In this case, the test component is a filter reactor with ferrite core E32 for a switch mode power supply with an output voltage of 5 V and a power of 100 W. The E-core (E32) consists of standard ferrite material N27 and is fitted with an air gap.
In this example, occurrences of saturation are clearly linked to temperature. The inductance drops to 20 μH at 20°C and 24 A. At 120°C, this threshold is reached at only 17 A. Other core materials quite often demonstrate much less susceptibility to temperature.
Inductors from the standard product range of manufacturers are particularly unsuited to or completely unrated with regard to inductance at higher temperatures. In this case, only taking saturation characteristic measurements yourself can do any good.
