Topology Optimization of High Power Electronic Devices

Modern high power electronic devices such as converter modules used as electric drives for high power electromotors are characterized by extremely high switched currents and very fast switching times. The avoidance of significant losses in the power transmission due to parasitic inductivities requires a subtle layout of the devices. Using the electric conductivity as a design parameter and electromagnetic potentials associated with the eddy currents equations as the state variables, the design issue gives rise to a topology optimization with both equality and inequality constraints where the design objective is to distribute the material in such a way that the electromagnetic energy dissipation is minimized. Based on appropriate finite element approximations of the eddy currents equations, for the numerical solution of the discretized optimization problem we suggest a primal-dual Newton interior-point method with a hierarchy of two merit functions and a watchdog strategy for convergence monitoring.