method [5] provides the peak and
valley samples Ipk and Ivl and three intermediate samples
within each of the two switching intervals.
Fig. 2. Steady-state FCI current in SMPS applications: red dots=instant
current values reconstructed with the method discussed in [5].
The analysis method proposed in [5] is embedded in the DE-
EMP for the identification of parameters L0, Linf, σ and IL*, as
discussed in next Section.
III. DE-EMP-BASED SATURATION CURVES IDENTIFICATION
⎫
(1)
⎭ The problem of saturation curves identification has been
formulated as an optimization problem. A DE has been
developed to solve such problem. The goal is to identify the
parameters of (1) at different temperatures, so as to obtain a
good fitting between the measured inductor current wave-
shapes and the simulated current wave-shapes as reconstructed
by using the algorithm discussed in [5], as shown in Fig. 3. As
an application case study, we refer to a buck converter with
Vout=3.3V, operating at switching frequency fs=465kHz and
with input and output conditions listed in Table I. The
parameters adopted for the saturation curve identification are
shown in Fig. 4, where two saturation curves are considered at
different temperature (T=25°C and T=50°C, in this example).
Each Lx,y represents the resulting inductance at temperature y,
with x% amount of inductance drop with respect to the
nominal inductance L0. Therefore, L0,25 and L0,50 represent the
inductance in weaksaturation region at T=25°C and T=50°C,
respectively, and Linf,25 and Linf,50 are the inductance values in
deep saturation region at T=25°C and T=50°C, respectively.

(a)

Fig. 3. Parameters identification.

Table I. Input and output conditions for the proposed case studies.
(b) (c) Case Studies #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
Fig. 1. Inductance vs current curve of a FCI: (a) saturation curve; (b) FCI Vin [V] 6 6 6 12 12 12
voltage and current wave-shapes in weak saturation region; (c) FCI Iout [A] 1.5 1.8 2.1 1.5 1.8 2.1
voltage and current wave-shapes in roll-off region.

1637

Fig. 4. Samples of L vs I curves adopted for parameters identification.
Similarly, Isatx,y represents the current value corresponding to
the x% drop of inductance with respect to the nominal value
L0,y, at given temperature y. In [5] the correlation between the
parameters Isat30 and Isat70 and the parameters σ and IL* is
provided. The chromosome adopted in the DE is composed by
the following parameters: {L0,25, Linf,25, L0,50, Linf,50, Isat30,25,
Isat70,25, Isat30,50, Isat70,50}. The fitness function F to be
minimized by the DE is represented in (2):
⎡⎛ I 2
⎞ ⎛ IVexp ,i − IVsim ,i
PKexp ,i − I PKsim ,i
6
F = ∑ ⎢⎜ ⎟⎟ + ⎜⎜
⎜
i =1 ⎢ ⎝ I PKexp ,i IVexp ,i
⎣ ⎠ ⎝
It is the sum of the normalized current errors, for the case
studies of Table I, between the experimental measured
samples IPKexp,i, IVLexp,i and the corresponding samples IPKsim,i,
IVLsim,i provided by the method [5] based on the current values
of parameters L0, Linf, σ and IL*, for each current wave-shape.
The flowchart for the fitness evaluation of each individual
(chromosome) is shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5. Flowchart for fitness evaluation.
For this study a classical DE/rand/1/bin strategy has been
adopted [19].The following parameters have been adopted for
the DE: {Population=30; Generations=100; SF=0.85; Cr=1},
where SF is the scale factor for the DE mutation operator and
Cr is the crossover probability for the DE crossover operator.
Thus, the DE processes the experimental measurements and
drives the chromosomes change untill the current waveform
reconstructed by the method discussed in [5] optimally fits the
experimental current waveform based on the fitness (2).
IV. EXAMPLES
Experimental validation of the DE-EMP method discussed in
previous section has been realized using the Texas Instruments
TPS54160EVM-230 buck converter evaluation board [20],
shown in Fig. 6, whose specifications are: Vin=6–36V,
Vout=3.3V@Iout=1.5A, fs=465kHz. Inductor current, voltage
and temperature measurements have been performed in the six
different conditions of input voltage and output current listed
in Table I. In particular, two Coilcraft inductors have been
used for the experimental tests: the MSS7341-153ML and the
MSS7341-183ML, whose main characteristics are given in
Table II. The two inductors have been connected to the board
⎞
2
⎤
through a pair of wires allowing the connection of a current
⎟⎟ ⎥ (2) probe, as shown in Fig. 6. The instrumentation used for the
⎥
⎠ ⎦ experimental measurements include a LeCroy WaveRunner
44Xi Oscilloscope with LeCroy PP008 passive probes, a
Tektronix TCP 305 current probe with amplifier, a H&H ZS
1880 Electronic Load and a linear DC Power Supply.
Temperature measurements have been carried out using a
Fluke 54 II B dual input digital thermometer (accuracy 0.05%
+ 0.3°C), with a type K thermocouple.
Five DE-EMP runs, each one starting from a random initial
population, have been run in order to verify the repeatability
of the algorithm and identify the optimal solution.
Table II. MSS7341 inductors: main characteristics.
L DCR Isat [A] Irms [A]
Inductor [μH] [mΩ] 10% 30% @ 40°C
MSS7341-153 15 47 1.36 1.78 3.00
MSS7341-183 18 65 1.20 1.62 2.65
Fig. 6. Evaluation board adopted for the experimental tests.
1638
The resulting operating temperatures for the two tested
inductors are listed in Table III, for all the six case studies
under investigation. The simulation results for the MSS7341-
153ML inductor are shown in Fig. 7 for all the five DE-EMP
runs. The results are quite repeatable, and good fitness values
are achieved during all runs. Repeatability of DE-EMP results
has been observed even in other tests, whose results are not
reported in this paper. The optimal solution with the minimum
fitness, i.e. F=0.0119, has been obtained during the first run. Case Study #1: Vin = 6V, Iout = 1.5A
The corresponding DE-EMP chromosome, representing the
optimal parameters of the saturation curves at 25°C and 50°C
for the MSS7341-153ML part, is given in Table IV. Fig.8
shows that the MSS7341-153ML saturation curves with
parameters identified by the DE-EMP ("sim" subscript)
provide lower inductance than the experimental original
curves provided by the manufacturer ("datasheet" subscript).
Fig. 9 shows the ripple current measurements and the ripple
simulation results obtained by using the method [5] with the Case Study #2: Vin = 6V, Iout = 1.8A
DE-EMP saturation curve, for all the case studies of Table I.

Table III. Operating temperature for given case studies.

Case Studies #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
MSS7341-153ML: T [°C] 28 30 32 29 31 33
MSS7341-183ML: T [°C] 28 30 32 29 31 34

Table IV. DE-EMP optimal solution for MSS7341-153ML.

L0,25 Linf,25 L0,50 Linf,50 Isat30,25 Isat70,25 Isat30,50 Isat70,50 Case Study #3: Vin = 6V, Iout = 2.1A
[μH] [μH] [μH] [μH] [A] [A] [A] [A]
15.1 0.8 15.2 0.9 1.82 2.36 1.67 2.19

Case Study #4: Vin = 12V, Iout = 1.5A

Fig. 7. L vs I curves parameters and fitness vs runs of DE-EMP for the

MSS7341-153ML (inductances given in [μH], currents given in [A]).

Case Study #5: Vin = 12V, Iout = 1.8A

Case Study #6: Vin = 12V, Iout = 2.1A

Fig. 9. Simulated (red dashed lines with red dots) and measured (green
Fig. 8. DE-EMP vs datasheet saturation curves for MSS7341-153ML. wave-shapes) inductor current ripple for MSS7341-153ML.

1639
The waveforms provided in Fig. 9 highlight an excellent
agreement between experimental and simulated ripple
waveforms. Similarly, the DE-EMP identification results for
MSS7341-183ML inductor are shown in Fig. 10 for five runs.
Again, the DE-EMP results are quite repetitive, and good
fitness values are achieved in all runs. The optimal solution
with the minimum fitness F=0.0263 has been obtained during
the fifth run. The corresponding DE-EMP chromosome,
representing the optimal parameters of the saturation curves at Case Study #1: Vin = 6V, Iout = 1.5A
25°C and 50°C for the MSS7341-183ML part, is reported in
Table V. Like for the MSS7341-153ML, also for MSS7341-
183ML saturation curves with parameters identified by the
DE-EMP provide lower inductance than the experimental
original curves provided by the manufacturer, as shown in
Fig.11. In this case the DE-EMP values are much lower
especially in the roll-off region. For all the case studies given
in Table I, Fig. 12 shows the ripple current measurements for
the MSS7341-183ML, as well as the ripple simulation results Case Study #2: Vin = 6V, Iout = 1.8A
obtained by using the method proposed in [5] with the DE-
EMP saturation curves. Also in this case, the plots highlight an
excellent agreement between experimental and simulated
ripple waveforms.

Table V. DE-EMP optimal solution for MSS7341-183ML.

L0,25 Linf,25 L0,50 Linf,50 Isat30,25 Isat70,25 Isat30,50 Isat70,50
[μH] [μH] [μH] [μH] [A] [A] [A] [A]
15.0 0.68 15.2 1.0 1.89 2.19 1.62 1.88
Case Study #3: Vin = 6V, Iout = 2.1A

Case Study #4: Vin = 12V, Iout = 1.5A

Fig. 10. L vs I curves parameters and Fitness vs Runs of DE-EMP for the
MSS7341-183ML (inductances given in [μH], currents given in [A]).

Case Study #5: Vin = 12V, Iout = 1.8A

Case Study #6: Vin = 12V, Iout = 2.1A

Fig. 12. Simulated (red dashed lines with red dots) and measured (green
Fig. 11. DE-EMP vs datasheet saturation curves for MSS7341-183ML. wave-shapes) inductor current ripple for MSS7341-183ML.

1640
 Eventually, Fig. 13 shows the experimental current ripple and
the current ripple simulated with method [5] by using the
manufacturer's saturation curves, for case study #6 of Table I.
In particular, Fig. 13(b) show that the MSS7341-183ML ripple
predicted using the saturation curves measured in small-signal
sinusoidal voltage conditions looks much smaller than the real
one. As a consequence, an unreliable prediction of the overall
losses and an unreliable inductor selection can occur in the
SMPS application under study. Conversely, as shown in Fig.s
9 and 12, the DE-EMP method yields much more realistic
data.
(a) MSS7341-153ML (b) MSS7341-183ML
Fig. 13. Simulated (red dashed lines with red dots) obtained with
manufacturer's saturation curves vs measured inductor current ripple
(green wave-shapes).
CONCLUSIONS
The results presented in this paper show that realistic
saturation curves of ferrite core inductors can be identified
experimentally, by means of a combination of a differential
evolution algorithm and numerical methods to analyze non-
linear inductors in Switch-Mode Power Supplies (SMPSs)
operating conditions. This identification is necessary in order
to exploit the possibility of increasing SMPSs power density
by reducing the size of inductors and allowing them to work
with a moderate saturation. The discussed experimental tests
show that the realistic equivalent inductance of ferrite core
inductors in large signal square-wave real operating conditions
can be identified by means of the proposed Differential
Evolution Experimental Measurements Processing (DE-EMP)
method, and may deviate quite a lot from the values provided
by saturation curves obtained in small-signal sinusoidal
voltage test conditions.
ACKNOLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Coilcraft, Inc. for its support and collaboration in
the experimental validation of the method discussed in this paper.
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