Accurate and Efficient Calculation of the Inductance of an Arbitrary-Shaped Coil Using Surface Current Model

In this paper, we present a novel approach for efficient calculation of the inductance of an arbitrary shaped coil with circular cross section using finite element method coupled with an analytical method. To reduce the simulation time and the memory requirement, the surface current model (SCM) instead of the volume current model (VCM) for the conductor modeling is used. According to the magnetic energy formulation and Ampere's law, a geometry factor to determine the equivalent height of the SCM for the self-inductance is obtained numerically. To calculate the mutual inductances, further two factors for determining the equivalent distances between adjacent windings are evaluated. Finally, the accuracy and the computational cost of this approach compared with the VCM are presented.