Ferromagnetic Hysteresis

The magnetic properties of two dierent ferromagnetic materials, transformer iron and carbon steel, are investigated.

Introduction
Ferromagnetic materials are indispensable for electrical machines, transformers and many other devices. These materials have the remarkable characteristic that they increase the ux density B in magnetic circuits by many orders of magnitude compared to the same circuits constructed with non-ferromagnetic cores. The eect is made quantitative by the equation B = 0 r H (1)

where r is called the relative permeability (often the product r 0 is written and referred to as the permeability) and H is the magnetic intensity. The intensity is the driving force producing the observable ux density and, in some simple cases, can be obtained from Amperes law H dl = N I, (2)

where N is the number of turns (coils) around the path and I the current in each turn. For the case of the toroid shown in Fig. 1, LH = N I where L is measured around one of the ux lines, so B = 0 r N I/L. This is an approximation since L is well dened only for a

Figure 1: Magnetized toroid

toroid of small cross sectional area. For this case 0 H is just the ux density one would obtain with a vacuum for the core of the toroid (assuming a large number of coils uniformly distributed around the toroid) so that r is the relative increase in ux density caused by the presence of the material of the core. For a vacuum r = 1, and r is essentially 1 for all non-ferromagnetics, e.g. Al, air, wood, plastic etc., but for ferromagnetics r can range up to nearly 106 , with values of 103 being common. Ferrimagnetics, of which the ferrites are typical examples, have a similar behaviour to that of ferromagnetics but are practically all insulators. Because they have no eddy current losses they are useful to high frequencies and are often used in radio frequency and microwave systems. However, along with this enormous increase in ux density, a complication occurs. It is found that when I is varied, B depends not only on the instantaneous value of H (or I) but also on the magnetic history of the sample. (From now on only the magnitudes of B and H will be considered). Fig. 2 shows the eect of varying H in an oscillatory (but not necessarily sinusoidal) manner. As H oscillates about the origin, B changes in such

Figure 2: Hysteresis curves

a way that one moves around the loop in a counter-clockwise direction. Thus B is not a single valued function of H, and r is not a simple constant. This cyclic behaviour is called hysteresis and results from a kind of internal friction as the material is magnetized and demagnetized. Similar behaviour is encountered in other elds e.g. in ferroelectricity and elasticity. When the material is cycled around the loop, heat is generated. It can be shown that the heat produced with each complete cycle, in Jm3 , equals the area of the loop (when B is in T and H in Am1 ). The power dissipation in the sample is therefore given by the product of the area of the hysteresis loop A, the volume of the sample being magnetized V , and the frequency f with which the loop is cycled, i.e. P = AV f (3)

More information can be found in Applied Electromagnetics by M. A. Plonus, pp. 350-357. 2

Experiment
An oscilloscope is used to examine hysteresis loops for two samples, iron and steel. The circuit diagram of the apparatus is shown in Fig. 3. The material under test is made a part of the ferromagnetic core of a transformer. The primary (i.e. input) winding has n1 = 160 turns and carries an oscillatory current I (not necessarily simple harmonic). The series

Figure 3: Experimental circuit

resistance (S = 0.10 5%) provides a voltage signal VS proportional to the instantaneous value of I. If the material of the core is the same everywhere, then H can be calculated from H = n1 I/L where L is the magnetic length of the core. (The case of two dierent materials in the core is dealt with below). Therefore, H= n1 VS . LS (4)

VS is used to drive the X axis of the oscilloscope. The ammeter is used only as an approximate indicator and not as a measuring device. Like most AC meters, it reads RMS values. However, the current is not sinusoidal and so the calibration factor is not known. The secondary coil, with n2 = 150 turns, has induced EMF e due to the ux changes within the sample, i.e. e = d/dt = n2 Ac (dB/dt) where Ac is the cross sectional area of the sample and B the mean ux density within it. The RC (R = 1.00 M 1%, C = 0.50 F 2%) circuit integrates e and the output of VC is given by VC = 1 q = C C i dt 1 RC e dt = 1 RC d = n 2 Ac B RC (5)

This equation uses the approximation that the current I e/R which is valid provided VC e. This condition is satised in this experiment. Therefore, B= RC VC . n 2 Ac (6)

VC is used to drive the Y axis of the oscilloscope. 3

Procedure
1. Turn on the oscilloscope and set it to display Channel 2 as a function of Channel 1 (XY Mode) by selecting: Horizontal Main/Delayed XY. 2. Connect the leads to the scope such that the H-eld is displayed on the X-axis and the B-ux is displayed on the Y-axis. The horizontal and vertical sensitivity should be set to 200 mV per division as a starting point. 3. Place the transformer iron sample on the yoke, set the variable autotransformer (variac) control to zero and switch it on. Gradually increase the voltage on the variac. A hysteresis loop like the one in Fig. 2 should begin to develop on the screen. The signal will likely be very noisy, but this can be compensated for by having the oscilloscope average the signal over many samples. The averaging function is found in WaveformAcquireAveraging. 4. Increase the voltage until the loop spans four divisions (2) of the horizontal axis (or 400 mV if you have altered the voltage base). This will correspond to a magnetization current of 4 A peak. Make note of the hysteresis being displayed as well as the variac level. When increasing the voltage, always ensure that the needle on the ammeter does not go beyond the red line on the scale. 5. Switch the oscilloscope back to time domain (Horizontal Main/Delayed Main). Adjust the time resolution so that the display shows 5 ms per division. 6. Collect a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) le of the waveform by placing a oppy disk in the drive. Select UtilityPrint Cnfg and ensure that the scope is set to print to disk in CSV format with 2000 data points. When this is done press the FileQuick Print button. This will save the data le to the disk drive. Make a note of the le name the scope uses as it saves for future reference. 7. Return the display to XY mode. Starting from zero, gradually increase the variac voltage while recording the progression of the upper right corner of the the hysteresis loop. Fairly accurate measurements can be made using the oscilloscope cursors under MeasureCursors. To increase accuracy while measuring the corner of the loop, it is recommended that you adjust the scales of the oscilloscope to provide a clearer picture. Be sure to take an adequate number of points at the lower levels so that an accurate trace of the initial magnetization curve is obtained. The full data set should consist of at least 15 points. 8. Repeat steps 3 to 6 for the carbon steel sample. Reduce the variac voltage to zero before changing the samples on the yoke. 9. When you are done recording data for the carbon steel sample, touch the sample and observe that it has heated up due to energy losses. Record an estimate of what wattage bulb you feel would produce that much heat so that you have a point of comparison for your calculations. 10. Take the following measurements of the apparatus: Ac : The cross-sectional area of the samples. This is simply the cross-section of the bars placed on the yoke. 4

 L: The magnetic length of the samples. Transformer Iron: The yoke and the sample are made of the same material, so use the combined length of the sample and yoke for length L. Notice from Fig. 4 that this length is somewhere between the inner and outer perimeters. Use a path as outlined in the sketch. Although physical lengths are measured quite accurately, estimating the magnetic lengths L and area Ac is clearly more dicult. Try to make sensible estimates for the uncertainties in these quantities. If this creates a problem, discuss it with a lab demonstrator. Carbon Steel: In this case the yoke is much more easily magnetized than the sample. This means that the value of H in the sample is much greater than in the yoke (B being the same in both) and as a simplifying approximation we shall assume that H = N I/L where L is now the magnetized length of the sample only. Use the length shown in Fig. 4 and again try to estimate reasonable uncertainties for L and Ac .

Figure 4: Approximate magnetization lengths of the samples

11. If time permits, experiment with placing the plastic and copper spacers between the transformer iron and the yoke. Introducing these spacers will cause a change in the shape of the hysteresis loop. The plastic spacer will act as an air gap, causing the same magnetizing current to produce much less hysteresis. In general, the larger the air gap, the better the linearity. The copper spacer is available to show the eects of eddy currents

Analysis and Report

1. Using the data saved onto the oppy in step 6 plot the hysteresis loops for both the transformer iron and carbon steel. With the plots, determine the remanence and coercive force for both samples. 2. Of the two materials investigated, which would be most eective, and why, for the following applications: (see Plonus 10.11) (a) The core of a magnetic recording head. (b) Magnetic recording tape. (There are, of course, better materials for these applications.) 3. Determine the power loss in the carbon steel hysteresis loop using the data from step 6 and Eqn. (3). Compare the value you obtain to your estimation of power dissipation in step 9. NOTE: Determining the area of the hysteresis loop is most easily accomplished by taking data that encompasses one hysteresis loop and using numerical integration techniques (Riemann Sums) to determine the area enclosed. 4. In the calculation of the volume for the hysteresis loss in the steel, was the physical length of the sample or the magnetizing length, L , used to calculate the volume in which the loss occurred? Why? 5. Plot the voltages recorded for the H-eld and B-ux on the same graph as a function of time for the transformer iron (this will look like the time display on the oscilloscope). Although the voltage applied to the magnetizing coil varied sinusoidally, the current was non-sinusoidal. Explain why? The discussion in Plonus 10.10 on iron-core transformers may be of help. 6. For Iron, plot the B-ux versus the H-eld using the data from step 7. Using Eqn. (1), plot a curve of relative permeability (r ) versus the H-eld. (a) What is the maximum relative permeability? (b) At what ux density does it occur? (c) What is the permeability at a ux density of 1 Tesla?