Modeling Pulsed Magnetic Core Behavior in LTspice

• Published in: Electronics (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 12; p. 2335
• Main Authors: Kelp, Keegan, Wright, Dawson, Stephens, Jacob, Dickens, James, Mankowski, John, Shaw, Zach, Neuber, Andreas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 07.06.2025
• Subjects: Analysis; Electric power systems; Electrons; Magnetic circuits; Magnetic cores; Magnetic fields; Magnetic materials; Magnetization; Modelling; Parameters; Permeability; Simulation; Software; Transient response; United States; Voltage pulses; United States
• ISSN: 2079-9292; 2079-9292
• DOI: 10.3390/electronics14122335

This work demonstrates a modeling technique focused on reproducing the behavior of magnetic cores subject to high voltage pulses. The working principle of the model is based on a magnetic circuit with additional elements that influence the model’s behavior. The elements include a function that defines the response of the model depending on the applied pulse voltage and a component that dominates the transient response. These elements are necessary to replicate the experimentally observed behavior of magnetic cores. The model was developed based on the measured behavior of three nanocrystalline magnetic materials subject to a range of pulse voltages. This modeling technique was created to address the limitations of other models in accurately capturing fast pulse responses. The key limitation of traditional modeling techniques that the proposed model addresses is their inability to capture variations in core response under different applied pulse voltages (magnetization rates). The proposed model has been shown to produce accurate results for magnetization rates between 1 T/μs and 8 T/μs, with potential for further expansion. Implemented in LTspice, this model is both fast and accurate, effectively replicating the behavior of the magnetic core while maintaining simplicity. This work outlines the foundation of this modeling technique, the trends in the parameters that influence its behavior, and its application within a simple pulsed power system. The most notable feature of this model is its ability to operate across a wide range of pulse voltages without requiring adjustments to the model parameters.