Flux Computation of iron losses: principles

5. Computation of iron losses: principles

Introduction This chapter deals with the computation of magnetic losses, from the point
of view of principles.

Contents This chapter contains the following topics:

• Computation of losses: general presentation
• Computation of the magnetic losses by means of the formulas of Bertotti
• Computation of the magnetic losses with the LS model

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5.1. Computation of losses: general presentation

Introduction This section deals with the computation of losses in electromechanical

devices, from a general perspective.

Contents This section contains the following topics:

• The losses in the electromechanical devices: general
• The magnetic losses: general computation methods
• Energy, instantaneous power, average power: reminder of definitions

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5.1.1. The losses in the electromechanical devices: general

Losses: general The power losses in the electromechanical devices are mainly of three types:
aspects • the magnetic losses in the magnetic circuits (also called ‘iron losses’)
• the losses by Joule effect in the coils (also called ‘copper losses’)
• the mechanical losses (mainly by friction and ventilation in the rotating
machines)

Losses in The power losses in magnetic materials are connected to the phenomena
magnetic associated with the time variation of the magnetic field.
materials
They are classically subdivided into hysteresis losses, of microscopic origin
and Foucault currents losses, of macroscopic origin. In fact it is a matter of
eddy current in both cases.
• The hysteresis losses (microscopic Eddy currents) are associated to
currents at a small scale. These currents are the result of local induction
variation caused by the magnetic structure in movement (essentially wall
movement).
• The Foucault losses are caused by the Joule effect of the induced (eddy)
currents, whose intensity is proportional to the frequency of the excitation
magnetic field. Thus, these losses are proportional to the square of
frequency of the excitation magnetic field.

Magnetic losses
and the
hysteresis cycle
In the practice, magnetic materials are characterized by their hysteresis cycle
and the magnetic losses can be showed by this cycle, as presented below:
• the volume energy created by hysteresis losses is corresponding to static
hysteresis cycle (f<1Hz).
• as the frequency increases, the cycle area increases and the volume energy
created by eddy current losses is corresponding to the difference between
the dynamic hysteresis cycle area and the static one.

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Modeling … A more thorough study demonstrates that the losses are a response to very
complex phenomena, often interconnected and pertaining to the
microstructure of the magnetic alloys. Consequently, their dependence on the
frequency and on the magnetic flux density is often difficult to model, and it
depends on the studied alloys.

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5.1.2. The magnetic losses: general computation methods

Introduction The computation of the magnetic losses and the modeling of the soft magnetic
materials are two utterly interdependent points.
That is why the computation of the losses can be envisaged in two ways, as
presented in the table below, and in the following sections.

Principle of the method

1 • the hysteresis is taken into consideration at the level of the magnetic
behavior law B(H)
• the computation of the magnetic losses is therefore carried out
directly
2 • the hysteresis is neglected at the level of the magnetic behavior law
B(H)
• the computation of the magnetic losses is carried out a posteriori
starting from theoretical or experimental formulas

Modeling of The first approach concerns the modeling of hysteresis at the level of the
hysteresis (1) magnetic behavior law B(H). It deals with the integration of the B(H)
dependence in the direct solving of the problem.
Even if all the numerical problems of convergence and of management of the
history of the magnetization process are solved out, this approach requires
important computation time and memory size, which makes the simulations
extremely difficult in the case of rotating machines.

Computation a With this second approach, the hysteresis is not introduced at the level of the
posteriori (2) magnetic behavior law B(H).
Neglecting the magnetic hysteresis in the direct solving of the problem results
from the need for simplification, but also from the hypothesis that the
hysteresis does not modify in an essential manner the repartition of the
magnetic flux in the device.
The computation of the spatial and temporal repartition of the magnetic flux
density is carried out by means of an univocal B(H) characteristic. Then,
starting from this distribution, the magnetic losses are calculated by means of
the theoretical or experimental formulas.

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Flux Computation of iron losses: principles

Literature: In order to calculate the power correspondent to the magnetic losses, the
computation of following expressions are found in the literature:
the magnetic • for the magnetic losses by hysteresis :
losses 
Ph  k h f Bmax (hysteresis)
where:
 is the coefficient of Steinmetz, ranging from 1.6 to 2.0
f is the frequency
Bmax is the pick value of the magnetic flux density
• for the losses generated by the Foucault (eddy) currents :
Pec  k ec f 2 B2max (eddy currents)

With Flux … Flux provides the users two modes of computation of the magnetic losses.
In both cases, it is a matter of an a posteriori computation of the magnetic
losses. The hysteresis is therefore not modeled directly at the level of the
solving process and the B(H) magnetic behavior law is an univocal
relationship.
The two provided modes of computation are presented in the diagram below
and detailed in the next sections.

FLUX simulation in FLUX simulation in Solver 2D

Steady state AC Magnetic Transient Magnetic or 3D

Value of B in each Signal B(t) in each

node of the meshing node of the meshing

Calculus of the losses Introduction of the B(t)

Post Processor
by means of the signal in the LS model
2D or 3D
formulas of Bertotti and calculus of losses

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5.1.3. Energy, instantaneous power, average power: reminder of

definitions

Introduction Before approaching the computation of the magnetic losses for the Steady
state AC Magnetic and Transient Magnetic applications of Flux, this
paragraph reminds what the physical quantities calculated in Flux are: energy,
instantaneous power, average power.

Post-processing The post-processing quantities in 3D problems are of two types:

quantities • local quantities, analyzed in all points of the study domain,
• global quantities*, resulting from an integration, analyzed over the entire
study domain or on a part of this domain.
These physical quantities are presented in the two tables below.

Local quantity Name Obtained by Unit

Volume density of
dP(t) W/m3
instantaneous power
Volume density of energy dW   dPt dt
T
dW J/m3
over the period 0

dPt dt
Volume density of average 1 T
T 0
dPmoy dPmoy  W/m3
power over a period

Global quantity Name Obtained by Unit

Instantaneous
P(t) Pt    dPt  dv W
power reg

 Pt  dt 
Energy W
T
W dW dv
W J
over the period 0 reg

Pt  dt
1 T
Average power
(over a period)
Pmoy Pmoy 
T 0
Pmoy  
reg
dPmoy dv W

* In the presence of symmetries and/or periodicities these quantities are computed

for the part of the device represented in the finite elements domain.

Vocabulary Therefore in this document we speak about:

• Instantaneous power of the losses, or Instantaneous losses
• Energy of the losses over the period
• Average power of the losses, or Average losses

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5.2. Computation of the magnetic losses by means of the

formulas of Bertotti

Introduction This section deals with the computation of the magnetic losses in Flux by
means of the formulas of Bertotti.

Contents This section contains the following topics:

• General expression of the magnetic losses: formulas of Bertotti
• Computation of the losses in Steady state AC Magnetic applications
(formulas)
• Computation of the losses in Transient Magnetic applications (formulas)
• Estimation of the coefficients of Bertotti
• Analysis of the results: the post processing quantities

Bibliography Supplementary information on the modeling of the magnetic losses by means

of the theory of Bertotti is available in the paper:
«An improved approach to power losses in magnetic lamination under non
sinusoïdal induction waveform» - F. Fiorillo and A. Nokinov – IEEE Trans.
on Magn. Vol 26 n°5 sept. 1990

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5.2.1. General expression of the magnetic losses: formulas of

Bertotti

Decomposition The total magnetic losses can be decomposed into three categories:
of the losses • the losses by hysteresis which are the most significant component of the
magnetic losses at low frequency
• the classical Foucault currents losses
• the supplementary losses or losses in excess

The separation of the two last types of losses is artificial. They can be regrouped in
one term and they therefore correspond to the losses associated with the cyclic
magnetization process.

Expression of The theory of Bertotti gives us the expression of the magnetic losses in
the losses function of the frequency and of the peak value of the magnetic flux density.
The density of power is expressed by means of the relationship:

1
dP  k1 Bmax f  k 2 ( Bmax f )  2  k 3 ( Bmax f ) 3
where:

• k1 is the coefficient of losses by hysteresis

• k2 is the coefficient of classical Foucault currents losses
• k3 is the coefficient of supplementary losses or in excess
• α1 is the exponent of losses by hysteresis
• α2 is the exponent of classical Foucault currents losses
• α3 is the exponant of supplementary losses or in excess
• f is the frequency
• Bmax is the maximum induction attained

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5.2.2. Computation of the losses in Steady state AC Magnetic

applications (formulas)

Steady state AC In a Steady state AC Magnetic application we are interested to study the
Magnetic: permanent sinusoidal time variation of the magnetic field.
reminder
The unknown (potential) variables and the derived physical quantities
(magnetic field strength and magnetic flux density) are supposed to vary in a
sinusoidal manner in function of time.
The complex representation is therefore utilized, and the solution can be
obtained in one solving.

Power As far as the magnetic losses are concerned, the volume density of average
power dPmoy is written:
1
dPmoy  k1 Bmax f  k 2 ( Bmax f )  2  k 3 ( Bmax f )  3

where:

• k1 is the coefficient of losses by hysteresis

• k2 is the coefficient of classical Foucault currents losses
• k3 is the coefficient of supplementary losses or in excess
• α1 is the exponent of losses by hysteresis
• α2 is the exponent of classical Foucault currents losses
• α3 is the exponant of supplementary losses or in excess
• f is the frequency
• Bmax is the maximum induction attained

which becomes, within the computation frame of Flux:

1
dPmoy  (k1 Bmax f  k 2 ( Bmax f )  2  k 3 ( Bmax f )  3 )k f

where:
• kf is the coefficient of filling (close to 1). This coefficient considers the
electrical insulation of the laminations of the magnetic core.

The average power dissipated in a volume region is written as:

Continued on next page

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Limits of It is important to note that in the previous formula the Bm variable stands for
validity the peak value of the magnetic flux density.
(case of The software utilizes the value of the magnetic flux density in each point.
asynchronous Consequently, it is convenient to be very careful with the results concerning
machines) the problems represented by the rotating machines with the Steady state AC
Magnetic simulation. Indeed, for this type of simulation the rotor has a fixed
position with respect to the stator, and the real rotor movement is modeled by
changing the resistivity of the conductors of the rotor electric circuit. Thus,
the calculated magnetic flux density in a point is dependent on the given
position of the rotor in relationship with the stator. This value in a point can
be different from a rotor-stator position to another, reflecting the space
harmonics of the magnetic field. It follows that the calculated magnetic flux
density does not correspond to the peak value of the magnetic flux density
over a period in the time domain if the rotor were turning. Consequently, the
computation of the magnetic losses must be utilized in this case with much
caution.
Moreover, in the case of a non-linear approximation for the magnetic
behavior law B(H), the saturation phenomenon, introduced by means of an
equivalent model of magnetization, can alter the local values of the magnetic
flux density.

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5.2.3. Computation of the losses in Transient Magnetic applications

(formulas)

Transient In a Magneto Transient application, we are interested to study the variable

Magnetic: regime or the transient time variation of the magnetic field.
reminder
The computation carried out is of step by step in time domain type.

Instantaneous As regards the magnetic losses, the volume density of the instantaneous
power power dP(t) is written:

2 2 3
1 dB dB dB
dP  k1 B f  k 2 g ( 2 )  k 2 g ( 2 )  k 3 g ( 3 )
dt dt dt

With:

1
g ( )  
2
(2 )  1 4  cos  ( )d
0

where:

• k1 is the coefficient of losses by hysteresis

• k 2 is the coefficient of classical Foucault currents losses
• k 3 is the coefficient of supplementary losses or in excess
•  1 is the exponent of losses by hysteresis
•  2 is the exponent of classical Foucault currents losses
•  3 is the exponant of supplementary losses or in excess
• f is the frequency
• B is the induction

which becomes, within the frame of Flux computation:

  
 dB 2 dB 2 dB 3 
 1
dP  k1 B f  k 2 g ( 2 )  k 2 g ( 2 )  k 3 g ( 3 ) kf
 dt dt dt 

where:
• kf is the coefficient of filling (close to 1). This coefficient considers the
electrical insulation of the laminations of the magnetic core.

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Average power The volume density of the average power over a period, dPmoy is written as:
over a period
dPt dt
1 T
T 0
dPmoy 

The average power dissipated in a volume region is written as:

Pmoy   dPmoy dv

reg

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5.2.4. Estimation of the coefficients of Bertotti

Necessary In order to calculate the magnetic losses by the formula of Bertotti, we have
coefficients to define the coefficients for the concerned regions, which are presented in the
table below.

Coefficient
k1 is the coefficient of losses by hysteresis
k2 is the coefficient of classical Foucault currents
losses
k3 is the coefficient of supplementary losses or in
excess
1 is the exponent of losses by hysteresis
2 is the exponent of classical Foucault currents
losses
3 is the exponant of supplementary losses or in
excess
f frequency (except in Steady state AC Magnetic)

Estimation of In order to determine the coefficients k1, k2 and k3, we have to refer to the data
coefficients provided by the manufacturers of laminations.

Determination An Excel sheet permitting to determine coefficients and exponents of Bertotti

of coefficients formulation is available. This tool has been stored on our space disk, during
the installation, at the following path :
C:\Program Files\Altair\2018\flux\Flux\DocExamples\Tools

(If Flux is installed a the path proposed by default (C:\Program Files\Altair)

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5.2.5. Analysis of the results: the post processing quantities

Post-processing The post-processing quantities are:

quantities • on the one hand, the density of the iron losses
(local quantity, analyzed in all the points of the study domain)
• on the other hand, the iron losses (global quantities*, resulting from an
integration, analyzed over the entire study domain or on a part of this
domain)
* In the presence of symmetries and/or periodicities these quantities are computed
for the part of the device represented in the finite elements domain.

Local The available local quantities are presented in the table below. The
quantities instantaneous quantities are quantities calculated only for a Transient
Magnetic application.
Quantity Name Unit Interpretation
Instantaneous density DP_…_INST W/m3
of iron losses: dP(t)
dPt dt
Average density 1 T
T 0
DP_…_MOY W/m3 dPmoy 
of iron losses: dPmoy

The density of iron losses is a density of total iron losses, which can be decomposed
into three terms:
• the density of partial iron losses by hysteresis
• the density of classical partial iron losses by Foucault currents
• the density of supplementary or in excess partial iron losses
These different terms are equally accessible (only in 3D).

Global The available global quantities are presented in the table below. The
quantities instantaneous physical quantities are physical quantities calculated only for a
Transient Magnetic application.
Quantity Name Unit Interpretations
Instantaneous iron P_…
W Pt    dPt  dv
losses: P(t) _INST reg

P_…
Pt  dt
1 T
Average iron
losses: Pmoy _MOY W Pmoy 
T 0
Pmoy  
reg
dPmoy dv

Energy of iron W   Pt  dt 

T
WP J W dW dv
losses: W 0 reg

The iron losses are total iron losses, which can be decomposed into three terms:
• the partial iron losses by hysteresis
• the classical partial iron losses by Foucault currents
• the supplementary partial iron losses
These different terms are equally accessible (only in 3D).

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5.3. Computation of the magnetic losses with the LS model

Introduction This section deals with the computation of the magnetic losses in Flux by
means of the LS model (Loss Surface).

Contents This section contains the following topics:

• General presentation of the LS model
• The characterized materials (nuances of sheets)
• Computation of the losses with the LS model
• Analysis of the results: the post-processing quantities

Bibliography Additional information on iron loss with LS model is available in the

following document :
« Module LS pour l’estimation des pertes fer dans les machines électriques »
- A. Lebouc – Rapport d’étude mai 2004

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5.3.1. General presentation of the LS model

Introduction The LS (Loss Surface) model is a method of estimation of the magnetic losses
a posteriori, based on a model of dynamic hysteresis associated to a finite
elements simulation.

Principle The detailed principle of the method is given in the appendix. Only certain
main points are described in this section.
The LS model requires that the magnetic behavior of a material be perfectly
well defined, having knowledge of a characteristic surface H(B,dB/dt)
(determined experimentally).
Thus, for a B(t) signal of a certain shape and frequency, we can go up via the
H(B,dB/dt) surface to the H(t) field, and thus reconstruct the dynamic cycle
of hysteresis corresponding to it.
This principle is represented in a schematic manner in the figure below.

Signal B(t) of a certain shape

and frequency
Characteristic H (B, dB/dt) surface of the
material measured experimentally

Reconstruction of signal H(t)

(Reconstruction of dynamic hysteresis cycle)

Calculus of losses

Characteristic For each of the materials, the characteristic surface H(B,dB/dt) can be
surface obtained by using a Epstein type device for magnetic measurements in
H(B,dB/dt) medium frequency.
An example of this type of surface is represented in the figure below.

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Flux Computation of iron losses: principles

Reconstruction An analytical model permits the reconstruction of the signal H(t) of the
of the cycle magnetic field strength starting from the signal B(t) of the magnetic flux
density:
H(B,dB/dt) = Hstatic(B) +Hdynamic (B,dB/dt)

B(H) curves like those in the figure below can therefore be obtained,
permitting the computations of iron losses quite accurately.
1.6

1.2

0.8

0.4

-0.4

-0.8

-1.2

-1.6
-1800 -1200 -600 0 600 1200 1800
H (A/m) Estimated Measured

Sinusoidal magnetic flux density + 5th harmonic at 200Hz

With Flux … This model of magnetic losses is not a generic model. It requires the
following information for each of the materials:
• knowledge of the characteristic surface H(B,dB/dt), which must be
measured experimentally
• a reconstruction of the H(t) signal
That is why this model is described in Flux by means of the subroutines* (one
subroutine to each quality of laminations).
*
Note: this is not user subroutine.

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5.3.2. The characterized materials (nuances of sheets)

Available The LS model is assigned to different nuances of laminations, which have

materials been especially described to this purpose.
These are (by the international nomenclature IEC 60404-8-4-1998):
• M100065D
• M60065A
• M80065A
• M60050A
• M40050A
• M33065A
• M33035A
• M27035A
• M100065NR ( = M100065D but Non Annealed)
• M33035 A ARCELOR
• M80050A

If you will wish to add a new material, get in touch with Altair and the
G2ELAB (Laboratoire de genie électrique de Grenoble); you should expect a
minimum delay of approximately six months.

Characteristics The main characteristics of these laminations are presented in the table below.

Lamination Magnetic polarization at Volume density

saturation (Js in T) (in kg/m3)
M100065D 2.16 7850
M60065A 2.10 7750
M80065A 2.13 7800
M60050A 2.10 7750
M40050A 2.03 7650
M33065A 2.00 7650
M33035A 2.03 7650
M27035A 2.00 7650
M100065NR 2.16 7850
M33035A ARC 2.03 7650
M80050A 2.13 7800

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Flux Computation of iron losses: principles

5.3.3. Computation of the losses with the LS model

Magneto In a Transient Magnetic application, we are interested to study the variable

Transient: regime or the transient time variation of the magnetic field.
reminder
The computation carried out is of step by step in time domain type.

The calculable As regards the magnetic losses, it is possible to calculate:

powers … • the volume density of instantaneous power dP(t) via the analysis carried
out by means of the LS model
• the volume density of average power over a period dPmoy :
dPmoy   dPt dt
1 T
T 0
• the average power over a period , dissipated over a region:
Pmoy   dPmoy dv
reg

Problematic Within a Transient Magnetic application, it is the computation of the

Instantaneous power of losses, or Instantaneous losses over a region, which
is carried out for each of the time steps.
In order to calculate the Average power of the losses or Average losses over
a region, we have to get the average of the Instantaneous power of the
losses, over a period. The user must therefore define the period for the
computation of this average value.

Definition of In practice, for each of the provided computations at the level of the post
the period processor, the user has to define the time interval corresponding to a period.
In reality, one can define a time interval, which represents a complete period
or a portion of a period (period, half-period, quarter of a period).
The various possibilities are presented in the table below.

Choice Description
Period If the period involves N time steps,
the user selects the time steps 1 and N+1
(The time steps 1 and N+1 are identical)
Half-period If the period involves 2N time steps,
the user selects the time steps 1 et N+1
(Flux reconstitutes the electrical period which comprises
2N+1 time steps. The time steps 1 and 2N+1 are identical)

Normal symmetry
f(T/2+t) = - f(t)

Aperiodic Flux does not take into consideration this period.

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5.3.4. Analysis of the results: the post-processing quantities

Post-processing The post-processing quantities in 3D problems are of two types:

quantities • local quantities, analyzed in all points of the study domain,
• global quantities*, resulting from an integration, analyzed over the entire
study domain or on a part of this domain.
These physical quantities are presented in the two tables below.
* In the presence of symmetries and/or periodicities these quantities are computed
for the part of the device represented in the finite elements domain.

Local The available local quantities are presented in the table below. The
quantities instantaneous quantities are quantities calculated only for a Transient
Magnetic application.
Quantity Name Unit Interpretation
B reconstituted: BLS BMAG1_LS T
H reconstituted: HLS HMAG1_LS A/m
Density of instantaneous DP_…_INST
W/m3
iron losses: dP(t)
dPt dt
Density of average 1 T
T 0
DP_…_MOY W/m3 dPmoy 
iron losses: dPmoy

Global The available global quantities are presented in the table below. The
quantities instantaneous quantities are quantities calculated only for a Transient
Magnetic application.
Quantity Name Unit Interpretation
Instantaneous P_… Pt    dPt  dv
iron losses: P(t) _INST W reg

P_…
Pt  dt
1 T
Average
iron losses: Pmoy _MOY W
Pmoy 
T 0
Pmoy  
reg
dPmoy dv

Energy of iron W   Pt  dt 

T
WP J W dW dv
losses: W 0 reg

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