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Basic Electronics

Assignment # 4
Submitted To: Zohair Ahmed
Submitted By: Usama Waheed
Student ID: BSSE-F15-41
Date: 18-01-2016

(Mandi Bahauddin Campus)

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Reluctance
History:
The term was coined in May 1888 by Oliver Heaviside. The notion of “Magnetic
Reluctance” was first mentioned by James Joule and the term "Magneto Motive force”
(MMF) was first named by Bosanquet. The idea for a magnetic flux law, similar to Ohm's
lawfor closed electric circuits, is attributed to H. Rowland.
Reluctance is usually represented by a cursive capital “R”

Definition:
In a DC field, the reluctance is the ratio of the "Magneto Motive Force” (MMF) in a magnetic
circuit to the magnetic flux in this circuit. In a pulsating DC or AC field, the reluctance is the
ratio of the amplitude of the "Magneto Motive Force” (MMF) in a magnetic circuit to the
amplitude of the magnetic flux in this circuit.

where
("R") is the reluctance in ampere-turns per weber (a unit that is equivalent to turns
per henry). "Turns" refers to the winding number of an electrical conductor comprising an
inductor.
("F") is the Magneto Motive force (MMF) in ampere-turns
Φ ("Phi") is the magnetic flux in webers.
It is sometimes known as Hopkinson's law and is analogous to Ohm's Law with
resistance replaced by reluctance, voltage by MMF and current by magnetic flux.
Magnetic flux always forms a closed loop, as described by Maxwell's equations, but
the path of the loop depends on the reluctance of the surrounding materials. It is concentrated
around the path of least reluctance.
Air and vacuum have high reluctance, while easily magnetized materials such as soft
iron have low reluctance. The concentration of flux in low-reluctance materials forms strong
temporary poles and causes mechanical forces that tend to move the materials towards
regions of higher flux so it is always an attractive force (pull).

The reluctance of a uniform magnetic circuit can be calculated as:

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or

where
 l is the length of the circuit in metres
 is the permeability of vacuum, equal to 4π × 10−7 henry per metre
 is the relative magnetic permeability of the material (dimensionless)
 is the permeability of the material ( )
 A is the cross-sectional area of the circuit in square metres.

Applications:

 Constant air gaps can be created in the core of certain transformers to reduce the effects
of saturation. This increases the reluctance of the magnetic circuit, and enables it to store
more energy before core saturation. This effect is also used in the flyback transformer.

 Variable air gaps can be created in the cores by a movable keeper to create a flux switch that
alters the amount of magnetic flux in a magnetic circuit without varying the
constant Magneto Motive force in that circuit.

 Variation of reluctance is the principle behind the reluctance motor (or the variable reluctance
generator) and the Alexanderson alternator. Another way of saying this is that the reluctance
forces strive for a maximally aligned magnetic circuit and a minimal air gap distance.

 Multimedia loudspeakers are typically shielded magnetically, in order to reduce magnetic

interference caused to televisions and other CRTs. The speaker magnet is covered with a
material such as soft iron to minimize the stray magnetic field.
Reluctance can also be applied to:

 Reluctance motors
 Variable reluctance (magnetic) pickups

Permeance
Permeance, in general, is the degree to which a material admits a flow of matter or energy.
Permeance is usually represented by a curly (calligraphic) capital P, or capital lambda Λ. It is the
inverse of Reluctance
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Electromagnetism:
In electromagnetism, permeance is the inverse of reluctance. Permeance is a measure of the
quantity of flux for a number of current-turns in magnetic circuit. A magnetic circuit almost
acts as though the flux is 'conducted', therefore permeance is larger for large cross sections of
a material and smaller for longer lengths. This concept is analogous to electrical
conductance in the electric circuit.

Magnetism:
Magnetic permeance is defined as the reciprocal of magnetic reluctance (in analogy
with the reciprocity between electric conductance and resistance):

which can also be re-written:

using Hopkinson's law (magnetic circuit analogue of Ohm's law for electric circuits) and the
definition of magnetomotive force (magnetic analogue of electromotive force):

Where:
ΦB = Magnetic flux
NI = Current-turns, (current) × (number of turns of conductor to make a coil).
Alternatively in terms of magnetic permeability (analogous to electric conductance):

Where:
 μ = Permeability of material
 A = Cross-sectional area
 = magnetic path length
The SI unit of magnetic permeance is "webers per ampere-turn", that is Wb A−1.

Materials science:
In Materials science, permeance is the degree to which a material transmits another
substance.