THE UNIVERSITY of DERBY

The University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB.

01332 590500 www.derby.ac.uk

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
ELECTROMAGNETIC DEVICES
ELECTROMAGNETIC PRINCIPLES AND ANALYSIS

LABORATORY 2
INDUCTANCE

Equipment Required:
Circuit #1 of D3000 - 1.4 Electromagnetic Devices-1 Module.
Signal Generator.
Multimeter with 10V AC range.
Digital multimeter with 20mA & 200mA AC ranges.

Ref: Laboratory Exercise and images ref: LJ Technical Systems

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 Learning Outcomes:
1. Determine the impedance and inductance of a coil.
2. Observe the effect of core materials on coil inductance.
3. Identify the relationship between inductance and coil turns.
4. Observe the effect of frequency on coil reactance.
5. Demonstrate the relationship between impedance, reactance and resistance.
6. Relate reactance and back EMF.

Preamble

Refer to Electromagnetic Devices Lecture 3 - Inductance

Impedance is the opposition to a flow of alternating current presented by an electrical circuit to a source of
EMF, and is given by: |Z| = Vrms/Irms.

Impedance consists of two components, resistance and reactance. The resistance of a circuit is the same for
both direct and alternating voltages, but reactance applies only to AC and relates to capacitors and inductors.

The difference in phase between the current and the voltage in an AC circuit results from the complex nature
of the relationship between impedance (Z), resistance (R) and reactance (X).

In complex rectangular form: Z = R + jX

For revision of complex notation, see the EMD Information Sheet 'Vector calculations using paper,
conventional calculator and Casio FX-115ES and FX-991ES calculators'.

X
In polar form: Z  Z  where Z  R2  X 2 and   tan 1
R

1 j
For a capacitor of value C Farads: XC   ohms
j 2fC 2fC

For an inductor of value L Henrys: X L  j 2fL ohms

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 1. Measure coil resistance and inductance

a. Measure the d.c. resistance of the inductors

L1 (1000t), L2 (250t) and L3 (750t).
These inductors are constructed with lengths of
coiled enameled copper wire and, as with all
conductors at room temperature, exhibit
electrical resistance. Use an ohmmeter to
measure the d.c. resistance of all three
inductors, not forgetting to find the ohmmeter
reading for a short circuit beforehand,
subtracting this from subsequent readings.
Comment on the relationship between the
resistance measured and the number of turns
and what this means for the cross-sectional area
of the copper wire used.
b. Connect an a.c. signal generator to the
board. Set its output to a sinusoidal waveform
of frequency 1kHz and, using an oscilloscope,
set the signal amplitude to approximately 12V
p-p.
By measuring the voltage across and the current
through inductor L1, determine the reactance,
XL1, of the inductor with air, ferrite, brass, steel
and iron cores.
Use the formula XL = 2πfL Henrys to
determine the inductance, L, in each case.
Complete the tables below and comment on
your results.

D.C. resistance measurements

RL1 (Ω) RL2 (Ω) RL3 (Ω)

Reactance measurements and inductance calculations. (f = 1kHz)

Core material Voltage (V rms) Current (mA rms) Reactance (Ω) Inductance (mH)

Ferrite

Air

Brass

Steel

Iron

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 2. Physical Factors Affecting Inductance
Refer to Electromagnetic Devices Lecture 3, Inductance
N 2 A 0  r
Equation 6 states that the inductance of a coil is given by: L 
l
Thus the inductance of a coil is dependant on the permeability of the core material (μ = µrµ0), the area of the
core (A), the number of turns (N) and the length of the magnetic path l.
Note that inductance is proportional to the number of turns squared.
Whilst the length of the magnetic path of a toroidal coil is easy to estimate, that of a straight coil is not.
Equation 6 is modified to take this into account. For an air-cored inductor, equation 8 states that:
r2N 2
L . where L = inductance (μH), N = number of turns, r = radius (mm) and l = length (mm).
229r  254l
Measure the dimensions of inductors L1, L2 and L3 (estimate the average diameter of the turns) and
calculate its expected inductance from equation 8.
Comment on your results.

3. Effect of the Number of Turns on Inductance

Insert ferrite cores into both coils, L1 and L2+L3. Push the cores together to ensure as best you can that they
share the same magnetic path.
Use the technique employed in part 1 above to measure the inductance of coils with 250, 750, 1000, 1250,
1750 and 2000 turns. Complete the table below.
Put the results onto a spreadsheet. Determine the closest fit second order equation that fits the results.
Complete the table below and comment on your results.

No. of turns Voltage (V rms) Current (mA rms) Reactance (Ω) Inductance (mH)

250

750

1000

1250

1750

2000

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 5. Effect of frequency on inductive reactance
The value of the back EMF developed across an inductor is directly proportional to the rate of change of
current flowing through it. If, for example, the source frequency is doubled, then the rate of change of
current at any point in the cycle is also doubled.
See Figure 2, where the frequency of current I1 (200Hz) is twice that of current I2 (100Hz). At the zero
crossing points, it can be seen that dI 1  2  dI 2 , therefore the back emf (the voltage measured across the
dt1 dt 2
inductor) for I1 is twice that for I2, indicating that the reactance (v/i) presented by the inductor is doubled if
the source frequency is doubled.

I1

I2

Figure 2

Insert a ferrite rod into inductor L1 and wire up the board to measure the ac voltage across it and the ac
current through it as described in part 2. The instruments stated in the equipment list exhibit a frequency
response that is reasonably flat to over 100kHz.
Determine the reactance of inductor L1 at a range of spot frequencies from 10Hz to 10kHz. Plot these on a
graph. Show that the slope of the graph is equal to 2πL. Comment on your results.

Frequency (kHz) Voltage (V rms) Current (mA rms) Reactance (Ω)

0.1

0.5

10

Dr J Redgate Nov 2015

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