Three phenomenons in the iron of an AC machines (motors, generators ad

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Three phenomenons in the iron of an AC machines
Edvard
Magnetic
Circuits
Most of our pract ical
AC machines (motors,
generators ad
transformers) depend
heavily on t he
magnet ic f ield f or
operat ion. The core
iron of t he machine
provides a pat h f or t he
magnet f ield.
There are a number of
phenomena in t he iron
t hat are of int erest as
t he t erms keep coming
up in f ollowing art icle.
1. Eddy Currents
Eddy current s are elect rical current s t hat f low in t he core iron of an AC machine. To generat e
volt ages in t akes a magnet ic f ield, conduct ors and some change bet ween t hem.
In an AC machine the magnetic field is always in phase with the current, it is continuously
changing.
The iron is a conduct or and volt ages will be induced int o t he iron and current will f low. The
induced voltages are low but the currents can be high. The current f low will heat t he iron.
If st eps are not t aken in machine const ruct ion cores would get ext remely hot and t he power loss
would be huge. The core of a pract ical AC machine is made of t hinsheet s of met al. The sheet s
break up t he circulat ing pat h and t he eddy current s are minimized.
Fig. 3.2 Magnetization and hysteresis curves
2. Hysteresis
Hyst eresis is a phenomenon t hat
occurs in core iron. It takes a certain
amount of energy to magnetize iron.
The magnet ic dipoles of t he iron must
be aligned. The ext ernal magnet ic f ield
act s on t he dipoles and f orces t hen t o
align. In an ac coret he dipoles are
cont inuously being realigned so t here
is a cont inuous energy loss in t he core.
This loss shows up as heat in the
core. Hyst eresis losses are minimized
by t he use of st eel t hat is easy t o
magnet ize.
Hysteresis and eddy currents always
occur together. Like Bert and Ernie or
beach and beer t hey are inseparable.
Bot h are a result of t he changing
magnet ic f ield in t he core and bot h
cause heat ing in t he core. In t he
t erminology of AC machines t oget her
t hey make up t he core losses. Part of
t he power input int o any AC machine
shows up as heat in t he core and is an
inef f iciency of t he machine.
3. Magnetic Saturation
Most elect rical machines depend on a magnetic circuit. This circuit is invariable made of iron wit h
propert ies t hat make it easy t o change t he magnit ude and direct ion of t he f ield in t he core.
One of t he limit ing charact erist ics of a magnet ic circuit is t he saturation of the iron with the
magnetic field.
The magnet ic f ield is generat ed by passing current through a coil t hat somehow wrapped
around an iron core. As t he current in t he coil increases, t he magnet ic f ield in t he core increases.
Init ially t his is a f airly proport ional relat ionship. Double t he current and you double t he f ield.
However, t he core event ually becomes sat urat ed wit h t he magnet ic f ield and it becomes harder
Figure 1 - Typical Saturation Curve
and harder t o increase t he f ield st rengt h so it t akes more and more current .
The relat ionship bet ween field strength and current changes f rom one where relat ive
small changes in magnet ic f ield cause large changes in magnet ic f ield t o one where it t akes large
changes in current t o get small changes in magnet ic f ield.
Most elect rical equipment is designed t o run below t he
sat urat ion region and moving int o t he sat urat ion region
has negat ive consequences. Most of our machines
(transformers, generators & motors) are alt ernat ing
current machines and depend on induced volt ages in t he
windings f or t heir operat ion.
The induced volt ages are dependant on t he rat e of
change of t he magnet ic f ield in t he core. The relat ionship
bet ween t he magnet ic f ield and induced volt age
is capt ured in Faradays Law:
Where:
e induced volt age
N t he number of t urns in t he coil
- magnet ic f ield
t t ime
In an AC machine the flux voltage and frequency are all related. If t he syst em
volt age increases at a given f requency t he magnet ic f ield st rengt h in t he machines must increase.
If t he f requency (related to the rate of change of flux) drops t he magnet ic f ield must increase
t o maint ain a f ixed volt age.
Most machines are designed t o run wit h t he magnet ic f ield st rengt h just below sat urat ion. An
increase of f ield in t he neighbor hood of 10% will cause t he core t o go int o sat urat ion. A sat urat ed
core requires large amount s of magnet izing current . Large current s will cause large I
2
R heating in
the windings.
In an AC machine t he core is heat ed by t he cont inuously changing magnet ic f ield. The cont inuous
changing f ield produces eddy current s and hyst eresis losses in t he core. Eddy current s are
elect rical current s produced in t he core iron it self . They heat t he iron by elect rical heat ing.
Hyst eresis losses are losses int ernal t o t he iron and are relat ed t o t he f orces required t o change
t he direct ion and magnit ude of t he f ield in t he core.
They are magnetic heating effects. In a sit uat ion where t he magnit ude of t he magnet ic f ield
increases so will t he heat ing ef f ect s of eddy current s and hyst eresis.
Reference: Science and Reactor Fundamentals and Electrical CNSC Technical Training Group