V o l u m e 1 6 , Number 1 0 October, 1928

SIMPLE INDUCTANCE FORMULAS FOR RADIO C O I L S *

BY
HAROLD A . W H E E L E R
 Hazeltine Corporation, Hoboken, N. J.

T is the purpose of this brief paper to p r e s e n t t wo s i m p l e for-

mulas which w r i t e r has found very u s e f u l for computing
t h e i n d u c t a n c e of t h e s i m p l e types o f r a d i o - f r e q u e n c y coils.
T h e new. formulas a r e patterned a f t e r a n e m p i r i c a l formula
d e r i v e d b y P r o f e s s o r L . A . H a z el t in e s o m e y e a r s a g o , f o r t h e

Fig. 1
inductance of a m u l t i - l a y e r coil. This formula follows, f o r
dimensions in inches, a c c o r d i n g t o Fig. 1:
O. 8 a 2 n 2
  microhenries  1
6a 9b 10c
T h i s f or mu la s c o r r e c t t o w i t h i n a b o u t 1 p er c e n t w h e n t h e c o i l
has approximately t h e shape shown in Fig. 1, such t h a t t h e t h r e e
terms i n t h e denominator are about e q u a l .
T h e n e w formulas were d e r i v e d e m p i r i c a l l y from t he i n d u c -
tance formulas a n d c u r v e s i n C i r c u l a r 74 o f t h e B u re a u o f Stand-
a r d s . T h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g coil formulas o f t h i s circular, however,
e it he r r el y on t a b l e s o r i n c l u d e e x p r e s s i o n s which a r e i n c o n v e n i e n t
t o compute. For this reason t h e r e wa s a need f o r more c o n v e n i e n t
* O r i g i n a l Manuscript Received b y the Institute, June 18, 1 9 2 8 .
 

O r i g i n a l Manuscript Received b y the Institute, June 18, 1 9 2 8 .

W h e e l e r : F o r m1u3s9 8 f o Radio Coils 1399

f o r m u l a s , e v e n w i t h t h e l o s s o f s o m e a c c u r a c y , f o r use i n t h e
l a b o r a t o r y . T h e formulas t o b e g i v e n a r e easy t o remember a n d
can u s u a l l y b e computed with on e s e t t i n g o f t h e slide rule.

  b tI
 
 b

Fig. 2

O n e formula   d e r i v e d i n August, 1 9 2 5 g i v e s t h e i n d u c t a n c e
o f a single-layer helical c o i l , in terms of t h e dimensions i n inches,
according t o Fig. 2:

L
 

n1

Fig. 3

a2n2
L= microhenries  2
9a lOb
This formula is correct to within 1 pe r cent f or coils with b >0.8 a.
 

1400 Wheeler: F o r m u l a s for R a d i o C o i l s

Th e o t h e r formula   d e r i v e d i n December, 1 9 2 7 g i v e s t h e
inductance of a single-layer spiral or helical coil, in terms of
t dimensions in inches, according t o Fig. 3  or Fig. 2 :
a2n2 / a2n2
L= or microhenries  3
8a 11c 8a+11b /
T h i s formula i s c o r r e c t t o w i t h i n 5 per cent f o r c o i l s w i t h c > 0 . 2 a.
  o r 2a>b>0.2 a .
In g e n e r a l , formula  2 should b e used f o r h e l i c a l c o i l s ,
whenever b >a, s i n c e  2 i s more accurate under this c o n d i t i o n .
For s h o r t e r helical c o i l s , however, formula  3 -in parentheses-
is more a c c u r a t e , w h e n a > b > 0 . 2 a . T h e t wo formulas  2 a n d
 3 g i v e t h e s a m e value w h e n b =a .
In b o t h formulas  2 a n d   3 , t h e a c c u r a c y may b e l e s s t h a n
t h e s t a t e d a c c u r a c y w h e n t h e r e a r e t oo f ew t u r n s , w h e n t h e
s p a c i n g b e t w e e n t u r n s i s t oo g r e a t , o w h e n t h e s k i n e f f e c t a n d
distributed capacity are important factors.