| Title |
Design of a Fuel-Cell Boost Converter for Urban Air Mobility Using a Molded Inductor |
| Authors |
Jaeho Na ; Min-Jae Kim ; Geun-Wan Koo |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.6113/TKPE.2026.31.1.79 |
| ISSN |
1229-2214(pISSN), 2288-6281(eISSN) |
| Keywords |
Mold inductor; FDC system; UAM; 100-kW boost converter |
| Abstract |
A magnetic-paste-based mold inductor, which is capable of significant weight reduction compared with conventional powder magnetic cores, is applied to a fuel cell boost converter for urban air mobility (UAM) in this study. A 100 kW fuel cell DC?DC system is subsequently implemented. In UAM power systems, high power density and lightweight design are critical requirements because of the strict payload and efficiency constraints. These challenges are addressed by determining the number of converter phases in which current ripple and thermal limitations are considered. The required inductance is analytically derived and validated through PSIM simulations. In addition, inductors using powder magnetic cores and molded cores are fabricated and comparatively evaluated using a 100 kW experimental testbed. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed molded inductor achieves effective weight reduction while maintaining comparable electrical performance, thereby verifying its applicability to high-power UAM fuel cell power conversion systems. The results confirm that magnetic-paste-based molded inductors are a promising solution for next-generation lightweight UAM power electronics. |