CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 7, NO.

4, DECEMBER 2022 359

A Review of Magnetic Core Materials, Core Loss

Modeling and Measurements in High-Power
High-Frequency Transformers
Zenong LI, Weijian HAN, Zhen XIN, Qing LIU, Jianliang CHEN, and Poh Chiang LOH

Abstract—High-frequency transformers (HFTs) are the in- AC catenary Line frequency

transformer (LFT) Converter
dispensable component in isolated high-power dc-dc converters
which have been the basic building blocks for solid-state trans- Line
AC
Line
formers. To ensure high efficiency, high power density and high frequency frequency M
reliability, careful selection, design, modeling and evaluation are AC

necessary for the magnetic core of an HFT. However, due to the

nonlinear characteristics and the complex physical mechanism, (a)
AC catenary
magnetic cores have always been regarded as the focus and diffi- Front end
converter
High frequency Output
transformer (HFT) converter
culty. This paper systematically reviews magnetic core materials
commonly used in HFTs, core loss modeling methods based on Line
AC
High High
AC

classical Steinmetz equation (SE), and advanced core loss mea- frequency frequency frequency M
AC AC
surement techniques. Pros and cons for the magnetic materials,
modeling and measurement methods are comprehensively ana-
(b)
lyzed and summarized to provide a sufficient application insight.

Index Terms—Core loss measurement, core loss modeling, high-fre- Fig. 1. Schematic of railway traction system. (a) Traction system based on
quency transformers, soft magnetic materials. LFTs. (b) Traction system based on HFTs [1].

10000
50 Hz P = 1 MW
I. Introduction

S
1000
OLID-STATE transformers (SSTs, also known as power Arkansas
NC state
Volume (li ter )

electronic transformers or smart transformers) have be-

come one of the research hotspots in power electronics technol- 100 1/100 Times ETH
Smaller
ogy. At present, SSTs have been applied in renewable energies, ABB
high-density railway traction systems and smart grids. 10
Wisconsin Delft
The conventional line frequency transformers (LFTs) have a 50 kHz
relatively large size and weight, limiting the scope of 1
10 100 1000 10000 100000
application, especially in weight-sensitive areas. Fig. 1 (a) Frequency (Hz)
shows the conventional traction system based on LFTs. The
catenary voltage is stepped down to a lower level by the LFTs Fig. 2. Volume reached by different transformer designs with different
before feeding to power electronic converters. Since the LFTs operating frequencies [2].
is operated under the line frequency, it is heavy and bulky.
According to the survey, for a 15 kV/16.7 Hz system, LFTs magnetic components, high-power high-frequency converters
are about 15% of the weight of the entire locomotive [1]. With become feasible. Fig. 1(b) shows the traction system based
the rapid development of wide-bandgap semiconductors and on SSTs. The catenary voltage is converted into a high-
frequency voltage by the front-end converter. Then, the voltage
Manuscript received October 24, 2021; revised Feburary 8, 2022; accepted March is transferred to the secondary after changing its amplitude
30, 2022. Date of publication December 30, 2022; date of current version December through HFTs. Finally, the secondary output voltage is shaped
10, 2022. This work is supported by the State Key Laboratory of Reliability and into the voltage required for the load through the behind-
Intelligence of Electrical Equipment under Grant EERI_OY2020003, Hebei
University of Technology. (Corresponding author: Weijian Han.) end converter. Because of the increase in frequency, the size
Z. Li, W. Han, Z. Xin, Q. Liu, and J. Chen are with Hebei University of Tec- and weight of SST are usually much smaller than LFTs. The
hnology, Tianjin, China (e-mail: 201921401087@stu.hebut.edu.cn; weijian.han@ Kolar team made predictions on the relationship between
hebut.edu.cn; xzh@hebut.edu.cn; qing.liu@hebut.edu.cn; chenjl@hebut.edu.cn).
size and frequency, as shown in Fig. 2 [2]. It can be seen that,
P. C. Loh is with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
(e-mail: pcloh@cuhk.edu.hk). under the same power, the size of 50 kHz is approximately
Digital Object Identifier 10.24295/CPSSTPEA.2022.00033 one-hundredth of the size of 50 Hz. In addition, SSTs have
360 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 7, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2022

TABLE I
The Magnetic Parameters of Commonly Used SMMs [6]

Composition (wt% Saturation

Max. relative Coercivity Curie temperature Electrical resistivity
SMMs cryst. alloys, at% magnetic flux
permeability μmax Hc / (A·m1) Tc / °C ρ / Ωm
amorohous alloys) density Bs /T
NO Fe-Si Fe96-99Si 14 3 × 103–10 × 103 30–80 1.96–2.12 735–765 50 × 108
GO Fe-Si Fe97-Si3 15 × 103–80 × 103 4–15 2.02 750 45 × 108
(Mn,Zn)O·Fe2O3 103–104 5–20 0.4–0.55 130–280
Soft ferrites 102 – 105
(Ni,Zn)O·Fe2O3 102–103 20–200 0.2–0.35 110–400
Fe-based amorphous Fe78B13Si9 105 2–5 1.56 415 120 × 108–140 × 108
Co-based amorphous Co67Fe4B14.5Si14.5 5 × 105 0.5–1 0.62 320 120 × 108–140 × 108
Nanocrystalline alloys Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9 5 × 105 0.5–1 1.24 600 118 × 108
(FINEMET)
Nanocrystalline alloys Fe86Cu1Zr7B6 5 × 104 3 1.52 600 118 × 108
(NANOPERM)

the advantages of reactive power compensation, power flow
control, voltage sag compensation, fault current limitation, etc.
In SST, the dc-dc converter that plays the role of voltage
change and isolation is the core topological, and they are usually
composed of dual active bridges (DAB) or series resonant
converters (SRC). The efficiency and power density of a dc-
dc converter greatly depends on the HFTs. Compared with
LFTs, the design of HFTs requires additional consideration of
material selection, eddy current loss, leakage inductance, stray
capacitance and thermal management, etc. Among them, due
to the nonlinearity and the complex physical mechanism, the
problems related to the magnetic core have been regarded as the
focus and difficulty of HFTs.
In LFTs, Fe-Si alloys are commonly used core materials.
However, as the frequency increases, the eddy current loss in
the core becomes prominent, which limits further improvement
of power density. Compared with Fe-Si alloys, soft ferrites,
amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys have the advantages
of low core loss, and are generally used as core materials for
medium- and high-frequency applications. In fact, an excellent
core material should have the advantages of low core loss,
high saturation flux density, and high continuous operating
temperature, etc. Therefore, in order to make an appropriate
choice, it is necessary to understand the properties of various
materials. In this paper, Section II introduces in detail the
magnetic parameters, properties, and applications of Fe-Si
alloys, soft ferrites, amorphous/nanocrystalline alloys for
readers to refer to.
Generally, engineers prefer to use the classic SE to calculate
the core loss. Unfortunately, the SE is only valid under
sinusoidal excitation, and the voltage waveform on the HFTs
is rectangular or composed of rectangles. In this case, if SE is
still used to calculate the core loss, it will cause a large error.
In order to obtain an accurate calculation result, researchers
have proposed many improved methods based on SE, such
as MSE, GSE, iGSE, WcSE, ISE, etc. In this article, Section
III points out the defects of using SE to calculate core loss
under typical nonsinusoidal waveform, reviews various loss
modeling methods based on SE, compares the accuracy of
these methods, and finally systematically classifies them.
Advanced measurement technology is the key to verifying
the core loss model. The calorimeter methods and the two-
winding method are the most commonly used. However,
the heat leakage through the chamber wall will reduce the
measurement accuracy of the calorimeter methods, while the
high-frequency excitation or high-quality factor core will make
the two-winding method very sensitive to phase discrepancy.
In recent years, researchers have made many improvements to
the above-mentioned shortcomings. Section IV reviews four
types of core loss measurement techniques. Pros and cons of
various techniques are discussed and compared.
II. Magnetic Core Materials in High-Power
High-Frequency Transformers
The performance of magnetic cores depends largely on the
properties of materials. Basically, the desired characteristics for
an HFT core material includes [3]-[9]:
1) High saturation flux density Bs;
2) High Curie temperature Tc;
3) Low magnetostriction λ;
4) High permeability μ;
5) Low coercivity Hc;
6) High resistivity ρ;
7) Low loss Ploss;
8) Low cost.
The magnetic core in HFT is made of soft magnetic
materials (SMMs). SMMs can be further divided into four
categories: traditional ferromagnetic alloys, soft ferrites,
amorphous/nanocrystalline alloys and soft magnetic composite
materials (SMCs). Generally, SMCs are seldom applied in
HFTs due to higher core loss and lower relative permeability
[3]. In the following, properties, comparison and applications
of the first three materials – traditional ferromagnetic alloys,
soft ferrites, amorphous/nanocrystalline alloys – are discussed.
A. Traditional Ferromagnetic Alloys
Traditional ferromagnetic alloys are earliest SMMs and
still occupy a large market share in SMMs [4]. The traditional
ferromagnetic alloys mainly include iron-silicon alloys, iron-
nickel alloys and iron-cobalt alloys, etc. By adding silicon
into iron, iron-silicon alloys show higher resistivity and lower
magnetostriction, at the expense of lower saturation flux density
and Curie temperature and increased brittleness. Generally, the
content of Si element in Fe-Si alloys does not exceed 6.5% [5].
Table I shows the magnetic parameters of various SMMs [6].
Z. LI et al.: A REVIEW OF MAGNETIC CORE MATERIALS, CORE LOSS MODELING AND MEASUREMENTS 361

It can be seen that Fe-Si alloys have a higher saturation flux 1000
density and Curie temperature than other SMMs. However, Fe-Co-V
the resistivity is very small, so the application frequency of Fe- Grain orientation
Si alloys usually does not exceed 1 kHz. Iron-nickel alloys are 800 Fe-Si
characterized by low coercivity, high saturation flux density, high Fe-Si 6.5%
Fe

Curie temperature (°C)

permeability and high Curie temperature, and are considered as
Non-orientation
the ideal magnetic material for relays and magnetic shields [10]. Fe-Si
600 Sendust
Iron-cobalt alloys possess high saturation flux density and Curie
temperature, but high cost, and hence is usually used in special Nanocrystalline
transformers [7]. Permalloy
400
Fe-based amorphous
B. Soft Ferrites Co-based amorphous

Soft ferrites are the most commonly applied magnetic material 200 Ni-Zn soft ferrites
in power electronics. Soft ferrites are made up of iron oxide
(common is Fe2O3), mixed with other metals such as Mn, Zn, Ni, Mn-Zn soft ferrites
Co or Cu, etc. The two most commonly used soft ferrites are Mn-
Material
Zn and Ni-Zn. The attractive feature of soft ferrites is the ultra-
high resistivity (see Table I), which significantly reduces eddy
Fig. 3. Compare the Curie temperature of various SMMs [6].
current loss in high-frequency. For example, under the sinusoidal
excitation of Bm = 0.1 T, f = 100 kHz, the loss of EPCOS’s soft
Ferromagnetic alloys f = 1 kHz
ferrite N87 at T = 100 °C is 50 kW/m³, while the loss of ultra-thin Nanocrystalline
5
silicon steel 10JNHF600 from JFE Steel Corporation of Japan 5×10 Amorphous
exceeds 1500 kW/m³. Usually, the typical resistivity range of Soft ferrites
Mn-Zn soft ferrites is 0.1 to 20 Ωm, which makes it applicable 2×105 FINEMET
to hundreds of kHz to several MHz range. The typical resistivity
NANOPERM
range of Ni-Zn soft ferrites is 103 to 107 Ωm, which makes it a 1×105 Co-based
good candidate for applications above 1 MHz [8].
Relat ive per meabi li ty μr

However, soft ferrites have some disadvantages. Firstly, the 5×104 Fe-Ni
Alloys
saturation flux density is the lowest in SMMs (usually 0.2-0.5 T).
(Fe,Ni)-
Secondly, soft ferrites have low Curie temperature, which is 2×104 based
HITPERM

lowest among SMMs, as indicated in Fig. 3. Thirdly, when soft

ferrites used in inductors, it is usually necessary to introduce 1×104
Fe-Si-Al
an air gap to avoid saturation, which results in edge magnetic Alloys
5×103
flux and additional losses [11]. Fourth, soft ferrites are typically
Fe-based
brittle and sensitive to mechanical shocks, limiting their Amorphous
application in high-reliability scenario [12]. 2×103 Fe-Co
Alloys Fe-Si
Mn-Zn Alloys
Alloys
1×103 Soft ferrites
Pure Fe
C. Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Alloys
5×102
Amorphous alloys are manufactured by rapidly quenching 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
the molten metal at a speed of 105 to 106 deg/sec from 1300 °C Saturation magnetic flux density Bs (T)
to ambient temperature [13], therefore, they usually exist in the
form of thin ribbons [7]. Fig. 4. Saturation magnetic flux density versus permeability for SMMs [4], [6],
In general, amorphous alloys are composed of ferromagnetic [7], [16], [19].
elements and nonferromagnetic elements. Ferromagnetic
elements, including Fe, Ni, Co and their combination, generates alloy is Fe-Zr-B-Cu and Fe-Co-Zr-B-Cu, respectively [9]. In
the magnetic properties, while nonferromagnetic elements, addition, VAC’s VITROPERM series of nanocrystalline are
including Si, B, and C, reduces the melting point of the alloys also widely used. Nanocrystalline alloys has the advantages
[8]. According to the composition of ferromagnetic elements, of high saturation flux density, usually more than 1.2 T, high
amorphous alloys can be divided into Fe-based, Co-based, and magnetic permeability, low loss, and low magnetostriction (see
(Fe, Ni)-based. Amorphous alloys have saturation flux density Table I). In addition, good temperature characteristics are also
in a range of 0.6-2 T and resistivity 1.2×10-6-2×10-6 Ωm. In a feature of nanocrystalline alloys (see Fig. 3), which leads to
addition, higher permeability and Curie temperature are also its stable parameters in a wide temperature range [15].
advantages.
Nanocrystalline alloys have an average diameter of around
D. Comparison and Discussion
10 nm [14]. The first nanocrystalline alloys named FINEMET
[4], and the composition of the alloy is Fe-Cu-B-Nb-Si. After In order to further understand and select SMMs, this
that, two commonly used nanocrystalline NANOPERM section made a comparison in terms of magnetic parameters
and HITPERM were discovered, and the composition of the and core loss. Figs. 4 and 5 show the approximated range of
362 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 7, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2022

Ferromagnetic alloys Based on the above parameters, we can conclude that Fe-
Nanocrystalline
2.5 Fe-50%Co Si alloys have large eddy current losses due to low resistivity,
Amorphous
Soft ferrites
therefore, usually used in low- to medium-frequency applications.
Saturat ion magn etic flu x density Bs (T)

Fe-3%Si Carbon Steel Soft ferrites have low eddy current loss in high-frequency, but
2.0 Fe its saturation flux density is low, which makes it have a larger
HITPERM
Fe-base size under the same transmission power. Besides, the Curie
Fe- 6.5%Si
NANOPERM temperature limit must be considered. Amorphous alloys have
1.5
FINEMET higher unit volume loss, but they have a high Curie temperature,
magnetic permeability, and saturation flux density, so they may
Fe-(40%  50%)Ni
1.0 FeSiAl well lead to high-power density in high-power applications.
(Fe,Ni)-base Nanocrystalline alloys have very low loss, high saturation flux
Fe-(70% 80%)Ni density and permeability, which ensures high efficiency and high-
0.5 Co-base Ni-Zn power density. However, if the design of the HFTs is based on
Mn-Zn
soft ferrites cost, amorphous or soft ferrites may be the best choice because
soft ferrites the cost of nanocrystalline cores is relatively high.
0.0
10 100 101 102 103
Coercivity Hc (A·m ) 1 III. Modeling of Magnetic Core Loss
The losses in HFTs mainly include winding loss and core
Fig. 5. Saturation magnetic flux density versus coercivity for typical SMMs
loss. For nonsinusoidal excitation, the winding loss can be
[5]-[7], [17], [18].
estimated by the improved Dowell formula [23], [24] and the
Fourier transformation. However, the core loss calculation is
105 f = 100 kHz, T = 100 °C
more difficult due to the nonlinearity and the complex physical
Nanocrystalline (Vitroperm 500F) mechanism in the magnetic materials. Therefore, the optimum
Fe-amorphous (Metglas 2605SA1)
104
Silicon Steel (JFE 10JNHF600)
design of HFTs requires an accurate investigation of core loss,
Core los s PV (kW·m3)

Soft ferrite (Ferroxcube 3F3) particularly for nonsinusoidal excitation.

103
102
101
100
0.01
Flux denisty amplitude B (T)
Fig. 6. PV - B curve of typical SMMs [20]-[22].
saturation flux density, coercivity and relative permeability
of various SMMs. Take Fe-Si alloys, Mn-Zn soft ferrites, Fe-
based amorphous alloys, nanocrystalline (FINEMET) alloys as
examples, we can clearly find:
1) Saturation flux density: Fe-Si alloys > Fe-based am-
orphous > FINEMET > Mn-Zn soft ferrites;
2) Coercivity: Fe-Si alloys > Mn-Zn soft ferrites > Fe-based
amorphous > FINEMET;
3) Relative permeability: FINEMET > Fe-based amorphous
> Mn-Zn soft ferrites > Fe-Si alloys.
In terms of the core loss, Fig. 6 shows the PV - B curve of
Fe-Si alloys (10JNHF600), Mn-Zn soft ferrites (3F3), Fe-
based amorphous alloys (2605SA1), nanocrystalline alloys
(Vitroperm500F) at f = 100 kHz, T = 100 °C. It can be seen
that Fe-Si alloys have the largest loss, followed by Fe-based
amorphous alloys, and nanocrystalline alloys and Mn-Zn soft
ferrites have the smallest losses (at lower magnetic flux density,
the loss of Mn-Zn soft ferrites is smaller, and at higher magnetic
flux density, the loss of nanocrystalline alloys is smaller).
There are many ways to calculate core loss, which can be
divided into the following four categories.
1) Loss separation method [25], [26]: This method divides
the total core loss PV into classical eddy current loss Pc,
hysteresis loss Ph and excess eddy current loss Pex. In the
frequency domain, the calculation formula of the loss
separation method is
PV = kc f 2 Bm2 + k h fBmβ + kex f 1.5 B1.5
0.1 1 m (2)
where kc, kh, β and kex are constants, obtained through
the manufacturers or curve fitting. The three terms on
the right side of (2) denote classical eddy current loss,
hysteresis loss and excess eddy current loss, respectively.
It should be noted that this formula is only applicable to
sinusoidal excitation. If the excitation is nonsinusoidal,
[25] proposes a method to find the core loss through the
relationship between sinusoidal and nonsinusoidal.
2) Hysteresis model method [27]-[29]: Hysteresis mo-
del method is based on the intrinsic properties and
magnetization mechanism of magnetic materials, mainly
including Jiles–Atherton model [27], [28] and Preisach
model [29]. The former is based on a macroscopic energy
calculation and the latter introduces a statistical approach
for the description of the time and space distribution of
domain-wall motion.
3) Look up loss map or table method [30], [31]: This method
can calculate the core loss under the given excitation by
referring to the pre-measured core loss graph or table. [30]
proposes a composite waveform hypothesis (CWH), which
believes that the core loss in a cycle is the sum of the losses
generated by each of the two pulses. The loss of each pulse
Z. LI et al.: A REVIEW OF MAGNETIC CORE MATERIALS, CORE LOSS MODELING AND MEASUREMENTS 363

U B U B 220
SE
200
MSE
iGSE
180
WcSE
Measured

PV (kW·m3)
t t 160

DT/2 DT 140
T/2 T
120
(a) (b)
100
Fig. 7. Voltage/magnetic flux density waveforms of two typical nonsinusoidal
excitations in HFTs. D denote duty cycle ranging from 0 to 1. T denote the 80
switching period. (a) The symmetrical three-level voltage waveform. (b) The
two-level voltage waveform. 60
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Duty cycle D
is a function of the length (time) and width (amplitude) of
the pulse. Then, the losses generated by different excitation Fig. 8. Verify the accuracy of SE, MSE, iGSE and WcSE methods under two-
waveforms are stored in a Herbert curve for engineers to level voltage waveform [46].
refer to.
4) SE and improved methods based on SE [32]-[45]: For core loss is directly related to the rate of change of flux density
sinusoidal excitation, the core loss may be treated with the dB/dt. The author uses the relationship between sinusoidal
Steinmetz equation [32] excitation and nonsinusoidal excitation to find the equivalent
frequency feq under nonsinusoidal excitation and replaces the
PV = Kf α Bmβ (3) frequency f in SE

where the Steinmetz parameters K, α and β are constants PV = ( K ⋅ feqα −1 ⋅ Bmβ ) ⋅ f (4)
obtained from manufacturers or curve fitting. f indicates
the excitation frequency and Bm represents the peak flux where the equivalent frequency feq is expressed in dB/dt:
density. PV is the time-average power loss per unit volume.
For nonsinusoidal excitation, Fig. 7 shows two typical 2 T  dB 
2

waveforms in HFTs. In this case, SE can introduce a large f eq =

∆B 2 π 2 ∫
0  dt  dt
 
(5)
error, especially for a low or a high duty cycle D. For this
reason, a number of improved SEs are proposed to achieve In (4) and (5), K, α and β are Steinmetz parameters, which is
good accuracy [33]-[45]. the same as the parameters in (3). f is the switching frequency
Although the accuracy of loss separation method and hysteresis and feq is an equivalent frequency. ΔB is the peak-to-peak flux
model method are satisfactory and the physical mechanism density and equal 2•Bm.
behind them is clear, these two methods require a large amount of MSE effectively improves the accuracy under nonsinusoidal
calculation and measurement efforts, therefore they are not widely excitation. However, taking Fig. 7(b) as an example, when
used. The loss map method not only requires a large number of the duty cycle D is very low or very high, there is a significant
measurements but also needs to find a suitable map to show the deviation between the calculated value and the measured value
core loss data, which hinds its widespread use. Comparatively, [42], [46]-[48], as shown in Fig. 8. One of the reasons is that
the SE-based methods are popular in core loss estimation due to the variation of duty cycle changes the harmonic components,
few parameters and simple calculations. which leads to the inaccurate Steinmetz parameters.
To build an accurate calculation model of core loss under
nonsinusoidal excitation, it is necessary to know the shortcomings
of using SE to calculate nonsinusoidal excitation. B. Generalized Steinmetz Equation (GSE)
1) Defects in the base number of the SE: The frequency in GSE [34] assumes that the core loss is not only related to
SE denotes a single frequency, unable to account for the the rate of change of flux density dB/dt, but also related to the
effects of all frequency components; instantaneous flux density B(t)
2) Defects in the index in the SE: the Steinmetz parameters
α
(K, α and β) are a function of frequency and peak 1 T dB β −α
B (t )
T ∫0
magnetic flux density [43], [44], which is only effective in PV = k1 dt (6)
dt
a limited range.
Next, magnetic core loss modeling methods based on SE are In order to be consistent with SE, the parameter k1 should be:
reviewed.
K
A. Modified Steinmetz Equation (MSE) k1 =
2ππ α (7)
( 2ππ ) ∫0
α −1 β −α
cosθ sin θ dθ
MSE [33] is first proposed based on SE, assuming that the
364 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 7, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2022

where K, α and β are Steinmetz parameters and B(t) is the
instantaneous flux density.
However, the accuracy of GSE is not higher than that of
MSE [42], [48], and GSE has not corrected defects 2). In order
to expand the application frequency range, expanded GSE
(EGSE) was proposed in [35]. However, EGSE method has not
been verified in high-frequency. In addition, a new parameter is
added to the formula, which is not provided in the data sheet.
NSE are exactly the same.
In order to improve the inaccuracy of Steinmetz parameters
in a wide span of frequencies, [38] proposed DNSE on the
basis of NSE. The author separates the hysteresis loss Ph from
the total loss, and other losses are calculated by NSE (iGSE)
(12)

C. Improved Generalized Steinmetz Equation (iGSE)

The team that proposed GSE quickly discovered that when
B-H curve starts to contain a smaller hysteresis loop, the GSE
model begins to deviate from the measured data. Therefore,
[36] divides the magnetic flux waveform into the major loop
and the minor loop and calculates the loss of the major loop
and each minor loop respectively. In addition, iGSE replaces
the instantaneous flux density B(t) in GSE with the peak-to-
peak flux density ΔB
α hysteresis loss Ph, and later expanded to calculate the total core
1 T dB β −α
where kN is (11), K, α, β1 and β2 are Steinmetz parameters.
γ is the newly added parameter, which provided by the
manufacturers or curve fitting.
The accuracy of DNSE needs further verification. In addition,
the data sheet usually does not provide new parameter γ.
E. Equivalent Elliptical Loop (EEL)
Like GSE, iGSE(NSE), and DNSE, EEL [39] is also a time-
domain method. Initially, EEL was used to calculate the static

T ∫0
PV = ki ∆B dt (8) loss PV. This method believes that the magnetic field H in the
dt static hysteresis loop can be decomposed into two components:
the reversible component Hrev and the irreversible component
In order to be consistent with SE, the parameter ki should be: Hirr. In fact, Hrev can be regarded as reactive power, and Hirr can
be regarded as the actual static hysteresis loss Ph
K
ki = 1 dB 1 dB
α (9) T T
∫ (H + H irr ) ∫
2ππ
( 2ππ ) ∫0
α −1
cosθ 2 β −α dθ Ph = rev dt = Hirr dt (13)
T 0 dt T 0 dt

where K, α and β are Steinmetz parameters.
Both GSE and iGSE have made corrections to the base number
and are consistent with SE in form so that it can express the loss
characteristics under nonsinusoidal waveforms. The iGSE is
considered an excellent calculation method [46]-[48]. It can be
seen from Fig. 8 that compared to SE, MSE and WcSE, iGSE can
better follow the changing trend of core loss with duty cycle D.
Then, the author defined the equivalent elliptical loop
(EEL), and the static hysteresis loss Ph is calculated by tracing
an elliptical loop having the same area as that of the original
hysteresis loop. After that, the author extended the method to
calculate the total core loss PV
dB
α

However, when the duty cycle D is very low or very high, there is PV ( t ) = C ⋅ (14)
dt
still an error between the measured value and the calculated value
[43]. One of the reasons may defects 2).
where C is
D. Natural Steinmetz Equation (NSE) and Double Natural
1 β −α
Steinmetz Equation (DNSE) C=± K ⋅ Bm cos (θ ) (15)
Cαβ
After iGSE, NSE was proposed in 2004 [37]. NSE is
2 π2
Cαβ = ( 2ππ ) ⋅
α

ππ ∫0
β −α α
cos β θ dθ (16)
 ∆B  kN T dB
PV = 
 2 

T ∫
0 dt
dt (10)
where K, α and β are Steinmetz parameters.
EEL does not add new parameters. However, when the duty
where kN is
cycle D is very low or very high, it will face the defects 2) [47].
K
kN = F. Waveform-Coefficient Steinmetz Equation (WcSE)
2π α (11)
( 2ππ ) ∫0
α −1
cos θ dθ
The WcSE [40] is simpler in thinking than the previous
method. This method first finds the ratio η of the average of
In fact, through simplification, we can find that iGSE and the flux density waveform under nonsinusoidal excitation to
Z. LI et al.: A REVIEW OF MAGNETIC CORE MATERIALS, CORE LOSS MODELING AND MEASUREMENTS 365

the average of the flux density waveform under sinusoidal
excitation, where the two excitations maintain the same
peak magnetic flux density Bm. Then, multiply the core loss
under sinusoidal excitation by the ratio η to find the core
loss under nonsinusoidal excitation, in which the core loss
under sinusoidal excitation can be obtained by SE. Since η is
related to the average value of the flux density waveform, it is
recorded as FWC
PV = FWC ⋅ Kf α Bmβ
where K, α and β are Steinmetz parameters.
Take the nonsinusoidal excitation in Fig. 7(b) as an example,
where the duty cycle D = 0.5. The coefficient FWC is π/4 at the
moment. Therefore
PV = π ⋅ Kf α Bmβ
4 sinusoidal excitation to multiply a coefficient η to obtain the
It can be seen from Fig. 8 than under square wave excitation
[Fig. 7(b), D = 0.5], WcSE has the highest calculation accuracy,
but only in this case. When the duty cycle D in Fig. 7(b) is far
away from 0.5, the calculation accuracy of WcSE will become
worse and worse [46], [47]. In addition, WcSE lacks theoretical
support in principle.
G. Improved-Improved Generalized Steinmetz Equation (i2GSE)
Steinmetz parameter, which are obtained by curve fitting. τ and
qr are parameters related to materials. dB(t-)/dt and dB(t+)/dt
are the flux density before and after the switching, respectively.
t1 is the duration of the zero-voltage phase.
From (19), we can observe that compared to iGSE, i²GSE
adds a loss caused by the magnetic relaxation effect. The
i2GSE is mainly used for excitation with zero-voltage phase
waveform [Fig. 7(a)] and asymmetric triangular magnetic flux
waveform [Fig. 7(b), D ≠ 0.5]. It should be noted that although
the accuracy of i2GSE is higher than that of iGSE, five new
(17)
parameters are added, and these parameters usually do not
appear in the data sheet.
H. Rectangular Extension of Steinmetz Equation (RESE)
RESE [42] is a core loss calculation method only for
rectangular voltage excitation. The idea of this method is
(18)
similar to WcSE. Both methods use the core loss PV_sin under
core loss PV_rec under rectangular excitation. The difference
between WcSE and RESE is that the coefficient η of the former
is the ratio of the average value of the flux density waveform,
while the coefficient η of the latter is directly related to the core
loss. As shown in (23), the detailed derivation process can be
referred to [42].
8
PV = γ +1
Kf α B β (23)
π  4 D (1 − D ) 
2

In most previous publications, researchers believe that the

where K, α and β are Steinmetz parameters. D is the duty cycle
zero-voltage phase does not produce core loss. However, it is
of the rectangular waveform and the range is from 0 to 1. γ is a
not. It has been found in [30] that when the zero-voltage phase
newly introduced parameter.
occurs, there will be a deviation between the measured value
In fact, RESE can be regarded as a kind of look-up map
and the calculated value. Mühlethaler, et al. tried to explain
method, and this method avoids the defects 2). However,
this phenomenon theoretically and proposed a new calculation compared to other methods, RESE adds a new parameter γ,
model i²GSE [41] and the manufacturer usually does not provide this parameter.
α
1 T dB n
I. Improved Steinmetz Equation (ISE)
( ∆B ) dt + ∑ Qrl Prl
β −α
PV =
T ∫
0
ki
dt l =1
(19)
ISE [43] is a combination of CWH [30] and WcSE [40].
K As mentioned earlier, CWH believes that the total core loss
ki =
2π α (20) can be regarded as the sum of the core loss generated by
( 2ππ )α ∫
−1

0
cos θ 2
β −α
dθ
two rectangular pulses. Take Fig. 7(b) as an example, under
this excitation waveform, the instantaneous flux density
n
B(t) is shown in Fig. 9(a). In a period T, the total area can be
where K, α and β are Steinmetz parameters. ∑Q
l =1
P is the
el rl
subdivided into two areas: the first A1 during DT and the second
new loss term due to the magnetic relaxation effect. Prl and Qrl A2 during (1 - D)T. The area A1 can also be regarded as the half-
are further defined as period area of the new signal B1(t) [see Fig. 9(b)]. Similarly,
the area A2 can also be regarded as the half-period area of the
1 d
αr
 −1 
t new signal B2(t) [see Fig. 9(c)]. The new signals B1(t) and B2(t)
B ( t− ) ( ∆B )
βr
Prl = kr 1 − e τ  (21) have frequencies f1 = 1/T1 = f / 2D and f2 = 1/T2 = f / 2(1 - D),
T dt   respectively, and have the same duty cycle of 0.5.
− qr
dB ( t+ ) / dt According to CWH, the core loss PV can be expressed as
Qrl = e
dB ( t− ) / dt (22)

where kr, αr and βr are another set of parameters similar to

PV =
1
T [∫
0
DT T
]
PV ( t ) dt + ∫ PV ( t ) dt = DPV1 + (1 − D ) PV2 (24)
DT
366 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 7, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2022

240 iGSE
PV (kW·m³) Material: Soft ferrites 3F3
Area A 1 Area A 2 100 kHz 100 °C 0.1 T ISE
200 Measurement data
B(t)

160
t
DT 120
T
(a) 80

Term A 40
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Duty cycle D
B 1(t)

t
Fig. 10. Verify the accuracy of iGSE and ISE methods under two-level voltage
2TD waveform [43].
(b)
Sinusoidal excitation SE
Term B Non-sinusoidal excitation 1892 [32]
2T(1D)
B 2(t)

MSE GSE EEL WcSE RESE

t 1996 [33] 2001 [34] 2004 [39] 2008 [40] 2014 [42]

CWH
(c) iGSE(NSE) EGSE 2010 [30]
2002 [36][37] 2009 [35]
ISE
Fig. 9. Flux waveforms and their corresponding periods considered for core 2017 [43]
losses calculation. (a) Instantaneous magnetic flux density B(t) of Fig. 7 (b). (b) DNSE i²GSE FGSE
2005 [38] 2012 [41] 2018 [45]
New signal B1(t). (c) New signal B2(t) [43].

Fig. 11. SE’s family tree diagram and related references.

where PV1 and PV2 represent the time-average power loss of the
new signals B1(t) and B2(t), respectively.
According to part F, under square wave excitation, WcSE
calculation accuracy is very high [46]. Therefore, the author
uses WcSE to denote PV1 and PV2.
form of dB/dt, and the other losses are expressed in the form
of iGSE. Then, the filtered time derivative of the flux density
waveform dBf /dt is introduced to express the core loss caused
by the relaxation effect

(26)
(25)

where K1, α1, β1 and K2, α2, β2 are two sets of Steinmetz
parameters, corresponding to the frequency f1 = f / 2D and f2 = f
/ 2(1 - D).
In addition, [43] provides a graph of Steinmetz parameters
changes with frequency f. If the frequency f and the duty
cycle D are known, we can find the core loss PV by putting the
corresponding Steinmetz parameters into (25).
The advantage of ISE is that it considers the influence of
duty cycle D and frequency f on Steinmetz parameters at the
same time, and solves the defects 2) by cleverly combining
CWH and WcSE. Fig. 10 compares the calculation accuracy
of ISE and iGSE, and it can be clearly seen that when the duty
cycle D is very low or very high, the accuracy of ISE is higher
than that of iGSE.
J. Filtered-Improved Generalized Steinmetz Equation (FGSE)
[45] proposed a continuous waveform calculation method
that includes the core loss caused by the magnetic relaxation
effect. This method separates the eddy current loss from the
total loss, where the eddy current loss is expressed in the
where ke , ki , α , β, kf , αf , and βf are constants. The last term on the
right side of the equation represents the core loss due to relaxation
effects. dBf /dt represents the filtering time derivative of the flux
density waveform, which corresponds to the dB/dt after the first-
order transfer function filter with a time constant of τf .
Due to the introduction of filtered time derivative dBf /dt of
the flux density waveform, it is called FGSE. In addition, like
i²GSE, FGSE has also added many new parameters.
Fig. 11 summarizes the above improvement methods
and related references. This section classifies them from the
different perspectives.
1) According to the calculation domain, the GSE, iGSE(NSE),
DNSE, EEL, i2GSE, FGSE methods calculate the core
loss in the time domain, while the MSE, WcSE, RESE,
ISE methods calculate the core loss in the frequency
domain;
2) In terms of whether new parameters are added, the MSE,
GSE, iGSE(NSE), EEL, WcSE, ISE methods do not add
new parameters, while new parameters are introduced in
DNSE, i2GSE, RESE, FGSE methods;
Z. LI et al.: A REVIEW OF MAGNETIC CORE MATERIALS, CORE LOSS MODELING AND MEASUREMENTS 367

TABLE II Secondary
Compare Some of the Above Improvement Methods T out T in coolant

Literature Validated model T out T in

[42] SE, MSE, GSE, iGSE, RESE Primary

Ploss coolant Ploss
[43] iGSE, ISE
[46] SE, MSE, iGSE, WcSE CUT CUT
[47] SE, MSE, iGSE, EEL, WcSE
[48] MSE, GSE, iGSE (a) (b)
[49] SE, MSE, iGSE, WcSE
[50] SE, MSE, iGSE Fig. 12. The basic schematic of calorimeter method. (a) Schematic of open-type
calorimeter. (b) Schematic of closed-type calorimeter.

3) Depending on whether the relaxation effect is considered, T out T in

the i2GSE and FGSE methods consider the core loss
caused by the relaxation effect, while other methods do
not consider this factor;
4) According to the calculation principle, the WcSE, RESE,
ISE method is to obtain the core loss under nonsinusoidal
excitation by multiplying the core loss under sinusoidal
excitation by the corresponding coefficient. However,
the remaining method is to calculate the core loss by
assuming that the core loss is correlated with dB/dt.
5) According to whether the frequency-dependent issue of
the Steinmetz parameters is considered or not, defects 2)
is not resolved in MSE, GSE, iGSE(NSE), DNSE, EEL,
WcSE, i²GSE and FGSE, while is addressed in ISE, and
avoided in RESE.
Table II lists several pieces of literature that verify some
of the above methods under the Fig. 7(b) waveform. Among
them, SE, MSE, GSE, iGSE(NSE) and WcSE have been
compared several times, and i2GSE, FGSE and DNSE still lack
verification. In addition, although both i2GSE and FGSE take
into account the core loss caused by the relaxation effect, both
of these methods add several new parameters at the same time,
increasing the complexity of the calculation. RESE obtains
core loss data through pre-measurement results, and this
method is not affected by the Steinmetz parameters, but is only
suitable for rectangular voltage excitation.
IV. Measurement of Magnetic Core Loss
Measuring core loss accurately is of great importance for
verifying the correctness of the core loss modeling. This
section reviews various core loss measurement techniques.
The advantages and disadvantages of various techniques are
discussed and compared.
Generally, the core loss measurement techniques can be divided
into two categories: thermal method and electrical method. The
thermal method refers to the calorimeter methods, while electrical
method mainly includes the two-winding method, the direct current
power meter law and the impedance-based methods.
A. Calorimeter Methods
Calorimeter methods are widely used in power loss mea-
surements, such as magnetic components loss [51], electrical
machines loss [52]-[55], power converters and power semicon-
T out T in Pfan(i)
CUT Ploss
Ploss
Ti Pheater(i)
CUT
Te Pheater(e) Pfan(e)
Heater
(a) (b)
Fig. 13. Improved method. (a) The balance calorimeter. (b) The double-jacket
calorimeter.
ductors loss [56]. Since the calorimeter methods are a direct
measurement of power loss, accurate results can be expected.
Fig. 12(a) is the open-type calorimeter [57]. Core under test
(CUT) is placed in a measurement chamber, coolant (usually
is air) enters from one port of measurement chamber and exits
from the other port at a certain flow rate. Assuming that all the
heat emitted by the CUT is absorbed by the coolant, the total
loss of CUT can be calculated by [58]
Ploss =V × (C p 2 × ρ 2 × Tout − C p1 × ρ1 × Tin ) (27)
where V is the volumetric flow rate in m³/sec, Cp is the specific
heat capacity in J/kg °C, ρ is the density in kg/m³ and T is the
temperature in °C. The subscripts 1 and 2 denote the entry and
exit ports across the calorimeter, respectively.
Unfortunately, it is difficult for the open-type calorimeter to
accurately measure the value Cp and V, therefore, this method is
better suited to measure high-power equipment [59]. Fig. 12(b)
shows the closed-type calorimeter. The calorimeter consists of
a primary coolant (usually air) and a secondary coolant (usually
liquid). The primary coolant circulates inside the calorimeter
and exchanges heat with the secondary coolant. The heat gained
by the liquid in the secondary coolant is used to calculate the
power loss of CUT. Since the stability of Cp and V of liquid is
better than air, the accuracy of closed-type calorimeter is higher
than that of open-type calorimeter [57].
However, the measurement chamber is not perfectly isolated
from the environment. The energy that leaks to the surroundings
through the chamber wall results in measurement accuracy
dropping. Therefore, the researchers proposed two improved
methods.
368 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 7, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2022
C
CUT
Power + R1 L1
Amp. Rref
1：1
* *
Digital v1 Rcore Lm
Oscilloscope
vR v2
  vR + iR
Rref
(a) (b)
Fig. 14. Two-winding measurement method and equivalent model. (a) Two-
winding method. (b) Equivalent model [66].
The balance calorimeter based on the open-type calorimeter
is the first improved method, as shown in Fig. 13(a). The
method is mainly divided into two steps [52]: the main test
and the calibration test. The main test is the same as the open-
type calorimeter, and the calibration test uses a heater (such as
resistance) to replace the CUT. It needs to inject a known and
accurate power into the heater and measure the temperature rise.
In theory, the precise power injected in the heater is approximately
equal to the power loss of the CUT if the temperature rise of
the two tests is equal. However, a longer measurement time
is required, and extra equipment is required to ensure that the
physical conditions of the two tests are equal (for example
temperature, humidity, etc.) [55]. The series balance calorimeter
was proposed in [53], which is to allow the main test and the
calibration test to be carried out at the same time. This method
can effectively reduce the measurement time. [54] proposed
the parallel balance calorimeter, which not only reduces the
measurement time, but also can control the physical conditions of
the two chambers to remain the same by introducing a blower.
The double-jacket calorimeter based on the closed-type
calorimeter is the second improved method, which was first
proposed in [60], as shown in Fig. 13(b). This method adds a
second insulated enclosure to prevent heat leakage. In theory,
if the internal temperature of the calorimeter is the same as the
temperature between the two insulation layers, the heat leakage
can be eliminated. In [61], the author analyzed various heat loss
sources in detail, and took measures to reduce errors in every
link as much as possible. A real-time calibration system was
introduced in [62] by combining the double-jacket calorimeter
and the balance calorimeter. This improvement eliminates the
need for coolant flow measurement, which improves sensitivity
and reduces complexity and system cost.
B. Two-Winding Method
The schematic of the two-winding method is shown in Fig.
14. The CUT carries two windings: the excitation winding and
the sensing winding. The current of excitation winding can be
measured through current sensing resistance and the voltage of
sensing winding is measured under the open-circuit condition.
Integrating the product of the two measured waveforms in one
cycle can obtain the core loss
1
Pcore =
TRref ∫
T
v2 vR dt
CUT N1 ： N 2
+
+ R1 L1 * * L2 R2 + +
R core
v2 v2
Lm
v1 
 v3
Cr
vR
  + iR 
Fig. 15. The improved of two-winding method with series resonant capacitance
[66].
where v2 is the secondary voltage, vR is the current sensing
voltage, Rref is the current sensing resistance, and T is the period
of the excitation frequency.
The advantage of this method is the elimination of winding
loss. However, when the magnetic core has high-quality factor
Q or high operating frequency, this method will very sensitive
to phase discrepancy [63]-[66]. In order to solve this problem,
[63] proposes the method of parallel resonant capacitor Cr
on the side of the excitation winding, so that occur parallel
resonate between Cr and the excitation inductance Lm to reduce
the impedance angle φ. However, the assumptions Z1 << XC
in [63] may not be satisfied, and the measured losses include
winding losses. [64]-[66] proposed a capacitor cancellation
method, in which a series capacitor is used instead of a parallel
capacitor, and the port voltage v3 is measured instead of the port
voltage v2. The schematic is shown in Fig. 15. When the series
resonant capacitor Cr and the magnetizing inductance Lm are in
series resonance, the measured values v3 and iR are the voltage
and current of Rcore respectively, and φ3 (phase difference
between v3 and iR) is zero degrees at this time. The core loss
can be calculated by (28). In order to extend the excitation to
arbitrary waveforms, an inductive cancellation method was
proposed in [67], which uses an air-core transformer instead of
a capacitor to cancel the reactive power under the fundamental
wave and various harmonics.
The capacitor cancellation method can effectively reduce
the error caused by the phase discrepancy. However, this
method cannot exclude the influence of the equivalent series
resistance (ESR) of the resonant capacitor. In addition, [68]
pointed out that it is necessary to accurately resonate between
Cr and Lm, otherwise the error caused by the phase discrepancy
cannot be eliminated. In order to avoid the problem, a partial
cancellation method was proposed in [68], which introduced
the cancellation factor k, and the basic principle is to make
φ3 close to zero degrees by introducing different k under
different Cr conditions. By this improvement, the effect of
phase discrepancy is effectively reduced even if mismatch
between the resonant capacitor Cr and excitation inductance
Lm. In addition, [69] compares the measurement accuracy and
applicability of each method under arbitrary excitation, and
analyzes the error caused by the limitation of the oscilloscope
(28) sampling period. [70] proposed an initial compensation method
based on the partial cancellation method, which makes two-
Z. LI et al.: A REVIEW OF MAGNETIC CORE MATERIALS, CORE LOSS MODELING AND MEASUREMENTS 369

ii the core loss resistor Rcore is measured, the core loss can be
Ii_dc calculated by

Magnetizing current
iL (30)
Q1 Q3 CUT
Vin
C
where Irms is the effective value of the current through the
Q2 Q4
Loss current inductor, and Vrms is the effective value of the voltage through
the inductor.
Several impedance-based methods are proposed in literature
[65], [74], [75], such as bridge method, resonant method, I-V
Fig. 16. The basic schematic of direct current power meter law. method and the auto-balancing method. The Agilent impedance
measurement handbook [75] detailed the advantages, disa-
L Rcore RCu
dvantages and frequency application range of various im-
pedance-based methods. However, similar to two-winding
RS + +
L IL CUT
RC method, almost all of these methods are sensitive to phase
Rcore L
Power
Vin Resonant Vout discrepancy. In order to solve the problem, [76] proposed the
capacitor C
Rcore source - - resonance capacitance method. Fig. 17(c) shows the principle of
the resonant capacitor method. The CUT is modelled by a series
(a) (b) (c) of L, Rcore, and RCu where L is its inductance, Rcore represents its
core loss at a single frequency, and RCu represents its copper
Fig. 17. (a) Series connection. (b) Parallel connection. (c) The basic principle of loss. The resonant capacitor is modelled as a series of RC and C
the resonant capacitor method.
resonated with inductor at the desired frequency, where C is its
capacitance and RC represents its equivalent series resistance.
winding method suitable for higher frequencies. When L and C are resonant, the ratio of the output voltage
amplitude Vout-pk to the input voltage amplitude Vin-pk is
C. Direct Current Power Meter Law
Direct current power meter law is another electrical method 1
Vout pk RC + jω C
[71]-[73], and its basic principle is shown in Fig. 16. The main = r
(31)
V in pk R core + R Cu + RC
idea of this method is to convert the input dc voltage into a
PWM voltage excited on the magnetic core through a dc/ac
circuit. The core loss is equal to the total input power minus where ωr represents the resonant angular frequency of the
other losses in the converter except for the core loss inductor L and capacitor C.
Since the value of RC is very small compared to 1/ωrC,
Pcore = Pin − Pother (29) therefore, RC can be omitted, and we can derive
where Pcore is core loss, Pin is the total input power, and Pother is
other losses in the converter except the core loss. Other losses 1
V out pk RC + jω C ω rL
include MOSFET switching losses, MOSFET conduction = r
≈ (32)
losses, capacitor ESR losses, MOSFET reversal diode losses, V in pk Rcore + R Cu + RC R core + RCu + RC
other resistor losses of PCB and winding loss, etc.
The direct calculation of Pother may produce large errors. In
[72], a method of calibration with air-core inductor is proposed Then, transform (32) to get
to calculate the Pother, which improves the calculation speed
and accuracy of direct current power meter law. However, 2πfrLV in pk
R core RC R Cu (33)
this improvement is only applicable small inductance value. V out pk
[73] proposed a differential method based on the direct current
power meter law to calculate the large inductance value, and where ωr = 2πfr , fr is the resonant frequency.
further improved the measurement accuracy.
Core loss can be calculated by the (30) after obtainment
Rcore. Since only the voltage amplitude is used in the process
D. Impedance-Based Methods of calculating the loss and the phase is not used, this method
The basic idea of impedance-based methods is to equate the excludes the sensitivity to the phase discrepancy. However, it is
core as a resistor connected in series or in parallel with an ideal indispensable to fine-tuning the resonant capacitance C so that
inductor. The schematic is shown in Fig. 17(a) and (b). Once happen resonance with inductor L.
370 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 7, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2022

TABLE III properties, and nanocrystalline alloys can achieve higher power
Summary of Characteristics of Various Measurement Methods
density levels.
Then, this paper points out the defects of using the SE to
Whether the
Is it sensitive calculate the core loss under nonsinusoidal excitation, and
Measurement Excitation winding Measuring
to phase summarizes in detail various improved methods based on
method type loss can be speed
discrepancy? SE. In addition, this paper lists several literatures verifying
separated?
improved methods under two-level excitation. From these
Calorimeter Arbitrary
methods excitation
No No slow documents, it can be concluded that with the change of the
duty cycle, compared to MSE, GSE and WcSE, the calculation
Two-winding Arbitrary results of iGSE(NSE) can follow the measured value well.
Yes YesNo fast
method excitation However, when the duty cycle is very low or very high, the
Direct current square
accuracy of iGSE will decrease. At this time, ISE may be a
power meter wave or No No fast good method. RESE has higher accuracy, but the application
law PWM range of this method is limited and new parameters have
Impedance-
Sinusoidal
been added. Although i2GSE and FGSE take into account
based No Most Yes fast the additional loss caused by the relaxation effect, five new
wave
method
parameters have been added, which increases the complexity
Note: YesNo means that it will be affected at the beginning, and the impact of the calculation. In addition, the accuracy of some methods
will be eliminated after improvement still lacks experimental verification, which is the direction of
our future efforts.
E. Comparison Finally, this paper divides the methods of core loss measuring
Table III summarizes the characteristics of the above four into four categories, and introduces the principles, advantages,
methods from four aspects. It can be seen: disadvantages and improvements method. Among them, the
1) Calorimeter and two-winding methods can measure calorimeter methods and the two-winding method are the most
arbitrary waves, while direct current power meter law can commonly used methods, but the calorimeter methods are
only measure PWM or square waves, and impedance- time-consuming and requires complicated equipment, which
based methods can only measure sine waves; cannot be satisfied in some laboratories. The two-winding
2) Two-winding method can eliminate winding loss, but method is the most popular in the laboratory, but when the
other methods cannot; frequency is high, the effect of phase discrepancy needs to be
3) Calorimeter and direct current power meter law are considered.
not affected by phase discrepancy, while two-winding
method and impedance-based methods are sensitive to References
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Zenong Li was born in Hebei, China, in 1994. He
received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering
from the Hebei University of Technology City
College, Tianjin, China, in 2018. He is currently
working toward the master’s degree in electrical
engineering with the Hebei University of Technology,
Tianjin, China.
His research interests include design, modeling
and optimization of high frequency transformer.
Z. LI et al.: A REVIEW OF MAGNETIC CORE MATERIALS, CORE LOSS MODELING AND MEASUREMENTS 373

Weijian Han received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. nano-grids and are particularly related to digital control of power electronic
degrees in electrical engineering from the School of converters.
Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University,
Xi’an, China, in 2012, 2015 and 2019, respectively.
From 2016 to 2018, he was a Visiting Ph.D. Student
with the Department of Information Engineering,
University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Since 2020, he has been a Researcher with the
Department of Electrical Engineering, Hebei Un-
iversity of Technology, China. His research interests Jianliang Chen received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees
are focused on modeling and digital control of power electronic converters. in electrical engineering from Beijing Institute of
Technology, Beijing, China, in 2013 and 2019,
respectively.
From 2017 to 2018, he was a Visiting Student
Zhen Xin received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from
with CURENT, University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
the College of Information and Control Engineering,
TN, USA. He is currently an Associate Professor
China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China, in
with the Department of Electrical Engineering at
2011 and 2014, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree
Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China. His
from Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, in
research interests include high power density soft
2017.
switching converters and the high-frequency application of wide band-gap
In 2016, he was a Visiting Scholar with the
power devices.
University of Padova, Padova, Italy. From 2017 to
2018, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with
the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Since 2018, he has been with the Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin,
China, as a professor. His research interests include condition monitoring of
WBG-based power-electronic systems, modeling and validation of power
electronic component failure mechanisms, and modeling and control of power
converters for renewable energy systems.
Poh Chiang Loh received the B.Eng. (hons.) and
M.Eng. degrees from the National University of
Singapore, Singapore, in 1998 and 2000, respectively,
Qing Liu received the B.S. and M.S. degrees and the Ph.D. degree from Monash University,
in electrical engineering from Northwestern Melbourne, Vic, Australia, in 2002, all in electrical
Polytechnical University, China, in 2012 and 2015, engineering.
respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in information From 2013 to 2015, he was a Professor with
engineering from University of Padova, Italy, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark. Since
in 2020. She is currently a Researcher with the 2015, he has been a Tenured Full Professor with
Department of Electrical Engineering at Hebei the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong
University of Technology, China. Her main research Kong, China. His research interests include power converters and their grid
interests are in the fields of low-voltage microgrids, applications.