Design and Analysis of 10kW High-frequency Planar Transformer for Arc Welding Machine

In this paper, a design method for a 10kW planar transformer is presented. The problems and design considerations when applying a planar transformer to a 10kW arc welder are described. We present a design technique considering power density, heat generation, and efficiency, which are important elements of a planar transformer. In addition, in order to verify the validity of the design, general winding transformers, winding type planar transformers, and printed circuit board type planar transformers are designed, respectively, and finite element method (FEM) simulations and experiments are performed for efficiency and heat generation. As a result of the experiment based on the proposed planar transformer, it is confirmed that the rated system efficiency is improved by 2.1%, the power density by 204%, and the transformer temperature by 28.3℃ compared to the normal winding transformer designed under the same conditions. Copyright © The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers.