I'd like to better understand how the magnetic domain operates so I can design a magnetic circuit in PLECS that relates to my real world application.
Attached is an academic paper we published at the 2012 IEEE 13th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL) conference. It describes the implementation of the magnetic domain in PLECS and the permeance-capacitance analogy.
Here is the paper's abstract:
When modeling magnetic components, the permeance-capacitance analogy avoids the drawbacks of traditional equivalent circuits models. The magnetic circuit structure is easily derived from the core geometry, and the energy relationship between electrical and magnetic domain is preserved. Non-linear core materials can be modeled with variable permeances, enabling the implementation of arbitrary saturation and hysteresis functions. Frequency-dependent losses can be realized with resistors in the magnetic circuit.
The magnetic domain has been implemented in the simulation software PLECS. To avoid numerical integration errors, Kirchhoff’s current law must be applied to both the magnetic flux and the flux-rate when solving the circuit equations.
The paper can be downloaded here.