and it is desired to know the ampere-turns required to produce a given total of flux round the circuit, we have to calculate from the magnetization curves of the material of each part the necessary magnetomotive forces and add these forces together. The practical application of this principle to the predetermination of the field windings of dynamo magnets was first made by Drs J. and E. Hopkinson (Phil. Trans., 1886, 177, p. 331).
We may illustrate the principles of this predetermination by a simple example. Suppose a ring of iron has a mean diameter of 10 cms. and a cross section of 2 sq. cms., and a transverse cut on air gap made in it 1 mm. wide. Let us inquire the ampere-turns to be put upon the ring to create in it a total flux of 24,000 C.G.S. units. The total length of the iron part of the circuit is (10π − 0.1) cms., and its section is 2 sq. cms., and the flux density in it is to be 12,000. From Table II. below we see that the permeability of pure iron corresponding to a flux density of 12,000 is 2760. Hence the reluctance of the iron circuits is equal to
| 10π − 0.1 | = | 220 | C.G.S. units. |
| 2760 × 2 | 38640 |
The length of the air gap is 0.1 cm., its section 2 sq. cms., and its permeability is unity. Hence the reluctance of the air gap is
| 0.1 | = | 1 | C.G.S. unit. |
| 1 × 2 | 20 |
Accordingly the magnetomotive force in ampere-turns required to produce the required flux is equal to
| 0.8 (24,000) ( | 1 | + | 220 | ) = 1070 nearly. |
| 20 | 38640 |
It follows that the part of the magnetomotive force required to overcome the reluctance of the narrow air gap is about nine times that required for the iron alone.
In the above example we have for simplicity assumed that the flux in passing across the air gap does not spread out at all. In dealing with electromagnet design in dynamo construction we have, however, to take into consideration the spreading as well as the leakage of flux across the circuit (see Dynamo). It will be seen, therefore, that in order that we may predict the effect of a certain kind of iron or steel when used as the core of an electromagnet, we must be provided with tables or curves showing the reluctivity or permeability corresponding to various flux densities or—which comes to the same thing—with (B, H) curves for the sample.
Iron and Steel for Electromagnetic Machinery.—In connexion with the technical application of electromagnets such as those used in the field magnets of dynamos (q.v.), the testing of different kinds of iron and steel for magnetic permeability has therefore become very important. Various instruments called permeameters and hysteresis meters have been designed for this purpose, but much of the work has been done by means of a ballistic galvanometer and test ring as above described. The “hysteresis” of an iron or steel is that quality of it in virtue of which energy is dissipated as heat when the magnetization is reversed or carried through a cycle (see Magnetism), and it is generally measured either in ergs per cubic centimetre of metal per cycle of magnetization, or in watts per ℔ per 50 or 100 cycles per second at or corresponding to a certain maximum flux density, say 2500 or 600 C.G.S. units. For the details of various forms of permeameter and hysteresis meter technical books must be consulted.[1]
An immense number of observations have been carried out on the magnetic permeability of different kinds of iron and steel, and in the following tables are given some typical results, mostly from experiments made by J. A. Ewing (see Proc. Inst. C.E., 1896, 126, p. 185) in which the ballistic method was employed to determine the flux density corresponding to various magnetizing forces acting upon samples of iron and steel in the form of rings.
The figures under heading I. are values given in a paper by A. W. S. Pocklington and F. Lydall (Proc. Roy. Soc., 1892–1893, 52, pp. 164 and 228) as the results of a magnetic test of an exceptionally pure iron supplied for the purpose of experiment by Colonel Dyer, of the Elswick Works. The substances other than iron in this sample were stated to be: carbon, trace; silicon, trace; phosphorus, none; sulphur, 0.013%; manganese, 0.1%. The other five specimens, II. to VI., are samples of commercial iron or steel. No. II. is a sample of Low Moor bar iron forged into a ring, annealed and turned. No. III. is a steel forging furnished by Mr R. Jenkins as a sample of forged ingot-metal for dynamo magnets. No. IV. is a steel casting for dynamo magnets, unforged, made by Messrs Edgar Allen & Company by a special pneumatic process under the patents of Mr A. Tropenas. No. V. is also an unforged steel casting for dynamo magnets, made by Messrs Samuel Osborne & Company by the Siemens process. No. VI. is also an unforged steel casting for dynamo magnets, made by Messrs Fried. Krupp, of Essen.
Table I.—Magnetic Flux Density corresponding to various Magnetizing
Forces in the case of certain Samples of Iron and Steel (Ewing).
| Magnetizing Force H (C.G.S. Units). |
Magnetic Flux Density B (C.G.S. Units). | |||||
| I. | II. | III. | IV. | V. | VI. | |
| 5 | 12,700 | 10,900 | 12,300 | 4,700 | 9,600 | 10,900 |
| 10 | 14,980 | 13,120 | 14,920 | 12,250 | 13,050 | 13,320 |
| 15 | 15,800 | 14,010 | 15,800 | 14,000 | 14,600 | 14,350 |
| 20 | 16,300 | 14,580 | 16,280 | 15,050 | 15,310 | 14,950 |
| 30 | 16,950 | 15,280 | 16,810 | 16,200 | 16,000 | 15,660 |
| 40 | 17,350 | 15,760 | 17,190 | 16,800 | 16,510 | 16,150 |
| 50 | · · | 16,060 | 17,500 | 17,140 | 16,900 | 16,480 |
| 60 | · · | 16,340 | 17,750 | 17,450 | 17,180 | 16,780 |
| 70 | · · | 16,580 | 17,970 | 17,750 | 17,400 | 17,000 |
| 80 | · · | 16,800 | 18,180 | 18,040 | 17,620 | 17,200 |
| 90 | · · | 17,000 | 18,390 | 18,230 | 17,830 | 17,400 |
| 100 | · · | 17,200 | 18,600 | 18,420 | 18,030 | 17,600 |
It will be seen from the figures and the description of the materials that the steel forgings and castings have a remarkably high permeability under small magnetizing force.
Table II. shows the magnetic qualities of some of these materials as found by Ewing when tested with small magnetizing forces.
Table II.—Magnetic Permeability of Samples of Iron and Steel under
Weak Magnetizing Forces.
| Magnetic Flux Density B (C.G.S. Units). |
I. Pure Iron. | III. Steel Forging. | VI. Steel Casting. | |||
| H | μ | H | μ | H | μ | |
| 2,000 | 0.90 | 2220 | 1.38 | 1450 | 1.18 | 1690 |
| 4,000 | 1.40 | 2850 | 1.91 | 2090 | 1.66 | 2410 |
| 6,000 | 1.85 | 3240 | 2.38 | 2520 | 2.15 | 2790 |
| 8,000 | 2.30 | 3480 | 2.92 | 2740 | 2.83 | 2830 |
| 10,000 | 3.10 | 3220 | 3.62 | 2760 | 4.05 | 2470 |
| 12,000 | 4.40 | 2760 | 4.80 | 2500 | 6.65 | 1810 |
The numbers I., III. and VI. in the above table refer to the samples
mentioned in connexion with Table I.
It is a remarkable fact that certain varieties of low carbon steel (commonly called mild steel) have a higher permeability than even annealed Swedish wrought iron under large magnetizing forces. The term steel, however, here used has reference rather to the mode of production than the final chemical nature of the material. In some of the mild-steel castings used for dynamo electromagnets it appears that the total foreign matter, including carbon, manganese and silicon, is not more than 0.3% of the whole, the material being 99.7% pure iron. This valuable magnetic property of steel capable of being cast is, however, of great utility in modern dynamo building, as it enables field magnets of very high permeability to be constructed, which can be fashioned into shape by casting instead of being built up as formerly out of masses of forged wrought iron. The curves in fig. 3 illustrate the manner in which the flux density or, as it is usually called, the magnetization curve of this mild cast steel crosses that of Swedish wrought iron, and enables us to obtain a higher flux density corresponding to a given magnetizing force with the steel than with the iron.
From the same paper by Ewing we extract a number of results relating to permeability tests of thin sheet iron and sheet steel, such as is used in the construction of dynamo armatures and transformer cores.
No. VII. is a specimen of good transformer-plate, 0.301 millimetre thick, rolled from Swedish iron by Messrs Sankey of Bilston. No. VIII. is a specimen of specially thin transformer-plate rolled from scrap iron. No. IX. is a specimen of transformer-plate rolled from
- ↑ See S. P. Thompson, The Electromagnet (London, 1891); J. A. Fleming, A Handbook for the Electrical Laboratory and Testing Room, vol. 2 (London, 1903); J. A. Ewing, Magnetic Induction in Iron and other Metals (London, 1903, 3rd ed.).
