Electrical Machines
Magnetic Circuits
Introduction
Electromagnetic System is an essential elements of all electrical machines\electromechanical
devices and static devices such as transformers.
Basic terminologies:
Electrical Field: The region or space or space in which the stress exists is called the electric (or
dielectric or electrostatic) field.
Magnetic Field: The space around the poles of a magnet under stress and is known as the
magnetic field.
Magnetic Flux: The total number of lines of force surrounding a magnet is called magnetic flux.
Figure 1: Field around a Bar Magnet represented by lines of forces
Magnetic Field Intensity: The Magnetic Field intensity at any point is defined as the force
experienced by a unit north pole, when placed at that point.
M
i.e H=
4 πµoµrd 2
Magnetic Materials:
Although all materials have magnetic properties of some kind being either diamagnetic,
paramagnetic or ferromagnetic, the term “magnetic material” is customarily applied only to
substance which exhibit ferromagnetism.
Paramagnetic Materials
The materials which are not strongly attract by a magnet, such as aluminum, tin,
platinum, magnesium, manganese, etc. are known as paramagnetic materials.
Their relative permeability is small but positive. For example: air: 1.0000031
Atomic dipoles are oriented in a random fashion.
Diamagnetic Materials
The materials which are repelled by a magnet such as zinc, mercury, lead, silver, etc. are
known as diamagnetic materials
Their permeability is lesser than unity.
Ferromagnetic Materials
The materials which are strongly attracted by a magnet such as iron, steel, nickel, cobalt
and some alloys, are known as ferromagnetic materials.
Their permeability is very high (varying from several hundreds to many thousands).
Ferromagnetic Materials:
1. Soft Ferromagnetic Materials:
They have high relative permeability, low coercive force, easily magnetized and
demagnetized and have extremely small hysteresis. Example: Soft iron and its alloy with
nickel cobalt, tungsten and aluminum.
Application involving changing magnetic flux as in electromagnet, electric motor,
generator, transformers, inductors, telephone receivers, relays, etc.
Also useful for magnetic screening.
Magnetic Residual loss due to the fact magnetization does not occur and depend on
frequency.
2. Hard Ferromagnetic Materials:
They have relatively low permeability and very high coercive force, these are difficult to
magnetize.
They includes cobalt steel and various ferromagnetic alloys of nickel, aluminum and
cobalt.
High hysteresis loss.
Used in loudspeakers.
They are frequently heated to high temperature and then quenched in suitable liquid to
introduce strain.
ALNICO (Aluminum nickel iron cobalt) are commercially the most important of the hard
magnetic materials.
Properties of Magnetic Materials:
Figure 2: Typical Hysteresis loop and Normal Magnetization Curve
In the context of electromechanical energy conversion devices, the importance of magnetic
materials is twofold.
Ferromagnetic materials are composed of a large number of domains, i.e. region in which the
magnetic moments of all the atoms are parallel, giving rise to a net magnetic moment for that
domain. In an unmagnetized sample of materials moment are randomly oriented. When external
magnetizing force is applied to this materials, the domain magnetic moment tends to align with
the applied magnetic field. In the absence of an external applied magnetizing force, the domain
magnetic moments naturally align along certain direction associated with the crystal structure of
the domain, known as axes of easy magnetization. If the applied magnetizing force is reduced,
the domain magnetic moments relax to the direction of easy magnetism nearest to that to the
applied field. As a result, when applied field is reduced to zero the magnetic dipole moment will
no longer be totally random in their orientation; they will retain a net magnetization component
along the applied field direction. It is this effect which is responsible for the phenomenon known
magnetic hysteresis.
Residual Flux Density: The value of flux density B that remains after the field intensity H is
removed. Moreover, its value varies with the extent to which the materials is magnetized. The
maximum possible value of the residual flux density is called retentively.
Note: B lagging behind H. Thus when H is zero, B is finite and positive and when B is zero H is
finished negative. This is called Hysteresis.
When the material is in the cyclic condition, the amount of magnetic field intensity required to
reduce the residual flux density to zero is called the coercive force. The minimum value of
coercive force is called coercivity.
Magnetically induced EMFs (or Voltages)
Faraday’s Law
The magnitude of emf is directly proportional to the rate of change of flux linkage or to the
product of number of turns and rate of change of flux linking the coil.
dΦ
i.e. induced emf, e=N ……….…….. 1
dt
The direction of induced emf is governed by lenz’s law which states that “the direction of
induced emf or voltage is such that the current produced by its sets up a magnetic field opposing
the causes that produces it.
dΦ
e=−N …………………..………..2
dt
Dynamically Induced Emf
When the flux linking with the coil or circuit diagram changes, an emf is induced in the coil or
circuit. Emf can be induced by changing the flux linking in two ways.
i. By increasing or decreasing the magnitude of the current producing the linking flux, i.e.
no motion of the conductor emf is induced is called statically induced emf.
ii. By moving a conductor in a uniform magnetic field and emf produced in this way is
known as dynamically induced emf.
Mathematically,
Dynamically induced emf, e=Blv sin❑
Where, B = Flux Density
l = length of conductor
v = velocity of conductor
= angle between conductor and flux path.
Direction of induced emf is given by Fleming’s Right Hand Rule
Statically Induced Emf
Self-induced Emf
When the current flowing through the coil is changed, the flux linking with its own windings
changes and due to the change in linkage flux with the coil an emf, known as self-induced emf, is
induced. Since according to Lenzs’s law, an induced emf acts to oppose the change that produces
it, a self-induced emf is always in such a direction as to oppose the change of current in the coil
or circuit in which it is induced. The property of the coil or circuit due to which it opposes any
change of the current in the coil or circuit is known as self-inductance.
Mutually induced Emf
Whenever the current in coil A changes, the flux linking with coil B changes and emf, known as
mutually induced emf, is induced in coil B.
AC Operation of Magnetic Circuit
The magnetic circuit, of ac machines and many other electromagnetic device including
transformers are excited from ac rather than dc sources. With dc excitation, the steady-state
current is determined by the impressed voltage and the resistance of the circuit, the inductances
entering only into transients processes (buildings up and decaying process of current at the
switching ON/OFF instants).
The magnetic flux in the magnetic circuit then adjusts itself in accordance with this value of
current so that the relationship imposed by B-H or magnetization curve is satisfied.
Hysteresis and Eddy Current Losses:
Hysteresis:
When ferromagnetic materials is involved, not all the energy of the magnetic field is returned to
the circuit when the mmf is removed, it is known as hysteresis loss.
Determination of Hysteresis Loss:
Let, l be circumference, a is area,
Magnetizing force, H= ¿
L
Let the flux density at this instant be B.
Total flux through the ring, Φ=Ba webers
When the current flowing through the solenoid alters, the flux produced in the iron ring also
alters, so the emf (eʹ ) is induced, whose value is given by,
dΦ d ( Ba ) dB
eʹ =−N =−N =−N a
dt dt dt
According to lenz’s law, this induced emf will oppose the flow of current, therefore, in order to
maintain the flow of current I in the coil, the source of supply must have an equal and opposite
emf,
dB
Hence applied emf, eʹ =−e ʹ =N a
dt
Energy consumed in the short time dt, during which flux density has changed.
dB
¿ eIdt =Na × I ×dt
dt
dB Hl
¿ Na × × dt
dt N
¿ alHdB joules
Thus total work done or energy consumed during one complete cycle of magnetization,
Bmax
W =al ∫ HdB
0
Now ‘al’ is the volume of the ring and HdB is the area of elementary strip of B-H curve shown in
figure 3 and ∫ Hdl is the total area enclosed by hysteresis loop.
Figure 3: Hysteresis loop
