EDDY CURRENTS
According to Faraday’s
law of electromagnetic induction, an emf is induced in a conductor when the
magnetic flux passing through it changes. However, the conductor need not be in
the form of a wire or coil.
Even for a conductor in
the form of a sheet or plate, an emf is induced when magnetic flux linked with
it changes. But the difference is that there is no definite loop or path for
induced current to flow away. As a result, the induced currents flow in
concentric circular paths (Figure 4.11). As these electric currents resemble
eddies of water, these are known as Eddy currents. They are also called
Foucault currents.
Here is a simple
demonstration for the production of eddy currents. Consider a pendulum that can
be made to oscillate between the poles of a powerful electromagnet as shown in
Figure 4.12(a).
First the electromagnet
is switched off, the pendulum is slightly displaced and released. It begins to
oscillate and it executes a large number of oscillations before stopping. The
air friction is the only damping force.
When the electromagnet
is switched on and the disc of the pendulum is made to oscillate, eddy currents
are produced in it which will oppose the oscillation. A heavy damping force of
eddy currents will bring the pendulum to rest within a few oscillations (Figure
4.12(b)).
However if some slots
are cut in the disc as shown in Figure 4.12(c), the eddy currents are reduced.
The pendulum now will execute several oscillations before coming to rest. This
clearly demonstrates the production of eddy current in the disc of the
pendulum.
When eddy currents flow
in the conductor, a large amount of energy is dissipated in the form of heat.
The energy loss due to the flow of eddy current is inevitable but it can be
reduced to a greater extent with suitable measures.
The design of
transformer core and electric motor armature is crucial in order to minimise
the eddy current loss. To reduce these losses, the core of the transformer is
made up of thin laminas insulated from one another (Figure 4.13 (a)) while for
electric motor the winding is made up of a group of wires insulated from one
another (Figure 4.13 (b)). The insulation used does not allow huge eddy
currents to flow and hence losses are minimized.
Though the production of
eddy current is undesirable in some cases, it is useful in some other cases. A
few of them are
i.
Induction stove
ii.
Eddy current brake
iii.
Eddy current testing
iv.
Electromagnetic damping
Induction stove is used
to cook the food quickly and safely with less energy consumption. Below the
cooking zone, there is a tightly wound coil of insulated wire. The cooking pan
made of suitable material, is placed over the cooking zone. When the stove is
switched on, an alternating current flowing in the coil produces high frequency
alternating magnetic field which induces very strong eddy currents in the
cooking pan. The eddy currents in the pan produce so much of heat due to Joule
heating which is used to cook the food.
Note: The frequency of the
domestic AC supply is increased from 50–60 Hz to around 20–40 KHz before
giving it to the coil in order to produce high frequency alternating magnetic
field.
This eddy current
braking system is generally used in high speed trains and roller coasters.
Strong electromagnets are fixed just above the rails. To stop the train,
electromagnets are switched on. The magnetic field of these magnets induces
eddy currents in the rails which oppose or resist the movement of the train.
This is Eddy current linear brake (Figure 4.15(a)).
In some cases, the
circular disc, connected to the wheel of the train through a common shaft, is
made to rotate in between the poles of an electromagnet. When there is a
relative motion between the disc and the magnet, eddy currents are induced in
the disc which stop the train. This is Eddy current circular brake (Figure
4.15(b))
It is one of the simple
non–destructive testing methods to find defects like surface cracks, air
bubbles present in a specimen. A coil of insulated wire is given an alternating
electric current so that it produces an alternating magnetic field. When this
coil is brought near the test surface, eddy current is induced in the test
surface. The presence of defects causes the change in phase and amplitude of
the eddy current that can be detected by some other means.In this way, the
defects present in the specimen are identified (Figure 4.16).
The armature of the galvanometer coil is wound on a soft iron cylinder.
Once the armature is deflected,
the relative motion between the soft iron cylinder and the radial magnetic
field induces eddy current in the cylinder (Figure 4.17). The damping force due
to the flow of eddy current brings the armature to rest immediately and then
galvanometer shows a steady deflection. This is called electromagnetic damping.
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