Inductive components for use in wind turbine inverters

To ensure that the alternating current being fed into the grid exhibits a sinusoidal waveform it is essential to use filters consisting of capacitors and filter chokes in the wind turbine’ inverter. To maximize the efficiency of the inverters, these components must exhibit low losses. The energy-efficient, high-performance SMP chokes are made from materials with low magnetostriction, with low eddy current and hysteresis losses, which SMP specifically engineered for this application. The choke’s closed construction ensures a low-intensity stray field. Accordingly, this makes it possible for other components to be positioned around chokes without exposing them to magnetic influences from the choke. The chokes have a compact, space-saving configuration, are maintenance-free and have a long service life - a significant contribution to cutting the high maintenance costs for offshore wind turbines. The chokes are available with the protection class of IP66 for use in offshore applications. This allows the chokes to be fitted outside the inverters, which means that the heat generated by the choke is not discharged inside but outside the inverters. The lower internal inverter temperature removes the need for cooling fans and helps to save energy.

Beside inverters for wind turbines, SMP’s inductive components are used in solar inverters, railway technology, medical engineering as well as in drive technology and power electronics. SMP chokes are designed for frequencies up to 200 kiloHertz and currents as high as 1000 Ampere. They are available with diameters ranging from 36 to 300 millimetres and weighing from 50 grams to 130 kilograms. Protection types from IP00 to IP66 are available depending on the intended application. All components are compliant with RoHS and REACH restrictions, the materials used are UL listed.