must be increased, grvmg conditions as given in the paper predicts that the power gain which Mr.
gain which Mr. Decker gives, we obtain
shown in A I in Fig. 6. At the same time,
however, the control interval, which was
t3<t<t4, is now reduced to t3'<t<t/. If
this process is carried further the effect of
the increase in R b must be balanced against
the decrease in control time to determine the
variation in gain. Since the control source
is supplying power even when the reactor is
not controlling (O<t<ta; t4<t< 7r / w), it
seems unfair to include only that control
power supplied during the time while flux
is actually being changed in the reactors in
defining Ve
From this it is evident that the theory
Eddy-Current
Ferromagnetic Materials
H. M. McCONNELL
ASSOCIATE MEMBER AlEE
I NTEREST in eddy currents in solid
iron masses has kept pace with the de-
velopment of electromagnetic devices
generally. 1 The first problems arose in
the design of eddy-current brakes for fly-
w heels. Then the use of iron wires for
telephone lines and iron rails for the
supply of power to a-c locomotives led to
new problems. It was recognized that
the saturation of the iron was an im-
portant factor, and many authors have
presen ted their theories to take satura-
tion into account. Following the appear-
ance of Rosenberg's work, 2 others 3 - 6have
made an academic problem of substan-
tiating it or elaborating upon it. Re-
cently the damping effect of eddy currents
in the solid yokes and pole pieces of d-e
machines has become important. Still
lllore recently, it has been recognized that
the saturation effect is important in com-
pu ting the core losses in thin steel or alloy
sheets.
.A. new method for computing the effect
of saturation has been suggested.I"?
The method seems to be a significant de-
parture from other efforts to account
for the magnetic nonlinearity in iron.
Many previous attempts to handle the
problem mathematically have introduced
the nonlinearity as a sort of correction to
the linear theory, always keeping in
mind that the treatment should reduce
to the linear theory as a special case.
Any such correction of the linear theory
leads to very cumbersome mathematical
forms. A fresh approach using what
might be termed a limiting case for a be-
ginning may, if carefully applied, lead to
226 McConnell-Eddy-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials
gain will vary in a manner indicated by Mr.
Decker's experimental results.
Mr. Decker has simplified the expression
for power gain derived from the paper under
consideration by neglecting rectifier leak-
age. It is pointed out that in the paper
itself no such assumptions are made. The
authors know of no commercially available
dry rectifiers with negligible back leakage
under all conditions encountered in the
magnetic-amplifier circuit under consider-
ation.
If the value for K given in equation 9 is
substituted into the expression for power
.
Phenomena In
a mathematical formulation even simpler
than in the linear case. It is the purpose
of this paper to show a logical transition
from the linear theory of eddy currents
in solid media to the limiting non-linear
theory, and to show the applicability of
the method in typical problems.
An almost exact parallel can be found
in the various approaches to the non-
linear problem of the magnetic amplifier.
On the one hand, there is the formulation
by fitting some useful function, such as
the hyperbolic sine or a finite power series,
to the magnetization curve. On the other
hand, a radically different approach exists
in which all resemblance to linear be-
havior of the magnetic material is dis-
carded. These various analyses of the
magnetic amplifier are outlined and com-
pared in reference 10.
Comparison of Linear and Limiting
Nonlinear Theories
The linear theory will be reviewed by
the use of a simple situation. An infinite
half-space with its surface in the x, y plane
is excited such that the total magnetic
flux carried in the x direction per unit of
Paper 54-146, recommended by the AlEE Basic
Sciences Committee and approved by the AlEE
Committee on Technical Operations for presen-
tation at the AlEE Winter General Meeting, New
York, N. Y., January 18-22, 1954. Manuscript
submitted October 20, 1953; made available for
printing December 7, 1953.
H. M. MCCONNELL is with the Carnegie Institute
of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pa,
This work was supported in part by the Office of
Naval Research, under Contracts N7 ONR 30306
and 30308, projects 975-272 and 275.
2
RL
A = ( (RL+Rf)2
p ) N8
2 ( 1
N s2 N r 2
)
2-+-
RR RB (28)
This is very similar to equation 27 de-
rived by Mr. Decker.
To properly compare and evaluate Mr.
Decker's expression for power gain it would
be necessary for us to know how the factor
K c is defined and/or determined. Indeed,
it is possible that his value 1/K c is nothing
more than our value 2Ns2/ RR in disguise
(or vice versa).
width in the y direction is RecPmaxi
There is no y or z component of flux. The
wt
z direction extends into the material nor-
mal to the x, y plane. The permeability
of the material is u, its conductivity is (J",
and the radian frequency is w. Taking
B, the induction, to be the field variable,
the field equations are By = 0, B; = 0, and
(using meter-kilogram-second units)
o2B x
OZ2 =p,u~
ss, (1)
The solution is
(2)
where Eo, a complex number, is the in-
duction at the surface. The total flux
per unit width is
cP(t) =j'"
o
B"dz= ~o
VJwp,u
Ei",t (3)
Substituting into equation 2
Bx=ReVjwp,uc/>maxE(iwt-z-viwJl.CT) (4)
Expressed in a different form equation
4 becomes
-R cPmax -Z-VW Jl. CT/ 2 ;(wt+ft/4- Z-V WJl.CT/2)
B z>: e - - E
1
E
(5)
where cPmax is a real number.
The behavior of Ex as a function of
time and of depth is illustrated in Fig. 1.
The upper curve is the total flux cP(t)
while the lower curves give the flux den-
sity as a function of time at the various
levels. At any instant, the flux density
varies as a damped sinusoid with depth;
thus there are alternate positively and
negatively magnetized bands of material.
The existence of these alternate bands
can be seen also by inspecting the time
function at various levels.
Now the same situation is analyzed once
more, but with the linear magnetic ma-
terial being replaced by a material hav-
ing the nonlinear magnetic characteristic
shown in Fig. 2. This material is magne-
JULY 1954
 ~ postulate that the induction at any point
5 WEBERS/SQ. METER in the material is either constant at some
f
x 10-3
1.15
value depending on previous treatment
~
<: WEBER or a square wave with amplitude B s and
~t--+-----I-~~_----:lrl------J
period 21T'/ w.
Inspection of Fig. 1 gives some insight
as to how the square waves giving B as a
a::
w
function of time might combine to give a
....w A total flux cf>(t) which is sinusoidal. In
Fig. 1, the induction at any level z is a
~
d(/')
<,
(/')
B
sine wave versus time, but whose phase is
a::
w
a:l
shifted with respect to the level above.
The next question is, can a succession of
W
~
<Ii C
....a.I square waves which are phase-shifted
w with respect to one another add to a sine Fig. 2. Assumed magnetic characteristic
0
(/') 0 wave? Fig. 3 shows a finite group of
:::>
0
a: these square waves and their instan- given frequency (equation 4). This be-
~ taneous sum. (The resemblance to the havior is expected, since in the linear ma-
....-c
calculation of the magnetomotive force terial it is possible to increase B x max if
Q
'-..I
x
of a distributed winding in a rotating ma- more flux is required; in the nonlinear
cD
chine is apparent.) If there are enough material the induction is limited to Bi,
square waves, phase-shifted in a particu- and more flux can be obtained only if 0
Fig. 1. Flux per unit width and Rux density in
the classical theory I with constantpermeability
lar manner which can be computed, a increases.
smooth sine wave cf>(t) results. The position of the surface of separa-
w=377 The compu tation of this phase shift as tion will now be determined as a func-
Jur=6.2X10 4 tion of the flux cPo Let the location of the
a function of depth is better approached
by a change of variable. At some in- surface be z'. The flux per unit width
Curve Width, z, Millimeters contributed when the surface moves from
stant, say (wt)l, the induction above the
level zl(Fig. 3) is -B s while below that +
z' to (z' D..Z') , changing the state from
A
B
0
0.176 level it is + B s At a later instant (Wt)2 + B, to - B s , will be
C 0.352 the induction above the level Z2 has be- (7)
come - B s while below Z2 it remains + B s
D 0.528
E , .0.704
F 0.880
Thus a surface of separation between the Passing to the limit D..cP~O yields the
This table also applies to Fig. 4. two saturated states has moved from differential equation for z'
ZI to Z2 during the interval (t2-tl). The dz' 1
tized to saturation if the field intensity is phase shift between the square waves of d1> = - 2B~
(8)

different from zero, and it is possible to
change the flux density only at H = O.
The statement implies that if the flux den-
sity is changing, H must be zero. How-
ever, the converse statement is not neces-
sarily true; if H is zero, the flux density
is not necessarily changing. Thus it is
possible to have regions within this ma-
terial where H is zero but where the flux
density can have any constant value less
than or equal to the saturation induction.
The particular constant value would de-
pend upon the state in which the material
was left during some previous process.
The mechanics of supporting a function
<p(t) = RecPmaxt/wt will now be investigated.
First it will be assumed that H at any
point is a periodic function with funda-
mental radian frequency wand no aver-
age value. If this function has zeroes
only at discrete values of (wt) which are 1r
radians apart, the corresponding induction
B will be a square wave of period 21r/w
and amplitude Bi, On the other hand, a
square wave of B at any point can be
supported by a discontinuous function
H(wt), due to the possibility (discussed
before) that B may remain constant when
H is zero. Thus it seems reasonable to
induction at these two levels will be
W(t2-t1) radians. The distance (Z2-Z1) The integration will be performed be-
that the surface of separation has moved, ginning at the time when cP= +cPmax
and the phase shift W(t2-t1) radians, are and z'=O. (Calculations begun when
both related to the change in flux per unit ct> = - cPmax would proceed in the same
width D..cP which has occurred during that way with a change in sign, such that z'
time. is always a positive increasing function).
The surface of separation will stop when Thus
there is no further need to "substract
flux" by causing this change to take place. z'(1)) = lIe/>
- -d1> (9)
The maximum distance that this surface 2B s e/>rnax
travels, beginning at Z= 0, will be the or
depth of penetration O. When the sur-
face of separation has reached the depth
Z= 0, the flux per unit width will be
- cf>max. The depth of penetration is
1>max
0=- (6)
Bs
This movement from z=o to Z=O has
occurred in a half-cycle, since the flux per
r------t-!-----+-----J----16'.
unit width has been changed from cPmax to
-cf>max. Thus, the phase shift between
square waves of B versus (wt) at z=o t-----r--1t------+-------I-~ 62
and z = 0 is 1r radians.
The depth of penetration 0 is seen to be
a variable depending on cPmax, while in
the linear material the depth of penetra- Fig. 3. Arrangement of square waves adding
tion is a property of the material at a to a smooth periodical function

JULY 1954 McConnell-Eddy-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials 227

z'(t) = ci>max-ci>(t)
2B s
The next problem is to compute the
phase shift at different depths. The
square wave of B versus (wt) at any level
z may be expressed by
B(wt) =BsD(wt-~)
where the symbol D(x) represents a
periodic function of x which is a square
wave of amplitude 1 and period (27r).
The angle 'if; is the phase displacement
between the origin of the square wave at
depth z and the origin of the square wave
at z = 0, so 'if; will be a function of z. The
origin of the square wave is taken at the
center of the positive flat portion.
Equation 10 was derived assuming that
at time zero the flux is a positive maxi-
Inurn and is being decreased. Thus, at
time zero all the material was previously
+
magnetized to B, induction, and will be
changed during the subsequent half-cycle
to - B, induction. At z = 0 the origin
of the square wave would be located at
'if; = - 7r/2, since at time zero that value
of (wt-'if;) must be 7r/2. The further
dependence of 'if; upon z can be deduced
from equation 10, since when the surface
of separation is located at z' = z we must
have (wt-I/;) = 7r/2 at that level. Thus
setting
. c/>max -c/>( 1r/2
w
+if; )
vields :3 = ----'-----
- 2B s
If now = Remaxjwt is substituted in
equation 12, the relationship between 'if;
and z for that case is
max[ 1- cos (7r) ]
z=-,-- -+~
2B s 2 not varying with position at a given in-
or
I- .. I related, however, the connecting variable
(10) 5 WEBERS/SQ.METER
being the field intensity at the surface Hs;
in turn, H; and B max are related through
the saturation curve.
Rosenberg noted that the two most
prominent assumptions, i.e., that the
a:
amplitude of the flux density is constant
(11) ....w and that the phase shift from layer to
w
~
A
layer is negligible, introduce compensat-
d
(/') ing errors in the computation of eddy-
~
a: B current loss. Barth found that the in-
w
(D
w clusion of phase shift but the omission of
;:
<ri C time harmonies yields about the same
....a.
I
results as the Rosenberg treatment. It
w
0 will be shown that the limiting nonlinear
(/')
0
:::> treatment, which takes both these effects
0
a: into account, yields higher losses.
-S E
....
-c
"""' Eddy Currents According to Limiting
Nonlinear Treatment
~ F
rJf
A basic assumption in this treatment
Fig. 4. Sinusoidal flux per unit width in satu-
rated solid ion, and square waves of flux den- is that a change in induction can take
sity at various depths. See Table of Fig. 1 place only when H = 0. Therefore, the
sum of all the field intensities at the sur-
w=377
face of separation between the states
88=1.3
u=6.67X108
-B s and +B s must be zero. This state-
ment allows the derivation of a relation-
ship among the flux, the externally applied
Fig. 4, while the phase shift is larger in field, and the eddy currents.
Fig. 4. The different phase shift might The field equations which relate the
have been anticipated; in the linear case, densi ty of eddy currents to the rate of
Fig. 1, the contribution to cP(t) by the change of magnetic induction are
lower levels, where the phase is advanced, J=uE (15)
has been reduced due to the damping
effect. In the nonlinear case this grad- aB
curlE=-- (lSA)
(12) ual damping does not exist. This com- at
parison also validates the idea of using Equation 15(A) says that the electric
square waves of flux; the saturation in- field intensity E is everywhere irrota-
duction is reached very early in the cycle tional, because the induction can be only
in Fig. 1. iBs where i is the unit vector in the x-
direction. The only possible irrotational
An Intermediate Theory vector E under the conditions set for the
A theory to account for saturation, problem is a vector varying in time but
which in a sense is intermediate between
the linear theory and the limiting non- stant. To find out what E is, it is neces-
linear theory, has been proposed by sary to convert the equation 15(A) to
Barth." It was assumed that the flux the integral form, yielding
density varies sinusoidally with time at J=uE

(14)
Thus, 1/;(0) = - 7r/2 and 1/;(0) = 7r/2, signi-
fying that the square waves are phase-
shifted by a half-period over the depth o.
For z>o, i.e., below the depth of penetra-
tion, no change in induction occurs.
The results of this computation for Bas
a function of depth and time are SUID-
marized in Fig. 4. The same values of
cPmax and ware used in Figs. 1 and 4,
while values of JJ. and (J' have been chosen
so that the extinction of the field takes
place in about the same depth in both
cases. The peak value of induction is
seen to be much higher in Fig. 1 than in
any level, as in the linear theory, but that
the amplitude of the sine wave is B s at
every level (except possibly in that part
of the material which experiences no
change in induction). A detailed review
of this intermediate theory is presented
in reference 11.
The Theory of Rosenberg
Rosenberg's treatment 2 assumes that
the flux density is a sinusoidal function,
without phase shift from layer to layer,
and with a constant amplitude B m ax be-
tween z=o and z=a. The amplitude
B max and the depth of penetration a are
-btl1
!f'c E dr = BdS (16)
where C bounds S and traverses S in the
usual counterclockwise sense.
The line integral in equations 16 will be
zero if C lies entirely on one side of the
surface of separation between -B s and
+Bs, However, if C cuts this surface,
then the integral over S will have a time
derivative depending upon the velocity of
the surface of separation and the length of
the segment common to both S and the
moving surface. Thus a discontinuity
in Eis expected at the moving surface.
The integrals in equations 16 are easily

228 McConnell-Eddv-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials JULY 1954


s verses sign, since in that removal the
evaluated in the particular example being
considered. Since B has only an x-com-
ponent, the surface S is taken in the y,z
plane. The surface of separation be-
tween states -B s and +B s is an x,y
plane moving in the z-direction. The
segment common to both these surfaces
will be Liy meters long. The electric field
E will have a y-component only, which
will (at any instant) take constant values
above and below the surface of separa-
tion, with a discontinuity at the surface.
The situation is illustrated in Fig. 5.
Let the induction (in the x-direction)
be - B, above the surface and B s below,
with the surface moving at velocity (dz' /
dt) meters per second. At time t, let S
have 51 area in the region of - B s induc-
tion and 52 area in the region of Bs
induction. At time (t+ ~t) the surface
will have moved a distance (dz' /dt)(~t)
meters, so that now there will be [SI
(dz' / dt) (Lit) (~y)] area in the region of
- B s induction and [5 2 - (dz' /dt)(Lit)(~y)]
area in the region of + B, induction. The
in tegration in equations 16 becomes
(Eyl e' - Llz)(LlY) -(Eyl Z'+AZ)(LlY)
2B s(dz' / dt)( Llt)( LlY)
Llt
or
dz'
(Eylz' -Llz) -(Ey!Z'+LlZ) =2B s-
I
dt
Equation 18 gives the discontinuity in the
electric field existing at the moving sur-
face separating -B s and +B s
There can be no electric field below the
moving surface, for if it were to exist
energy would be required to sustain the
resulting eddy currents and there is no
such energy available. Therefore
Ey=O
JULY 1954
Fig. 5. Definition
of symbols used in
plane configuration
During the succeeding half-cycle E y re-
induction is being changed from - B; to
+B s and (dz' / dt) remains positive.
The eddy currents flow with uniform
density (at any instant) in the space
(0 S z<z') and there are no eddy currents
below the level z'. The total current
contained in the eddy-current path is, by
equations 15 and 19
Ie =2B suz'-
dz'
amperes per meter (20)
dt
during the half-cycle in which the ma-
terial is being changed from +B s to -Bs .
During the following half-cycle, I; changes
sign. Since the field intensity must be
zero at the surface between -B s and
+ Bi, the applied field intensity must be
+ the opposite of equation 20; in other
words, the applied field must be - I,
amperes per meter.
An expression for the applied field L,
+ can be obtained from equations 20 and
10; i.e., for sinusoidal flux variation
+ flow in the axial direction, and the wire
In the present case, c:/> = c:/>max cos wt so
that during the half-cycle when c:/> pro-
ceeds from cPmax to - cPmax
(17) wu
Js = - 2B <Pmax
2
( 1 - cos wt) sin wt amperes
s netic characteristic, .the induction will be
per meter (22)
(18) Equation 22 is similar to equation 9 of
reference 6. The wave form of J; is
repeated during the following half-cycle
but with reversed sign (it is convenient
to establish a new time origin each half-
cycle).
Development of the Nonlinear
Treatment
Rosenberg's treatment of eddy-current
loss in solid iron was the first attempt of
practical value to account for the effect
of saturation. It was based on an .hy-
McConneU-Eddy-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials
pothesis which fitted quite well with the
over-all test results then known. How-
ever, the essential nature of the field
problem was not considered, since Rosen-
berg neglected both the phase shift in the
field from layer to layer and the fact that
the induction at any depth must have
prominent time harmonics. As a result
both Rosenberg's and Barth's treatments
yield a sinusoidal flux for a sinusoidal
current, which is known to be in error,
especially when core materials are used
whose characteristics approach Fig. 2.
I t has been shown here that the limit-
ing nonlinear treatment takes into ac-
count both the phase shift and the time
harmonics. The test results reported by
Hale and Richardson" confirm its valid-
ity.
Applications of Limiting Nonlinear
Treatment
Applications of this new theory have
been restricted so far to the computation
of eddy-current loss in thin sheets" and
the explanation of certain effects in pulse
transformer cores. 9 To illustrate the
versatility of the theory, it will be used in
two other problems of continuing interest.
These are the com pu tation of losses in
solid iron conductors, and the design of
inductive heating apparatus for use on a
charge of solid iron.
Losses in Iron Wire
The first problem is to deduce the field
configuration within the wire under the
present assumptions. The current will
will become magnetized in a circumfer-
ential sense. Suppose for the moment
that a steady direct current flows in the
wire. The current density will be uni-
form, and application of Ampere's law
shows that H has a value everywhere
within the wire, being zero at the center
only. According to the assumed mag-
B, everywhere within the wire, directed
circumferentially. Now if the direct
current is reduced to zero the wire will
remain in this magnetic state.
Next suppose that a direct current of
opposite sign is to be established. The
new steady magnetic state will be at
saturation induction, but in the opposite
direction. The change in induction can
occur only if H = O. Ampere's law leads
to the conclusion that there must be a
circular region within the wire which
carries no current, such that H=O at
the boundary of this region; the induc-
tion is the old value of, say, - B, in that
229
region. The new current to be estab- dr' 2
i( t) = - 2B s7ru( R2- r' 2 ) _ (29) I max =37rwuBsR3 amperes (36)
lished is forced to flow outside this region. dt
As the new current builds up, the region
which can be integrated to find the co- The third situation occurs if the cur-
of - B s is forced to shrink toward the
ordinate r' as a function of time rent is so large that r' becomes zero before
center, and after a time complete reversal
of the induction within the wire may be r ' -27rBsu(R2- r'2)dr' =)0r i(t)dt
JR
T t
(30)
the end of the half-cycle; if so, the wire
exhibits a constant resistance for the re-
accomplished.
The situation shown in Fig. 6 calls for mainder of the half-cycle, equal to its d-e
Fig. 6 shows the wire, with the bound-
i(t) to be positive, since the induction is resistance.
ary between states +B s and -Bs lo-
cated at r=r'. This moving boundary being changed to +
B a If, for example, The effective resistance may be com-
i(t) in a sinusoidal function, then equa- puted for the case of pronounced skin
causes a change in the flux linkage with
tion 30 would become (0 ~ wt ~ 7r ) effect (0< <R). The loss density as a
that part of the wire within the bound-
function of time will be in general, from
ary' i.e., (r<r'), while the part of the
wire in the region (r' <r<R) sees no
~7rBsu[r'3-3R2r' +2R3] = Imax(l_ cos wt) equation 28
3 w
change in flux linkage (except the change (31) J2 i 2(t )
in the field outside the wire, which is pet) =~= 2 (R2
a 7r a -r
'2)2 watts
Three situations can be recognized in
common to both regions and need not be per meter" (37)
equation 31. First, the maximum cur-
considered). Since the axial electric
rent might not be sufficient to cause the and the loss per meter of length will be
field is the same in both regions, the re-
surface of separation to move all the way
sistance drop in the region carrying cur- i 2 (t )
to the center. An equivalent effect is
rent can be equated to the drop due to the
caused by an increase in frequency.
induced electromotive force in the region
carrying no current. Under such conditions, the depth of
penetration will be
Right-handed cylindrical co-ordinates
are used, Fig. 6. At time t, the surface o=R-r'min

~ -0'fot---
of separation is located at r = r', The s-: (32)
-

B, i 2(t )
electric field in vol ts per meter E z , im- pet) ~ 2-R watts per meter
pressed along the element whose area is which is computed from equation 13 as 7r a 1 i(t)dt
dS, is to be computed. The flux linkage 2 2Imax (39)
-7rBs CT02 ( 3 R - o ) = - - (33)
with that section at time t is 3 w
If the current is a sinusoidal function
A(t) = -Es(r' -rs)+Bs(R-r') webers If now there is pronounced skin effect,
per meter (23 ) i.e., oR, the depth of penetration is P(t)~Im.x3/2 _I Bsw

(vi
At time (t+Llt), the surface has moved " 21rRu

~
-

o~ [max in 2
to (r' + Llr') and the flux linkage has - 7rRBswu
(34)
wt ) watts per meter (40)
changed to -cos wt
which expressed in terms of the maximum
A(t+ At) = - B s [(r' + t::..r') - rs]+ apparent surface current density, J smax = The average power dissipated in heat

!1
Ba[R - (r' + t::..r')] webers per meter (24) (I max / 27rR ) amperes per meter, is over the half-cycle will be

On passing to the limit, it is found that ~Imax3/2~ Bsw

1r
2
sin
~
2Jsmax. 8
o~ - - (35) P av-
27rRu 1r
_--d8
VI-cos 8
d"A dr' - wuB s 0

di = -2B s d/ (25) (41)

which is independent of rs . Therefore
every element dS within the region
(O<r<r') sees the same electric field im-
The second situation which may be
identified in equation 44 is that the or
current and frequency might be such that
the surface of separation just reaches the

~DIRECTION
pressed, which is center (r' = 0) at the end of a half-cycle.
The current necessary to cause this condi-
dr' tion is found from equation 31
E z = -2B s- where (0 (r<r') (26) FOR CURRENTS
dt

Outside this region the electric field E,

is used up in ohmic drop only. (Conse-
quently there is no reactive voltage due to
partial flux linkages within this type of
conductor.)
The current density in the conducting
annulus is
dr'
J= -u2Bsdi where (r'<r5:R) (27)

The total current being carried by the dS

wire is Fig. 6. Definition CURRENT- CARRYING
(28) of symbols used in REGION
the cylindrical con-
or figuration CURRENT- FREE REG'ON

230 McConnell-Eddy-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials JULY 1954

P av2::!:.Im o.x 3/~
2
Bsw 4V2
- - - - watts
27rRu 37r
per meter ( 42)
When this power is expressed in terms
of the depth of penetration, as computed
from equation 34, it becomes
per meter ( 43 )
The effective resistance of the iron wire
is defined by the expression Pav=Irms2Reff,
yielding
I6(27rRou
1 ) ohms per meter
Reif~37r (44)
A conductor whose cross section is not
circular, such as a rail, can be treated
according to equation 44 if the perimeter
of the cross section is substituted for the
quantity 211'"R.
The depth of penetration, equation 35,
is identical with that given by Rosenberg.
It must be recognized, however, that
there is a basic difference between the
field models assumed by Rosenberg, Wol-
man, and others. This difference leads
to higher losses computed according to
the new treatment, as will be shown in
equation 46. These similarities and dif-
ferences will now be examined.
Rosenberg assumes that the current
density, at any instant, is a maximum
at the surface of the conductor and de-
PE
PL =
(2"3 I max2 ) / (
27rRou
8 2
Imax )
37r 27rRou
(46)
or, the new treatment yields (4/11'")=
1.273 times as much loss as Rosenberg's
theory in the case of iron conductors with
pronounced skin effect. The increased
loss is attributed to the combined "effect
of phase shift within the field and the
presence of time harmonics, both of which
were neglected by Rosenberg.
Inductive Heating of Iron in
Single-Phase Fields
The relationship between the surface
field intensity and the total eddy current
given by equation 20 for a plane configura-
tion may be used for the treatment of
inductive heating effects, if the least di-
mension of the surface to be heated its
much greater than the depth of pene-
tration. E.g., if the applied field inten-
sity is a sinusoidal function, equation 20
becomes
dz'
2Bsuz' dt =Jsmax sin wt (47)
for each half-cycle. The location of the
surface of separation between states
-Bs and +B s is
z' = ~I_I_JtJsmax sin wtdt
"Bsu 0
where
identical within the iron, and the same"
loss formula applies. This fact has been
noted by Thornton in section 3.1 of
reference 12.
Practical design of an inductive heating
installation requires a means to compute
the terminal voltage of the exciting wind-
ing. The real part of this voltage (in
phase with the exciting current) will
supply the resistive drop in the exciting
circuit plus the equivalent resistance
drop induced by the eddy-current losses.
The reactive part will consist of the
reactive drop induced by the eddy cur-
rents plus the reactive drop due to stray
magnetic fields (e.g., the field existing
in the space between the exciting winding
and the surface to be heated). The real
and reactive parts of the electric field
induced by eddy currents will be com-
puted next. The other components of
terminal voltage may be computed by
well-known methods.
The electric field induced in the excit-
ing current sheet due to flux within the
iron is given by equation 19, which when
combined with equation 48 yields
E=
~BsWJ a
smax sin wt )
( VI-cos wt
where
(53)
which reduces to

~
E= 2BsWJsmax( cos wt)
- vo I ts
creases at a uniform rate with depth, be- u 2
coming zero at depth o. Further, the (48)
per meter (54)
current density at any level is in time
phase with the current density every- and the depth of penetration is By Fourier analysis, the fundamental
where else. Thus the depth of penetra- component is found to be
~
-
, 2Jsmax
tion and the depthwise average current Zmax =0= - - meters (49)
Bswu
density are related according to
~
Efund = 2BsWJsmax[ -8 Sin
. 4
wt +- cos wt
]
which is equivalent to equation 35. U 37r 37r
Imax = 27rRoJmax (45)
The current density in the conducting volts per meter (55)
while the actual maximum current den- layer will be
The phase angle between the electric
sity, at the surface of the conductor, is Js _ / sin wt
J=-; =v Bi)WuJsmax - amperes field and the exciting current is
2Jmax
z VI-cos wt
According to the new treatment, there (J =tan -10.5 =26.6 degrees
per meter- (50 )
is an annular region at any instant in (56)
cos 8=2/VS =0.895
which the current density is uniform and the loss per square meter of surface
while the rest of the conductor carries no area is Thus the new theory provides a means
current. The thickness of this annulus for computing the power factor of the
varies with time and the current density J2
P=Z'-=J 3 2~B
smax / _s
w( _/ sin wt. )
2
load reflected into the exciting winding by
within the annulus varies with time also; a a v l-coswt the eddy currents. Such a computation
see equations 30 and 27. However, when watts per meter> (51) was not possible using the Rosenberg
the annulus is thickest, the current is treatment, since the effects of phase
The average loss is
maximum, and the current density at that shifts within the field were not taken into
instant is the same as the average given account. The power factor of the eddy-
by Rosenberg, equation 45. Thus it is
40
Pav=--Jsmax 3/~Bsw
-watts
2
37r u current load is seen to be quite high.
expected that both theories should give per meter- (52) The relatively low power factor en-
the same depth of penetration. countered in inductive heating installa-
The ratio of loss per meter computed which is the equivalent of equation 42. tions is due to the reactive voltage of the
by Rosenberg to that computed accord- Thus for sinusoidal currents, the conduc- unavoidably large stray magnetic fields.
ing to the limiting treatment is tive and inductive heating processes are It should be noted at this point that

JULY 1954 McConnell-Eddy-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials 231

 --

r.:r:
. Fig. 7 (left). In-
~- . --:-: CALIBRATION
duced electro-
1,00 VOLT motive force of
PEAK TO PEAK a search coil
wound on a solid
iron ring excited
It)t--_ _---+-_ __+_
with sinusoidal
C'i
current

~1-----I----W~L...---+-~~bo'---+---"'1

~1----44----r"---M-~--+--_I----+-----1
Fig. 8 (right). w
C)
Computed and
measured search ~It)
...J -: I---I--..A-J--~-----I----f------+----t
coil voltage o
>
8s
...J
A. Computed
1---..:.J---+----4------J..--_!----f------t
depth of pene-
tration J:
B. Measured ~
~ ~ '--I:=-----I---~----+---I----+-----t
search-coil volt-
CIl
age
C. Computed
seerch-coi I vol t- 10 20 30 40 50
age EXCITING CURRENT, AMF! R.M.S.

starts again at the beginning of the next

the conductivity of iron varies considera-
bly with temperature, and this effect
should be taken into account when assign-
ing values to a in the various expressions.
Of course the theory collapses entirely
when the Curie point is reached; the
magnetic behavior at this and higher tem-
peratures follows the linear treatment
with permeability equal to that of air.
Results of Experiment
The wave form of induced electro-
motive force as given by equation 54 has
been checked experimentally, with the
results being presented in Fig. 7 and
Table 1. Sinusoidal current was forced
Table I. Key to Oscillograms of Fig. 7
E "citing
Current,
Oscillogram RMS
1 2.5
2 5. O
3 7.5
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. O. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 58
5 15.0
20. O
6
7 25.0
8 30.0
9 35.0
10 40. O
11 45. O
12 50.0
by connecting an adequate resistance in
series with the exciting coil. The sinu-
soidal current wave is included for phase
comparison, and its calibration varies
among the different oscillograms. The
voltage calibration is the same for all.
The specimen tested was a closed ring
of square cross section, 0.5 inch by 0.5
inch, with mean diameter 5.375 inches,
made of a particular grade of cast iron
having good uniformity and high carbon
content. Accordingly, the saturation in-
duction is quite low and the resistivity is
high, being 0.68 microhm-meter. Mag-
netic data are given in Table II. The
ring was covered with two layers of or-
dinary black friction tape and then closely
wound with 143 turns of American Wire
Gauge-IO enamel-covered copper wire.
A search coil of 12 turns was placed out-
side the exciting winding. Tests were
Searcb Coil made at 60 cycles.
Voltage,
Peak-to-Pea 'c The oscillograms show the charac-
Volts
teristic sharp rise in voltage at the begin-
ning of each half-cycle, and gradual de-
0.61
1.00 cay, as given by equation 54. Further-
1.31
1 .97
more, they show the distinctive behavior
expected when the depth of penetration 0
2 . 30
2.54
becomes approximately equal to, or
greater than, half the thickness of the
2.76
2.97
3.06 ring. The induced electromotive force
3 . 27 is sharply reduced to a small value and
3.30
remains there until the magnetic process
half-cycle, the peak voltage at the begin-
ning of the half-cycle being unaffected by
the later complete magnetic reorientation
of the ring.
The peak-to-peak search coil voltage
has been computed according to equation
54, furthermodified by Rosenberg's sug-
gestion for determining B s as discussed in
the following section. The depth of
penetration 0 has been computed accord-
ing to equation 49 using the same modifi-
cation. These results as well as the
measured search coil voltage, are pre-
sented in Fig. 8. The oscillograms show
the characteristics of overexcitation at
about 20 amperes exciting current, while
the depth of penetration becomes equal
to half the thickness of the ring at 24
amperes. (It should be noted again here
that all computations are based upon the
assumption of an infinite plane configura-
tion.)
Table II. Magnetization Curve of Cast Iron
Ring, by Fluxmeter
H, Amperes B, Weber per
per Meter Square Meter
o
1,000
0.55
2,000 , 0.76
3,000 '" .0.85
~ :ggg: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::g:~~
8,000 , 1.01
10, 000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '.' .. 1 . 04
12,000 1.05

232 McConnell-Eddy-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials JULY 1954

Additional Remarks
.A. very detailed set of experiments has
been reported recently by Thornton.P in
which the losses in mild steel pipe were
determined as a function of frequency and
of current. The objective of the experi-
ments was to present an empirical method
of design for conductive and inductive
heating of iron vessels and pipes. It was
found that the loss at constant frequency
varied as the 1.57 power of the current,
while the new theory predicts an ex-
ponent of 1.50.
.A. somewhat empirical way of deter-
mining Bi, originally proposed by Rosen-
berg, does in fact lead to a loss exponent
for this type of steel which is as near 1.57
as the accuracy of available information
allows. Rosenberg proposed that the
value of B, to be used in a given problem
should correspond to the maximum cur-
rent carried per unit periphery of the
conductor. If the magnetization curve
for hot-rolled steel sheets (structural or
"mild" steel) as given in handbooks is
used in this way to compute the loss ex-
ponent, excellent agreement with Thorn-
ton's value is obtained. However, the
agreement extends only over Thornton's
range of test information which begins at
about 7 oersteds, already well into the
region where the induction ceases to
change rapidly with applied field.
This empirical method of assigning B,
may be justified somewhat by inspection
of equation 42. It is seen that the loss
varies as the square root of B s . The
induction increases only moderately with
--------------.--------------
Discussion
John F. H. Douglas (Marquette University,
Milwaukee, Wis.): Hitherto it has been con-
sidered that the penetration of flux into iron
castings with a-c excitation is much re-
stricted. It has been somewhat of a mys-
tery how output coefficients for eddy-
current brakes and dynamometers could be
as large as they are. This new theory seems
to shed light on this problem. It is to be
hoped that the author will find a method of
analysis based on a closer approximation to
actual saturation curves. The assumed
B-H curve in Fig. 4 and the test results in
Fig. 8 certainly show impressive agreement
with theory as proposed.
Gordon J. Watt (Sperry Gyroscope Com-
pany, Great Neck, N. Y.): This discussion
is written to acknowledge Mr. McConnell's
presentation, offer some modifications which
may extend the concept he proposes, and
refer to some work done at Cornell Univer-
sity which is pertinent to this paper.' I
shall outline a different concept which fol-
JULY 1954 McConnell-Eddy-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials
increasing applied field when appreciable
saturation is present, and the theory does
not apply in the case of small saturation.
In view of the small changes in B s to be
expected, and the further appearance of
B, under the radical, the method for taking
the variation of B, into account is not
critical. Thus, the correlation between
B s and field intensity as obtained from
the saturation curve could be expected
to yield reasonably good results. In sub-
stantiation, the mechanics of the limit-
ing nonlinear theory shows that the maxi-
mum field intensity is just equal to the
maximum amperes per unit of periphery,
so that higher values of induction than
that taken from the saturation curve
would not be expected.
Conclusions
It has been shown that the theory of
alternating fields in solid iron proposed by
Wolman and others":", is a significant ad-
vance in that the objections to Rosen-
berg's treatment are overcome. Further-
more, a logical transition from the class-
ical theory to the new theory has been
demonstrated. The losses computed ac-
cording to this theory are somewhat higher
than those predicted by Rosenberg, as
would be expected since the new theory
accounts for both time harmonics of cur-
rent density and phase shifts in the mag-
netic field.
Equations have been presented which
show the usefulness of the new theory as a
design method for inductive and conduc-
tive heating installations.
lows a similar path of reasoning but ends
with the same set of conclusions he presents.
With due respect to Mr. McConnell's refer-
ences, it is clear that a great deal of his own
thought has gone into his concept of a square
wave distribution of magnetic induction
with time and depth in a ferromagnetic
work piece.
In particular, a comparison of Fig. 1 and
Fig. 4 seems to indicate that his concept is
valid. His means of test by forcing sinu-
soidal current through an iron core solenoid
are simple and the oscillograms presented in
Fig. 7 are necessary to verify the theory he
presents. If experience is any teacher, there
are few who will comment on his paper and
say his concept is right or wrong. Since his
method of calculation yields predictable
results, the concept itself does not wholly
determine the importance of this work in
the field. If the resulting equations may be
used for design criteria in either of the fields
he mentions, they are quite valuable. I
have, had occasion to apply a similar con-
cept, yielding the same design criteria, to
the design of shell motors. This work was
printed in a copyrighted technical publi-
cation of the Sperry Gyroscope Company
References
1. LOSSES OF EDDY CURRENTS IN ELECTRIC
BRAKES AND DYNAMOS, R. Rudenberg. Sammlung
Elektr otechnischer Vortriige, Stuttgart, Germany,
vol. X, 1906, pp. 269-370.
2. SOLID IRON CONDUCTORS AND EDDY CURRENT
BRAKES, E. Rosenberg. Elektrotechnik und M as-
chinenbau , Vienna, Austria, vol. 41, no. 49, 1923,
pp.701-17.
3. ALTERNATING FIELDS AND EDDY CURRENTS IN
SOLID IRON WITH HIGH MAGNETIC SATURATION,
r.B. Barth. Electrotech nick T'idsskrift, Oslo, Nor-
way, vol. 48, no. 7, 1935, pp. 85-99.
4. RISE OF FLUX DUE TO IMPACT EXCITATION:
RETARDATION BY EDDY CURRENTS IN SOLID PARTS,
R. Pohl. Proceedings, Institution of Electrical
Engineers, London, England, vol. 96, pt. 2, 1949,
pp.57-65 .
5. INFLUENCE OF EDDY CURRENTS ON THE PROC-
ESS OF FLUX ESTABLISMENT, S. Ya Dunaevskii.
Elektrichestoo, Moscow, U. S. S. R., no. 2. Feb.
1951, pp. 55-63.
6. MATHEMATICAL DESCRIPTION OF CORE LOSSES,
]. W. Hale, F. R. Richardson. AlEE Trans-
actions, vo1. 72, pt. I, Sept. 1953, pp. 495-501.
7. ON THE EDDY CURRENT DELAY IN MAGNETIC
SWITCHING PHENOMENA, W. Wolman, H. Kaden.
Zeitschrift jur Tecbnische Physik, Leipzig, Oermany,
vol, 13, no. 7, 1932, pp. 330-35.
8. THE ALTERNATING FIELD IN SATURATED SOLID-
IRON, G. Haberland, F. Haberland. Archiu filr
Elektrotechnik, Berlin, Germany, vol. 30, 1936, pp.
126-33.
9. ApPLICATION OF THIN PERMALLOY TAPE IN
WIDE-BAND TELEPHONE AND PULSE TRANS-
FORMERS, A. G. Ganz. AlEE Transactions (Elec-
trical Engineering), vol. 65, April 1946, pp. 177-83.
10. COMPARISON OF METHODS OF ANALYSIS OF
MAGNETIC AMPLIFIERS, L. A. Find, G. F. Pittman,
Jr. Proceedings, National Electronics Conference,
Chicago, Il1., vol. 8, Jan. 1953, pp. 144-57.
11. EDDy-CURRENT PHENOMENA IN PERRO-MAG-
NETIC MATERIALS, H. M. McConnell. Technical
Report No. 14, Office of Naval Research Contract
N7 ON R 30306 and 30308, Project No. 975-272 and
275, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh,
Pa., Aug. 1953.
12. RESISTANCE HEATING OF MILD-STEEL CON-
TAINERS AT POWER FREQUENCIES, C. A. M. Thorn-
ton. Proceedings, Institution of Electrical Engi-
neers, London, England, vol. 99, pt. 2, 1952) pp.
85-93.
early in 1952. Tests result checked quite
well with the theory presented there.
My own fundamental work was done at
Cornell University and culminated in a
thesis 1 which is on file in the school library.
Until I read Mr. McConnell's reference to
Mr. Ganz's application to thin permalloy
tape, I was not aware of the latter's work.
And so at this time I wish to acknowledge
Mr. Ganz's fundamental idea as well as to
compliment Mr. McConnell on his appli-
cation of it to the concept which he pre-
sents. The alternate concept which I shall
now discuss was presented in the thesis and
based on the concept of a moving barrier
between saturated and nonsaturated regions
in a ferromagnetic material. References to
illustrations pertain only to Mr. McCon-
nell's paper.
Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 and Mr.
l\tlcConnell's statement "if H is zero, the
flux density is not necessarily changing," it
is clear that this is a peculiar material which
is not commonly used for the examples he
has illustrated, viz., heating of an iron wire
and inductive heating of iron. Let us con-
, sider what happens in the case of another
peculiar material which is not representative
233
of common materials. In this material the
fl ux density is defined at zero in the region of
H equal to zero. To accommodate the
total flux, in a case similar to that outlined
by Mr. McConnell, the lower boundary will
move back toward the surface instead of a
new boundary starting from the surface
each time the total flux begins to decrease.
The flux density below the lower boundary
reduces to zero as the boundary moves out-
ward. Following this line of reasoning
yields equations 19 and 20 for voltage and
current without a coefficient of two. Fol-
lowing through with a parallel reasoning
used to obtain equations 47 through 56, ex-
pressions for current voltage and power are
obtained which yield the same conclusions
McConnell has reached. The predicted
wave shapes are the same as those shown in
Fig. 7, and the plot of voltage and skin depth
versus current is as shown in Fig. 8. There-
fore neither concept is confirmed or denied
by the data presented in the paper under
discussion.
Now suppose that a typical material is a
combination of the two peculiar materials
discussed and that the flux density in the
typical material collapses to some residual
value when H is in the vicinity of zero.
Then the inner boundary will move outward
and during the same cycle the outer bound-
ary will move inward to accommodate the
total flux. Will such a combination of
these extreme concepts produce an equiva-
lent result, to either of the extremes, no mat-
ter in what proportions they are mixed or
'whether or not they occur concurrently or
in succession? My present considerations
lead me to believe that the only difference
will be in the time and space distribution of
the current density in the penetrated layer.
The equivalent impedance, average power
loss, and depth of penetration will not be
affected. These remarks are offered for
what value they may be to Mr. McConnell
or others doing work in this field.
Not having followed recent work in the
field of induction heating, I was interested
to read Mr. McConnell's reference to Thorn-
ton's work (ref. 12 of the paper). As a set
of additional remarks to this discussion, I
should like to recommend a theoretical a p-
proach to the practical case of predicting
losses and skin depth as a function of applied
field. This approach was worked out in my
thesis;' and was made to cover the normal
range of field strengths used in induction
heating practice. By a method patterned
after the work of H. F. Storm," the work
piece is broken down into a finite number of
layers of constant thickness. An effective
permeability and conductivity are assigned
to each layer as determined by the B-H
curve for the material and the temperature
distribution assumed. These empirical
values are inserted into a finite series.
Applied to the case of a mild steel, at con-
stant frequency, this method produced a
calculated power loss and skin depth as a
function of field strength to the 1.61 and
0.39 power respectively. For low and high
field strengths, these powers approached
1.50 and 0.50, having reached the extreme
values mentioned above at normal field
strengths used in induction hardening.
No complete tests were run to verify this
theory, but for a given steel it produced
values corresponding to those of Brown,
Hoyler, and Bierwirth for low field
234 McConnell-Eddy-Current Phenomena in Ferromagnetic Materials
strengths," and for high field strengths to
those determined by the method presented
in this paper. Mr. Thornton's data pro-
vide a further indication that the theory
may be useful.
REFERENCES
1. A MATHEMATICAL STUDY OF INDUCTION HEAT-
ING PRINCIPLES, G. r. Watt. Master of Electrical
Engineering Thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca.
N. Y., June 1949.
2. SURFACE HEATING BY INDUCTION, Herbert F. (A)
Storm. AI EE Transactions (Electrical Engineer-
ing) , vol. 63, Oct. 1944, pp. 749-55.
3. RADIO FREQUENCY HEATING, George G. Brown,
Cyril N. Hoyler, Rudolph A. Bierwirth. D. Van
Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., 1947.
H. M. McConnell: A depth of penetration
of several millimeters can occur in a ma-
terial such as mild steel, at power fre-
quencies. This fact was recognized by
Rosenberg, and his design calculations and (8)
test results on eddy-current brakes agree
rather well. At that early stage, however, Fig. 10. Forcing sinusoidally varying Aux to
the design procedures were necessarily not exist in the material
as rational as our present knowledge allows.
I too hope that this paper may be of use in A-From the paper
the design of eddy-current brakes. I wish B-From Mr. Watt
to thank Professor Douglas for his com-
ments in this regard.
Mr. Watt raises the question of a com- sinusoidally varying flux to exist in the ma-
parison of his own treatment, developed in terial. The exciting current for this con-
his thesis, with the one proposed in this dition is given in equation 22 and is shown in
paper. I propose to compare Mr. Watt's Fig. ID(A). The exciting current accord-
suggested approach with the one presented ing to Mr. Watt's theory is shown in Fig.
in this paper, in three situations for which 10(B). This condition may be duplicated
experimental evidence is readily obtained. by experiment, approximately, if a sinu-
The first situation is the application of a soidally varying voltage is applied to the
sinusoidally varying exciting current, as has terminals of the exciting winding on a closed
been discussed in the paper. The induced solid iron core, and a sufficiently large capac-
electromotive force of a search coil enclosing itor is connected in parallel with the wind-
all the resulting flux is sketched in Fig. 9(A). ing to offer a low impedance to harmonic
The same quantity predicted according to currents. The results of such an experi-
Mr. Watt's theory is sketched in Fig. 9(B). ment are displayed in Fig. 11. The
The corresponding experimental check has sinusoidal trace is the voltage applied to the
been given in the paper, and is presented in exciting winding, and the second trace is in
Fig. 7. A similar result is derived by a
simplified analysis in reference 8 of the
paper.
The second situation is the forcing of a
(A)
(8)
Fig. 9. Applying sinusoidally varying excite
ing current
A-From the paper Fig. 11. Applying sinusoidally varying
B-From Mr. Watt voltage to terminals of exciting winding
JULY 1954

I"~"~ Je
I
I
\
, Mr. Watt may be made by observing the
I
I
I
\
\
\
I
I
\
\
I \
I "
(A)
I "
L.... "
Fig. 12. Determination of wave form of cur-
rent density
A-From the paper
B-From Mr. Watt
each case the resulting current flowing in the
exciting winding. The rms exciting field
intensities are approximately 5,000, 3,300,
and 1,650 amperes per meter at 60 cycles.
The winding and ring are the same as those
used in the experiments described in the
paper.
Fig. 11 shows the presence of both linear
and saturated magnetization processes, as
Basic Theory and Experimental
Verification of the A-C Galvanometer
THOMAS J. HIGGINS
MEMBER AlEE
Purpose and Scope
T H E purpose of this paper is twofold:
to advance an integrated account of
the basic theory underlying the perform-
ance of the iron-cored a-c galvanometer
when used as a null detector in an a-c
bridge and to advance experimental veri-
fication of this theory.
Essentially, an a-c galvanometer com-
prises a moving coil-rectangular in
shape, light in weight, and comprised of a
number of turns of fine wire-vertically
suspended between the poles of an elec-
tromagnet by two taut wires. The lower
wire is anchored; the upper wire can be
torsed by rotation of an externally
mounted knob, thus enabling mechanical
adjustment of the initial rest position ofthe
moving coil and of the pointer fixed to it.
JULY 1954
might be expected. Comparison of the
theory given in the paper with that given by
harmonic content of the exciting current.
Finally, a third situation investigated by
Brailsford 1 is the determination of the
I
wave form of the current density at various
levels within a sheet of steel, when a sinu-
"
I
I soidally varying total flux was caused to
// flow. This situation may be attacked by
both the theory of this paper and Mr. Watt's
theory, with the results presented in Figs.
12(A) and (B) for one such level. The re-
sults obtained experimentally by Brailsford
I
agree well with Fig. 12(A).
I
I
I do not agree that Mr. Watt's equations
,I
I
and those developed in this paper yield the
same losses. For example, in the case of
sinusoidal flux, the losses predicted by Mr.
Watt are 0.848 times those predicted in this
paper. It is true that the dimensional be-
havior of the losses with respect to frequency
and applied voltage are the same in the two
theories. However, this agreement in di-
mensional behavior is due to our common
assumption that a "boundary layer" exists.
The other comparisons presented in this dis-
cussion prove that the basic mechanics of
Mr. Watt's field model are not realistic.
A further demonstration of fallacy in Mr.
Watt's field model may be obtained from
the energy principle. Mr. Watt postulates
that the "boundary layer" returns from the
interior of the material to the surface during
the second half-cycle in the case of sinu-
soidal current, or the second quarter-cycle
in the case of sinusoidal flux. This state-
ment can be supported only by the existence
of a stored energy within the material. Let
WILLIAM KNEEN
NONMEMBER AlEE
The electromagnet comprises a laminated
silicon-steel yoke excited by a winding
supplied at a low voltage from the drop
across one portion of a suitably subdivided
resistor connected across a llO-volt a-c
source. The magnetic field produced by
the winding can be slightly modified by
superposition of the eddy-current field
induced in a steel strip which can be ro-
tated at will over a limited angular range
of position.
The circuit diagram pertinent to use of
the a-c galvanometer as a null detector
in an a-c bridge is typified in Fig. 1. Ob-
viously, as the detecting element of an a-c
bridge, the a-c galvanometer is connected
in the bridge in the same manner as a
D'Arsonval galvanometer in a d-e Wheat-
stone bridge. However, whereas the
current through the moving coil of aD'Ar-
Higgins, Kneen-Theory and Verification of the A-C Galvanometer
this stored energy accumulated over one
interval be S; the material is relaxed at the
beginning of a double interval. Also Mr.
Watt's theory yields the result that the
energy input from the excitation source is
the same during each interval, half- or
quarter-cycle, as the case may be. Let this
input per interval be W. Let L be the
energy loss during each interval; inspection
of Mr. Watt's theory shows that L is the
same for each. Therefore, the interval
while the material is being magnetized yields
W =S+L and the next interval yields
W+S=L. A solution is possible only if
S=O, or the boundary layer cannot return
toward the surface.
The process of energy flow demonstrated
in this paper differs fundamentally from that
assumed by Mr. Watt, as it is shown in the
paper that energy always enters the ma-
terial from its surface, propagating in waves.
toward the deepest penetration without
reflection. This flow is characteristic of
electromagnetic processes when no storage
of energy occurs.
The basic differences between the two
analyses pointed out in this closure give evi-
dence of the dangers inherent to any reason-
ing based on extremely idealized models.
It must be thoroughly understood in ad-
vance that even the limiting case of a phe-
nomenon must obey all the physical laws
which pertain to the phenomenon itself.
REFERENCE
1. INVESTIGATION OF THE EDDy-CURRENT ANOM-
ALY IN ELECTRICAL SHEET STEELS, F. Brailsford.
Journal, Institution of Electrical Engineers, Lon-
don, England, vol. 95, pt. II, 1948, pp. 38-48.
sonval galvanometer has but one com-
ponent (that stemming from the potential
difference between the two junctions of
the bridge to which its moving coil is
connected), the current through the mov-
ing coil of the a-c galvanometer has two
components: one stemming from the
potential difference between the two
junctions of the bridge to which the mov-
ing coil is connected, the other from the
voltage generated in the moving coil by
the alternating magnetic field of the elec-
tromagnet. In consequence, the net
electromagnetic torque acting on the mov-
ing coil also comprises two components,
one being produced by each of the two
components of current. The component
of torque stemming from the induced
Paper 54-171, recommended by the AlEE Instru-
ments and Measurements Committee and approved
by the AlEE Committee on Technical Operations
for presentation at the AlEE Winter General
Meeting, New York, N. Y., January 18-22, 1954.
Manuscript submitted October 19, 1953; made
available for printing December 31, 1953.
THOMAS J. HIGGINS is with the University of Wis-
consin, Madison, Wis., and WILLIAM KNEBN is
with The Consolidated Engineering Corporation..
Pasadena, Calif.
This paper is based upon a thesis supervised by
Professor Higgins and submitted by Mr. Kneen in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Science in electrical engineering.
235