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TXtoAe Magnetics

InductorswithMagneticCores.

Introduction:
>>>>notyetwritten

>>>>Belowisadraftforabasicintroductiontothesubject.

1.Magneticcircuits:
Whenanelectriccurrentflowsinawire,amagnetic
fieldappearsaroundthewire.Ifthewireiswoundinto
ahelix,thefieldsassociatedwiththeindividualturns
addtogethertoformthewellknownpatternassociated
withabarmagnet.Thecurvedlinesofthefield
representsocalledlinesofmagneticflux,'flux'beingan
oldfashionedwordmeaning'flow'.Thus,inasense,a
currentofmagnetismisconsideredtoflowoutofone
endofthecoilandlooparoundinthesurroundingspace
beforeflowingbackintotheotherend.Thisdoesnot
reallyhappeni.e.,therearenoparticlesofmagnetism
thatwecancaptureastheyemergefromthecoilthe
fluxconceptisananalogy,butitis'true'inthesense
thatitcorrectlydescribesthebehaviourofmagnetic
devices.
Ifabarofferromagneticmaterial,suchasiron,nickel,orcobalt,isinsertedintothecoil,the
linesofmagneticfluxtendtoconcentratewithinthebar.Thusthemagneticfieldstrengthwithin
theregionofspaceoccupiedbythebarisincreased,eventhoughthemagnetisingforceduetothe
currentflowinginthecoilremainsthesame.Itcanthereforebesaidthatmagnetismprefersto
'flow'inmaterialsofhighrelativemagneticpermeability(orjustplain'permeability'forshort).
Magneticpermeabilityisgiventhesymbol(Greeklowercase'mu').Becausethebarisonlyon
theinsideofthecoilhowever,thelinesoffluxmustemergefromtheendsofthebarsothatthey
canlooparoundoutsidethecoiltocompletetheircircuit,andsothebarbehavesasamagnet.

Ifthemagneticmaterialisfashionedinsuchawaythatitprovides
apathformagneticfluxonboththeinsideandtheoutsideofthecoil,
thenthecoilceasestofunctionasanelectromagnet.Thereasonisthat
thefluxcannowcompleteitscircuitinahighlypermeablemedium,
andaswithallthingsinnature,itisinclinedtotakethepathofleast
resistance(orinthelanguageofmagnetictheory,thepathofleast
reluctance).Thusaferromagneticringor'torus',oradoubleaperture
core(seeright),issaidtoclosethemagneticcircuit,therebyconfining
themagneticfieldtightlywithinthevicinityofthecoil.The
confinementcanneverbecompletehowever,becauseevenavacuum
hassomemagneticpermeability,andeventhemostpermeableofiron
alloysisnotinfinitelypermeable.Thussomeofthemagneticflux,the
leakageflux,escapesfromthecore,andalthoughtheamountisoften
verysmall,wearenotalwaysinapositiontoneglectit.

Theamountofleakagefluxdependsonthelengthoftheartificialmagneticcircuit,thecross
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sectionalareaofthemagnetic'pipe'throughwhichthefluxischanneled,theintimacy(tightness)
withwhichthewindingisassociatedwiththecore,andofcoursetherelativepermeabilityofthe
magneticmaterial.Thelatterisaparticularissueinthedesignofradiofrequencymagneticdevices
because,aswewillseeshortly,corematerialsforinductors(asopposedtothoseforDCelectro
magnets)mustnotconductelectricity,andsothemagneticparticlesmustbedispersedinablock
ofinsulatingmaterial.Thusthecoresforradiofrequencycoils(andindeedallcoilsforallAC
circuits)involveacompromisebetweenpermeabilityandconductivity,andthepopularideathat
toroidalcoilshavenoleakagefluxisamyth.

2.InductanceFactor:
Letussupposeforthemomenthowever,thatwecaneliminateleakagefluxtoaverygood
approximation.Inthatcase,asimplerelationshipbetweeninductanceandthenumberofturnsin
thecoilwillbeestablished.Ifallofthemagneticfluxproducedbyacoiliscapturedbyaclosed
magneticcircuit,andnoenergyistakenfromthefield(i.e.,nothingelseiscoupledtothemagnetic
core),thentheinductanceofasingleturnisdictatedentirelybythegeometryandpermeabilityof
thecore.Theinductanceofthewholecoilisthenproportionaltothesquareofthenumberofturns.
Thisistrueregardlessofthegeometryofthewinding,assumingthatnofluxescapes(i.e.,itisnot
trueifthewindingisslack).Theconstantofproportionalityisknownastheinductancefactor,and
isgiventhesymbolAL.Thus:

L=ALN

Everycommerciallymanufacturedclosedmagneticcircuitinductorcore,ofreasonablyhigh
permeability(10),hasagoodALvalueassociatedwithit(OpencircuitcoresalsohaveAL
values,butthesearemuchlessreliable).TheunitsofALareHenryspernumberofturnssquared,
i.e.,H/turnalthoughsomemanufacturersadopttheunfortunatepracticeofquotingitper100
turnsorper1000turns.ConversionoftheALvalueintoitsproperandleastconfusingformis
accomplishedbydividingthevalueinHenrysperNturnsbyN.ForexampleTheAmidonT50
3toroidalcorehasaquotedALvalueof175H/100turnsdividingby100givesAL=17.5
nH/turn.12turnsofwireonthiscorehasaninductanceof17.5109144H,i.e.,2.52H.The
AmidonFT5043toroidhasastatedALvalueof523mH/1000turns(itisdoubtfulthatanyone
wouldeverhavereasontowind1000turnsofwireontooneofthesecores)dividingby1000
givesAL=523nH/turn.8turnsofwireonthiscoregivesL=52310964H=33.5H.The
toleranceofinductancescalculatedusingALvaluesincidentally,shouldbetakentobeabout25%
intheabsenceofotherinformation,theworstaccuracyforagivencoregeometrybeingassociated
lowpermeabilitymaterials.Notealso,thatsometextsgivetheunitsofALasHenrys(orsub
multiplesthereof),thelogicbeingthatthenumberofturnsisadimensionlessquantityand
thereforeneednotbestated.Herewewillgenerallyprefertoincludetheredundant"/turn",
becausethestatedunitofmeasurementthenembodiestheformulaforworkingouttheinductance,
i.e.,multiplyingaquantitystatedinH//turnbythesquareofthenumberofturnsusedgivesa
quantityinHenries.

InitialPermeability:
Theinductancefactorforamagneticcorecan,ofcourse,beobtainedbywindingafew(1020)
turnsofwireonitandmeasuringtheinductance,usingtherelationship:

AL=L/N

Fromthis,itispossibletocalculatetheapproximatepermeabilityofthemagneticmaterialused
andthismaybehelpfulinidentifyingandcharacterisingcores.Theprocedureinvolvesestimating
theeffectivearea,Ae,andtheeffectivelength,le,ofthemagneticpath,asshownforatoroidinthe
diagrambelow:
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Theeffectivepathlengthisroughlyequaltotheaveragecircumferenceofthering,i.e.:
le(D+d)/2
Thisformulaisonlyapproximatebecausetheeffectiveradiusshouldstrictlybechosenasthe
distancetoapointonthepathwherethemagneticfluxontheoutsideisequaltothemagneticflux
ontheinside.Theproblemoffindingthetrueeffectiveradiusisentirelyanalogoustotheproblem
offindingtheeffectivecurrentsheetradiusofasolenoidcoil,asdiscussedinTA3.1(see
"homogeneousrectangularconductor",section2,uptoequation2.1)

>>>>>>
Thederivationoftheexactformulashouldgohere.
>>>>>>

Theeffectivepathareais:

Aeh(Dd)/2

NotethattheAevalueisapproximatebecausemagnetictoroidsusuallyhaveroundededgesto
preventdamagetotheenamelinsulationonthewindingwire.Theremayalsobeadiscrepancydue
tothethicknessofanycoatingorpaint.Consequently,theAevalueestimatedfromphysical
dimensionsmaybeslightlyoptimistic.
IftheALvalueisobtainedfromaninductancemeasurementmadeusingalowvoltageperturn
(i.e.lowfluxdensityinthecore),thenthevalueofpermeabilitydeterminediscalledtheinitial
permeabilityi.ALisalsousuallymeasuredatarelativelylowfrequency(<100kHzforradio
cores)inordertoavoiddispersioneffects(seelater).Lowfrequencymeasurementalsoreducesthe
effectofstraycapacitanceandcoilselfcapacitance,whichcancelssomeoftheinductanceand
leadstofalsereadingsathighfrequencies.Relativepermeabilityisthengivenbytheexpression
below,withthesubscript'i'indicatingthelowfluxdensity,lowfrequencymeasurement
conditions:

i=ALle/(0Ae)where0=4107H/m

0isthepermeabilityoffreespaceandhasunitsofHenrys/metre.AListheinductanceofa1turn
coilinHenrys.leisinmetres,andAeisinmetres.NotethattheunitsofiareHm/[(H/m)m],
allofwhichcanceltoleaveunityi.e.,relativepermeabilityisdimensionless.

Example:
TheAmidonT502corehasaninductancefactorof4.9nH/turnandthenominalvalueforiis

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10.Thetablebelowshowsthephysicaldimensionstakenfromthedatasheetcomparedto
measurementsmadeonasinglesampleusinganengineer'sverniercaliper.

(Dd)/2 i
T502 D/mm d/mm h/mm le/mm Ae/mm
/mm (calculated)
Published 12.70 7.696 2.502 4.826 30.3 12.1 9.76
Measured 12.72 7.54 2.59 4.96 31.82 12.846 9.66

Notethatwhencalculatingiusingtheequationabove,itisnecessarytomultiplythepathlength
inmmby103toconvertitintometres,andtomultiplytheareainmmby106toconvertitinto
m.ObservealsothatthemeasuredAeinthisexampleislargerthanthepublishedvalueduetothe
neglectofedgerounding,butthatitisoffsetinthiscasebytheestimatedlebeinglongerthanthe
publishedvalue.Hadthisbeenanunknowncore,wewouldhavehadnodificultyinidentifyingit
asamaterialofnominali=10.PositiveidentificationinthiscaseisassistedbecauseMicrometals
type2coresarepaintedred.

CoreMaterials:
Amagneticcoreincreasestheinductanceofacoilbyanamountroughlyproportionaltothe
effective(relative)permeabilityofthecorematerialeff.Foranopencircuitcoresuchasaferrite
rodorathreadedadjustmentslug,theeffectivepermeabilityisverymuchlowerthanthe
permeabilityofthematerialitselfbecausemostofthemagneticpathisinairbutforclosedcore
suchasatoroid,effisverynearlyequalto.Oneoftheadvantagesofacore,isthatitreducesthe
amountofwireneededforagivenamountofinductance,andsoreducestheresistanceofthecoil.
ThismeansthatacorehasthepotentialtoincreasetheQofthecoil,butthisadvantagewillnot
necessarilyberealisedonaccountoflossesinthecore,whichgiverisetoaresistivecomponentin
theimpedanceofthecoilandsoreducetheQ.Corelossesarisefromtwocauses,onebeing
hysterisis,andtheotherbeingeddycurrents.Hysterisislossistheenergyrequiredtoreversethe
magnetisationofthemagneticdomainsinthecore.Eddycurrentlossesareduetothetransformer
effect,whichinducescirculatingelectricalcurrentsinthe(resistive)corematerial.Atlow
frequencies(powerlineandaudio),eddycurrentlossescanbemadenegligiblebylaminatingthe
core,i.e.,constructingitfromsheetsofironalloyseparatedbythinlayersofinsulation.Asthe
frequencyisincreasedhowever,eitherthescaleonwhichtheloopcurrentscanoccurmustbe
madesmallerandsmaller,ortheresistanceoftheeddycurrentpathsmustbemadeveryhigh.
CoresforRFapplicationsarethereforeeithermadefromfinelypowderedironinaninsulating
binder,orfromferritematerials,whicharehighresistivitymagneticceramics.
Forradiofrequencyapplications,ferromagneticcorematerialscanbedividedintofourclasses:
carbonylironpowder,hydrogenreducedironpowder,NickelZinc(NiZn)ferrites,and
ManganeseZinc(MnZn)ferritesallofwhichcanbevariedincompositiontoestablishadesired
degreeofpermeability.Ingeneral,powderedironcoreshavethelowestpermeabilities,andMnZn
coresthehighest,buttheavailablepermeabilityrangesoverlap.Highpermeabilitymaterialshave
thehighestlossesathighfrequencies,andaremostsusceptabletomagneticsaturation.
Permeabilityrangesandareasofapplicationaresummarisedinthetablebelow:

Material range Applications.
CarbonylIron 375 HighQinductors.Broadbandtransformers.
Hreducediron 3590 Interferencesuppression.LFchokes.SMPSfilters.
HighQinductors.BroadbandTransformers.VHF
NiZnFerrite 20850
ferriterodantennas.
MnZnFerrite 80015000 SMPS.Interferencesuppression.MFferriterod
antennas.Audiochokes(loudspeakercrossover

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neworks).

Thefactthatthereisconsiderableoverlapbetweenthepermeabilityranges,andlittletodistinguish
thematerialsvisuallyintheabsenceofcolourcodes(whichdependonthemanufacturer),should
actasawarningtothosewhobuyundocumentedmagneticcores.Fullcharacterisationofmaterials
foraparticularapplicationrequirestestingatseveralfrequenciesandfluxlevels,andforthose
wholackthenecessarytestequipment,itisprobablybettertopurchasenewcoresaccordingto
adviceinthedatabooksthantosalvageoldones.Thehighfrequencyperformanceofferritesis
limitedbyresistivity(eddycurrentlosses),andtheNiZnferritegivebestresultsinthisrespect.
Thehighfrequencyperformanceofpowderedironcoresislimitedbyparticlesize,forsimilar
reasons,andthecarbonylirontypesgivebestresults.

Dispersionandcomplexpermittivity:
Thepermeabilityofmagneticmaterialsisanalogoustothepermittivityofdielectricmaterials
whichmeansthatpermeabilityisstrictlycomplexandhasitsrealandimaginarypartsrelatedin
thesamewaythattherealandimaginarypartsofthedielectricconstantaregovernedbythe
KramersKronigrelations.Henceweexpectaseriesofdispersionregionsintherelationship
betweenpermeabilityandfrequencyi.e.,therewillbefrequencyrangesinwhichapeakincore
lossesisassociatedwithchangeintherealpartofpermeability.Inthelattercase,asfrequency
increases,theremaybeagentlereduction,oraninitialincreasefollowedbyasteepreductionjust
asthereisinthepermittivityofelectricalinsulators.Thedifferencebetweenmagneticmaterials
anddielectricshowever,isthat,inradiofrequencypracticeatleastitisalmostimpossibleto
avoidoperatingamagneticmaterialeitherinthewingsoforactuallywithinoneofitsdispersion
regions.Hencecorelosscannotbeneglectedwithimpunity,andtheALvalueofacorecanbe
expectedtovarywithfrequency.
ThegraphbelowshowsthedispersivebehaviourofAmidon(FairRite)type61NiZnferrite
material,wheretheimaginary(loss)partofthepermeabilityisgivenasTan/i.

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FluxDensityandSaturation:
Aferromagneticcoreincreasestheinductanceofacoilbecauseitallowsenergytobestoredby
alignmentofmagneticdomainswithinthematerial.Asthestrengthofthemagneticfieldincreases
however,therewillcomeapointwhenallofthedomainsthatcanbealignedarealigned,after
which,nomoreenergycanbestoredinthisway.


V=2fNAB/2=4.4429fNAB

>>>>>unfinished

Definehardandsoft

Ferite2000gauss(0.2T)
Fepowder5000gauss(0.5T)
Powerratingandtemperaturerise.Curiepoint.Annealing.Permanentdamage.
Corespermitminiaturisation,butthisrequiresconsiderationofpowerdissipation.
Airgaps.EffectofDC(smalllDCdiodedet,mastheadrelay,etc,ok)

Thermalstability

Prosandcons:
Ferrocores:selfshielding.Miniaturisation.Couplingfactor.
Aircores:Linearity.

.

DWKnight2008.
DavidKnightassertstherighttoberecognisedastheauthorofthiswork.

TXtoAe Magnetics

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