Analysis of Litz Wire Losses Using Homogenization-Based FEM

This article proposes a novel analysis method for the losses in a litz wire considering the circulating and eddy currents. In the proposed method, the macroscopic complex permeability is introduced to evaluate the eddy current loss owing to the proximity effect. Homogenization-based finite element analysis using the macroscopic complex permeability can effectively compute the proximity effect loss. The loss owing to the circulating currents is evaluated by solving the corresponding circuit equation. It is shown that the eddy current loss is dominant for the solenoidal and spiral coils without magnetic cores because of the uniform magnetic field distribution along the wire. Moreover, the magnetic reactors in which the circulating current loss cannot be ignored are analyzed using the proposed method. It is shown that the losses computed by the proposed method agree well with the measured results.