High-frequency core-loss analyzer for inductors and
This technology provides a more accurate way to measure energy losses inside the magnetic cores of inductors and transformers, especially at high frequencies. The core challenge is that tiny errors in measuring the phase angle between voltage and current can completely swamp the real loss signal — the loss power is a very small number sitting next to a very large reactive power. The invention fixes this by adding a capacitor or other reactive element to cancel out most of that reactive voltage, making the measurement look far more resistive and far less sensitive to phase errors. The result is reliable core-loss data that engineers need to design efficient power electronics.
What you could build
A benchtop or rack-mount test instrument for characterizing inductors and transformers at high frequencies, sold to power electronics component manufacturers, R&D labs at motor drive or converter companies, and universities developing new magnetic materials.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense and power electronics contractors in Northern Virginia and the Tidewater region — companies supplying converters and magnetics for naval and aerospace systems — would value high-frequency magnetic characterization tools.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Mingkai Mu, Fred C. Lee
- Granted
- September 2, 2014
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 8823370
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.