Design, Implementation and Testing of HF transformers for Satellite EPS Applications

The electric power subsystems (EPS) of most remote sensing satellites consist of a solar array as a source of energy, a storage battery, a power management and control (PMC) unit and a charge equalization unit (CEU) for the storage battery. The PMC and CEU use high frequency transformers in their power modules. This paper presents a design, implementation and testing results of a high frequency transformer for the EPS of satellite applications. Two approaches are used in the design process of the transformer based on the pre-determined transformer specifications. The transformer is designed based on an ETD 29 ferrite core. The implemented transformer consists of one center-tapped primary coil with eleven center-tapped secondary coils. The offline calculation results and measured values of R, L for transformer coils are convergence. A test circuit for measuring the transformer parameters like voltage, current and B-H hysteresis was implemented and applied. The test results confirm that the voltage waveforms of both primary and secondary coils were as desired. No overlapping occurred between the control signal and the transformer, which was not saturated during testing even during a short circuit test of the secondary channels. The dynamic B-H loop characteristics of the used transformer cores were measured. The sample test results are given in this paper.