SKIN EFFECT

PREPARED BY: MUHAMMAD MUBEEN

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DEFINITION

• Skin effect is the tendency of an

alternating electric current (AC)
to become distributed within a
conductor such that the current
density is largest near the
surface of the conductor and
decreases with greater depths in
the conductor.
• With increase in the effective length of the
conductors, skin effect increases
considerably.
• The distribution of current over the entire
cross section of the conductor is quite
uniform in case of a DC system. But what
we are using an alternating current system,
where the current tends to flow with higher
density through the surface of the
conductors (i.e., skin of the conductor),
leaving the core deprived of necessary
number of electrons.
CAUSE

• Let us initially consider the solid conductor to be split up into a number of annular filaments
spaced infinitely small distance apart, such that each filament carries an infinitely small fraction
of the total current. Like if the total current = I Lets consider the conductor to be split up into n
filament carrying current ‘i’ such that I = n i.
• During the flow of an alternating current, the current carrying filaments lying on the core has a
flux linkage with the entire conductor cross section including the filaments of the surface as well
as those in the core.
• Whereas the flux set up by the outer filaments is restricted only to the surface itself and is
unable to link with the inner filaments.
• Thus, the flux linkage of the conductor increases as we move closer towards the core and at the
same rate increases the inductor as it has a direct proportionality relationship with flux linkage.
• This results in a larger inductive reactance
being induced into the core as compared
to the outer sections of the conductor.
• The high value of reactance in the inner
section results in the current being
distributed in an un-uniform manner and
forcing the bulk of the current to flow
through the outer surface or skin giving
rise to the phenomena called skin effect.
HIGH FREQUENCY
SKIN EFFECT
• Skin effect is directly proportional
to the frequency.
• Skin effect can be reduced in the
conductor by lowering the current
frequency.
• As we know that there is no skin
effect in DC transmission lines.
SKIN DEPTH(Δ)

• Skin depth is a measure of the depth at which the current

density falls to 1/e of its value near the surface.
• Skin depth also describes the exponential decay of the electric
and magnetic fields, as well as the density of induced currents.
• Distribution of current flow in a cylindrical conductor, For
alternating current, most (63%) of the electric current flows
between the surface and the skin depth (δ).
FACTORS EFFECTING
Δ
• Frequency of the current.
• Electrical and magnetic properties
of the conductors.
FORMULAE

• The AC current density J in a conductor decreases exponentially from its value at the
surface JS according to the depth dfrom the surface, as follows:

• where δis called the skin depth. The skin depth is thus defined as the depth below the
surface of the conductor at which the current density has fallen to 1/e (about 0.37) of JS.
In normal cases it is well approximated as:
FORMULAE

-where
• ρ = resistivity of the conductor
• ω = angular frequency of current =
2π ×frequency
• μ = absolute magnetic permeability
of the conductor
EXAMPLE TO FIND Δ

• Gold is a good conductor with a resistivity of 2.44×10 and is essentially nonmagnetic: 1,

so its skin depth at a frequency of 50 Hz is given by

• And for 60 Hz Skin Depth is 10.1 mm for Gol

HOW TO OVERCOME
SKIN EFFECT?
• Using good conductor
• Decreasing Frequency
HOW TO OVERCOME SKIN
EFFECT?
• Instead of normal conductors/wires A type of cable
called litzwire (from the German Litzendraht,
braided wire) is used to mitigate the skin effect for
frequencies of a few kilohertz to about one
megahertz.
• It consists of several insulated wire strands woven
together in a carefully designed pattern, so that the
overall magnetic field acts equally on all the wires
and causes the total current to be distributed
equally among them.
HOW TO OVERCOME SKIN EFFECT?

• • With the skin effect having little effect on each of

the thin strands, the bundle does not suffer the
same increase in AC resistance that a solid
conductor of the same cross-sectional area would
be due to the skin effect.