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The basic parameters are used within the inductor, whatever type it is.
Inductor cores
Inductors are normally made in the form of a coil. The reason for this is that the
magnetic field is linked between the windings and builds up. As such an inductor
with a sufficiently large inductance can be built up more easily.
As the permeability of the medium in which the coil is located has a major effect
on the inductance, a core running down the centre of the coil is often used.
Cores such as iron, ferrite and other magnetic materials are used. These all
significantly increase the level of inductance that can be obtained, but care has
to be taken in the choice of core to ensure its performance is suitable for the
power level, frequency and general application of the inductor.
Iron cored inductor: Iron cores are normally used for high power and
high inductance types of inductor. Some audio coils or chokes may use iron
laminate. They are generally not widely used.
Ferrite cored inductor : Ferrite is one of the most widely used cores for
a variety of types of inductor. Ferrite is a metal oxide ceramic based
around a mixture of Ferric Oxide Fe2O3 and either manganese-zinc or
nickel-zinc oxides which are extruded or pressed into the required shape.
Bobbin based inductor: This type of inductor is would on a cylindrical bobbin. They
may be designed for printed circuit board mounting, even surface mount of they may be
much larger and mounted via some other mechanical means. Some older versions of
these inductors may even be in a similar format to normal leaded resistors.
Multilayer ceramic inductor: This type of inductor is widely used for surface mount
technology. The inductor is manufactured within a ferrite or more commonly a magnetic
ceramic material. The coil is contained within the body of the ceramic and is presented to
the external circuit on end caps in the same way as chip capacitors, etc.
Film inductor: This form of inductor uses a film of conductor on a base material. The
film is then etched or shaped to give the required conductor profile.
As it can be seen, there are a number of ways to classify the different types of inductor. Each
has its own advantages, and it is therefore necessary to make a decision about the various
options available when choosing an inductor for a particular application. Modern materials and
technology has meant that the performance of inductors has increased and many more options
are open to the circuit designer whether for RF applications, combatting EMI, or for power
applications.
Ferrites are one of the main core materials used in inductors and transformers.
Inductor ferrite is used to provide an increase in the permeability of the medium
around the coil to increase the inductance of the inductor.
Ferrites are widely used within inductor technology to improve the performance
of the inductor.
What is ferrite?
Ferrites are basically iron based magnetic material in the form of a ceramic.
Ferrites are made from a powder and can therefore the ferrite cores used in
inductors and other applications can be manufactured in a variety of shapes
according to the requirements.
Ferrites, or as they are also known ferromagnetic materials can be classified into
two categories based on their magnetic coercivity, or persistence of internal
magnetism:
Soft ferrites: Soft ferrites are ferrite materials that are able to easily
reverse their polarity of their magnetisation without a significant amount of
energy being needed to reverse the magnetic polarity. This means that
there is only a relatively small loss of energy.
Soft ferrites also have a high electrical resistance and therefore, when used
in inductors and transformers eddy current losses are also low.
Soft ferrites are often made from a blend of iron, nickel, zinc or manganese
oxides. Manganese-zinc and nickel-zinc magnets are the most common of
the soft ferrite magnets. As a result of their high resistance, soft ferrites
are widely used in the cores of inductors or transformers because they
result in minimal energy loss.
Generally soft ferrites are accepted as those having a coercivity of less
than 1 kA.m.
Metal Symbol
Cobalt
Co
Metal Symbol
Copper
Cu
Manganese
Mn
Magnesium
Mg
Nickel
Ni
Zinc
Zn
To manufacture the ferrites used in inductors and other applications, the powers
of the metals are mixed in proportions and then milled to give the required grain
size and then pressed into shape.
Sintering entails heating the material to between about 1150C and 1300C.
Sintering is a process where a powdered ceramic material is held in a mold to
give it the required shape and then heated to a temperature which is below the
material melting point. It is found that the atoms in the powder particles diffuse
across the particle boundaries, so that the particles become fused together. In
this way a single solid item is created.
The sintered core of the inductor ferrite may still require further finishing - it may
be ground to provide a very flat surface for situations where mating halves of a
core are required. Here flat surfaces are essential to ensure that air gaps in
inductors or transformers, etc., are as small as possible.
The finished ferrite material contains thousands of small crystals or grains.
Typically these are around 10m across. Within each grain or crystal there are
many more smaller magnetic domains that can will have a random orientation
after heating. With the application of an external field, these domains will tend to
orientate in the same direction.
Ferrite permeability
There are many parameters that are of importance when a ferrite is used within
an inductor. However the chief parameter for an inductor ferrite is the
permeability. The level of permeability of the inductor ferrite enables the inductor
to have a much greater inductance than it would if only an air core were used.
The permeability of ferrites used within inductors varies considerably between
different types of ferrite. They can have permeability levels that may range
between 20 to more than 15,000, although some very specialised ones may be
higher.
Where:
Pc = total core loss
Ph = hysteresis loss
Pe = eddy current loss
Pr = residual loss
It is found that he hysteresis loss increases linearly with increasing frequency and
flux. The eddy current loss increases exponentially with increasing frequency and
flux. However it is found that the hysteresis loss is the dominant core loss up to a
frequency determined by the performance of the core. Above this the eddy
current loss predominates.
To improve high frequency performance the grain size used in the preparation of
the ferrite used for the inductor must be small, and also the mixture used must
be free from impurities.
DC Resistance
Another important inductor parameter is the DC resistance it exhibits. As
inductors are often manufactured from very thin wire, the DC resistance can
sometimes be significant. Even when thicker wire is used, it is still an important
factor because it can significantly affect the overall performance as an inductor.
The DC resistance can be considered to be in series with the pure indictor for the
sake of most circuit simulations, although in reality it is distributed throughout
the inductor.
The DC resistance, measured with a steady current is normally specified in Ohms,
and typically given as a maximum value as it is sometimes difficult to control
accurately.
Saturation Current
The saturation current is another parameter or specification which is of
importance for an inductor.
In an inductor it is possible to saturate the core because there is a limit to the
level of magnetic flux a magnetic core such as iron, ferrite or another compound
can take. When this occurs the relative permeability falls and in turn this causes
the level of inductance falls.
The saturation current is generally taken to be the current at which the level of
inductance falls by a specified amount. Figures of 10% are often used for
inductors with ferrite cores and 20% for those with iron powdered cores.
Incremental current
Often inductors run with a bias current passing through them. For example, this
may be the quiescent current for a transistor collector where the inductor is in
the collector circuit itself. There is a drop in inductance that is caused by this
current and it is necessary to understand this so that the circuit will be able to
operate satisfactorily even when the DC bias current is flowing.
The incremental current inductor parameter is generally taken as the DC bias
current flowing through the inductor that causes the inductance to fall by 5%
from its initial value with zero bias.
The value for the incremental current parameter or specification indicates the
level where a further increase in current would cause the inductance to fall by a
significant value.
The incremental current value for an inductor is most important when using
ferrite cores as they exhibit a much faster reduction in inductance with increasing
current than other forms of core such as a powered iron core.
Rated current
Another important inductor parameter is the rated current. This specification is
the maximum continuous current that the inductor can withstand. Generally the
limiting factor for this parameter is the temperature rise of the inductor.
With thin wire being used in many inductors to keep the size to a minimum, the
current flow can result in power being dissipated in the inductor with the result
that the temperature rises. Undue temperature rises can reduce the reliability or
even cause catastrophic failure in some circumstances.
Core permeability
The permeability of the inductor core is a key parameter. It governs the
inductance of the inductor for a given inductor geometry. Higher permeability
core materials result in the inductor providing a higher level of inductance.
The core material as well as the core shape, size and geometry affect the overall
effective permeability, and therefore these factors also need to be taken into
consideration as well.
Working of Inductor
Magnetic cores may be toroidal or E-type cores. Materials like ceramic, ferrite,
powered iron are used for this core. The coil carrying the electric current
produces the magnetic field around the conductor. More magnetic lines are
produced if the core is placed inside the coil, provided high permeability of the
core is used.
The magnetic field induces EMF in the coil which results in flow of current.
According to Lenzs law, the induced current opposes the cause, which is the
applied voltage. Hence inductor opposes the change in input current that leads to
change in the magnetic field. This reduction of the current flow due to the
induction iscalled inductive reactance. Inductive reactance will increase if the
number of turns in the coil is increased. It also stores the energy as magnetic
field through charging and discharging processes and releases the energy while
switching the circuit. Application areas of inductors include analog circuits, signal
processing, etc
Power loss in an Inductor
Power dissipated in inductor is mainly due to the two sources: inductor core and
the windings.
The other type of core loss is eddy current loss. These eddy currents are induced
in the core material due to the rate change of magnetic field according to the
Lenzs law. Eddy current losses are much less than the hysteresis loss. These
losses are minimized by using the low hysteresis coefficient materials and
laminated core.
Inductor windings
Inductor Windings: In inductors, losses occur not only in the core, but also in
the windings. Windings have their own resistance. When the current passes
through these windings, heat losses (I^2*R) will takes place in the windings. But
with increasing frequency, winding resistance increases due to the skin effect.
Skin effect causes the current to concentrate on the surface of conductor than
centers. So the effective area of the current carrying area decreases.
Also eddy currents induced in the windings causes the current to be induced in
the neighboring conductors which is called proximity effect.
Due the overlapping conductors in the coils, proximity effect causes to increase
the resistance of the conductor higher than in case of the skin effect. Windings
losses are reduced with the advanced winding technologies like shaped-foil and
litz wire windings.
https://www.elprocus.com/different-types-of-inductors/
I hope my article has been informative and intriguing. So here is basic question
for you What is the role of inductors in electrical circuits?
add a comment |
2 Answers
Off-the-shelf inductors for bucks usually only specify a maximum output current
and temperature rise, and don't talk about B max or other magnetic
parameters. This is for a few reasons:
A 'good' buck design usually has ripple current of 10-20% of the DC output
level (it's operating well into continuous conduction mode at full load)
10-20% ripple means the AC flux swing is small (a minor loop) so there
isn't a lot of switching loss
Because the AC flux swing is small, the DC resistance of the winding is the
major loss contributor
Because the AC flux swing is small, the permeability loss due to DC bias
won't push the part into saturation
You can very easily get into trouble using one of these buck inductors in a nonbuck application (one that has high AC ripple) - the magnetic parameters are
often unknown and you're stuck empirically figuring out if the part will saturate
out or not, by measuring the current and seeing if you're saturating out or not.
If you design your own inductor, you'll be picking your own core and will know all
the magnetic parameters, which means you can analytically determine the risk
of saturation in the end application.
share|improve this answer
add a comment |
The saturation current of an inductor tells you at what point the inductance
starts to roll off. In other words, operation above the saturation current will give
you an inductance less than what you thought it would be. You want to avoid the
situation of sourcing a higher current than your inductor saturation current(this
could make your output have a very big ripple). Make sure your inductor is rated
for the maximum current you will be supplying.
Your last sentence is not very clear. The main point is, the inductor's
1 saturation current rating should be greater than the peak current you intend
to put through it by a comfortable margin. Dave Tweed Dec 12 '12 at
19:30
Types and Application
We're continuing in section 7.1, and we're looking at inductor types and
applications. All inductors are similar in certain respects. They all possess
times the inductance which is 54.5 mH. Let's get the calculator and see what we
would get there. We would say two times 3.14 times the frequency of 1,000 times
54.5 mH, 54.5, let's see exponent minus three equals and we get 342.2 ohms,
342 ohms. That is going to be our value that we'll call X of L. That represents the
total reactance of the circuit.
How could we check that to see if that is in fact the correct answer? When I did
the simulation with this circuit, notice I inserted the meter into the circuit and I
measured the current. I just typed in the value which was 2.917 milliamps.
Because an inductor acts much like a resistor in regard to its resistance, we could
use Ohm's Law to verify that this is in fact the correct answer. We could use any
area because we know the voltage, we know the current, we know the reason.
We could've used any variation of Ohm's Law to do that. If we say voltage divided
by resistance should equal current. Our voltage is one, our resistance is 342, let's
see what we get. Let's get our calculator out here and we'll say one volt divided
by 342 and that should equal 2.92. That is very close to our value over here. That
confirms that our answer is in fact correct.
Circuit analysis of inductive circuits. Solving for voltages and currents in an
inductive circuit uses the same principles as for resistive circuits using variations
on Ohm's Law. I just mentioned them on the previous slide, but these are the
formulas for Ohm's Law. The only difference is that where the X of L here would
be R. Remember, current equals voltage divided by X of L. That is the same thing
as current equals voltage divided by resistance, which we've done before. Voltage
equals, in this case, current divided by X of L or current times X of L, some of the
hat would current times resistance in Ohm's Law. Then, here we have X of L
equals VL over IL and in Ohm's Law that would be resistance equals voltage
divided by current.
We're going to complete this session with looking at calculating voltage drop
across an inductor. There's a couple of ways that we could do this. Here, again,
this is another circuit from Electronics Workbench. We have 500 mV RMS applied
at a frequency of 200 kHz. We have inductors in the circuit. I already went in and
calculated the reactances. This 250 at this particular frequency is going to be 314
ohms. This 100 mH component will be at 125.6 given this frequency. Given this,
we can apply basic voltage divider rules that we did with resistors. We could say,
like we've done right here, 125.6 divided by 125.6 plus 314. That would give us a
ratio times the 0.5 volts which is the applied voltage and that would give us
142.8 mV.
Another way, the inductances are also proportional. We could've just said 100 mH
over 100 plus 250 times 0.5, and we would've gotten the same value because
this would yield the same ratio as this, and we would've gotten the same answer.
This has been a look at inductances in circuits. This is a series circuit, and then
we looked at how the same principles that apply to Ohm's Law will apply to
inductance, especially inductive reactance. Then, we did some calculations with
parallel inductance and we calculated the reactance in the circuit. We looked at
parallel reactances, parallel inductances, and inductance in series. We talked
about ferrite beads. Your text doesn't go into the details that I mentioned here,
but I wanted to bring this up simply because this is a common application where
you'll see the use of ferrite beads.
Prev Video
The purpose of the inductor is to oppose voltage change in any way while allowing current to pass through itself.
In later sections you will learn how the inductor is related to the capacitor and the transformer and also what there
differences are on a waveform.
There are many situations in which the inductor can be found in and we will cover them all.
The inductor
In the Intro to Flux and Magnetism you learned that when current flows through a conductor, a magnetic field
surrounds the conductive wire. The more current traveling through the wire the greater the amount of flux lines
will be present. What you didn't learn is what these lines of flux can generate voltage on surrounding conductors.
It does this because as you learned before that flux lines, magnetism and static are all related, it is just that flux is a
way of calculating magnetic lines and magnetism is a property of static.
As you know, static has two charges positive "protons" and negative "electrons" and when there is a greater
amount of any particle then usual then the an equal amount of the opposite particles will be attracted to it. You also
learned that particles that emitting same charges will repel each other and particles of the opposite charges will
attract to each other. What does this have to do with the inductor?
Well the philosophy behind the inductor is that flux lines can generate voltage, this is used to alter waveforms in
circuits where there is a presents of ripple current. Ripple current is current that is DC but it does not stay at one
level, instead it is like water ripples.
Since flux lines are little more then static charges that can never
intersect with flux lines of the same charge, as you increase
current these lines of force start to extent further and further
outward.
It turns out that if you have a field of surrounding a conductor
"wire" and it comes in contact with another conductor "wire" then
the flux lines will push electrons in a predictable direction. What
you are actually doing is creating an Electromagnetic Force
(EMF), also know as voltage in the opposite direction. However if
there was only one coil which is the primary wire then the EMF is
induced on its self, generating voltage in the opposite direction.
Known as CEMF or Counter Electromagnetic Force or counter
voltage this phenomenon is what makes the inductor possible.
As you increase current the magnetic fields start expand outward moving through near by coils. When this
happens voltage is generated in the opposite direction making it harder and harder as you increase current flow.
When current has reached its peak so has the inductors opposition to current flow because in order to generate
voltage there must be movement in ether the magnetic fields or coil wires. Now if we were using a DC voltage
source then this would be the end of the inductors use unless you were using it in an audio device or some
alternating DC voltage application. In this situation you would pay attention to what happens when current
declines as well as the current inclination. It is just like when voltage is introduced but instead of generating
voltage on one direction, it generates it on the opposite direction making it look like the waveform is more oval
than peaks and valleys.
See generators for more information on voltage and current generation.
When current has reached its peak the inductor stops working until there is a disruption in current flow like in
the case of ripple current or in the case of audio applications or power supplies.
In audio application you would refer to these waves as frequencies or audio waves. In the case of speaker
systems you would want to discriminate high frequencies from low frequencies. To do this you would use the
inductor to filter out high frequencies, which is good when you are connecting a bass speaker. However if you
were making a power supply you would not use the inductor to flatten down the AC current. What you would do is
use a related device known as a transformer that steps down current or voltage. Next you would add a device
known as a diode to make it so that current travels in only one direction but does not make the waveforms flat.
To flatten down the waveform you would use a device related to the inductor, known as the capacitor which is
basically an inefficient battery that only holds a charge for fractions of a second but is perfect in an alternating DC
circuit. This would be a good power source for analog radios but in the case of computer devices, you would want
Introduction
The inductor is one of the greatest electronic component to enter the electronic
field, it utilizes AC waveforms to reduce current, the more current the more
induced resistance there will be in the circuit. Through this discussion you will earn
how to calculate the affects on the circuit that the inductor has as well as
calculating inductance in different setup situations. You will almost never see an
inductor in a computer system but you will se them in power supplies for all sorts
of household electronics.
The inductor family
Here we have s set of five different
inductors with distinct personalities.
Inductor A is an inductor designed for
high power environment, it has a ferrite
core which gives it a greater inductance
ability which makes it perfect for power
supplies with a need for precise outputs.
Inductor B is an air core inductor which offers little inductance in a circuit but
does have a thick coil, this is a good example of something that you would find in
a TV set or computer monitor.
Inductor C is a device with an inductance rating specified on its outer rings.
Although I will explain this inductor in much more detail later, you should also
know what kind of devices you might find it in and why.
Due to a thin coil and compact size, it is only suitable for such devices such as
hand held radios and such devices with low power consumption.
Inductor D is a device that has a variable
core for precision tuning for such devices
as radio frequency discriminating. As you
might also have noticed, the coils are very
thin few which means that the situation in
where this device can be in are very
limited.
Inductor E on the other hand is built
much like inductor
D in the way that it has a variable core but the coil windings are much thicker and
are able to withstand a greater amount of power. This device would be suitable for
such devices like low consumption power-supplies