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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS 1

Analysis of Magnetic Losses and Complex Permeability in Novel

Soft Magnetic Composite With Ferrite Nanofibers
L’. Ďáková1, J. Füzer1 , S. Dobák 1 , P. Kollár1 , Y. Osadchuk1, M. Strečková2, M. Fáberová2,
R. Bureš2 , P. Kurek2 , and M. Vojtko2
1 Faculty of Science, Institute of Physics, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, 041 54 Košice, Slovakia
2 Institute of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia

This paper investigated the magnetic properties of novel soft magnetic composite (SMC) with ferrite nanofibers. Material consists
of FeSi powder covered by resin and different amounts of Ni0.3 Zn0.7 Fe2 O4 ferrite nanofibers. We prepared SMC with very high
specific electrical resistivity. FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite) sample exhibits the highest electrical resistivity (6.05 ·m) due to low
interparticle contacts. The image analysis of SEM pictures was used for the evaluation of effective area, in which local eddy currents
are flowing. The FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite) sample displays the lowest total losses in the measured frequency range due to the
highest specific electrical resistivity and appropriately covered FeSi particles. Loss separation and the analysis of movable magnetic
objects were performed for all studied materials.
Index Terms— Magnetic losses, magnetic properties, powder metallurgy, soft magnetic materials.

I. I NTRODUCTION magnetic permeability at frequencies of interest for possible

S OFT magnetic composites (SMCs) are used in the elec-
trical equipment as transformers, electric motors, sensors,
low-frequency filters, etc. The amount of energy dissipated
during the magnetization cycle is one of the important char-
acteristics of magnetic materials. Hysteresis loss contribution
in SMCs is higher than that in electrical steel laminations, but
they can offer low total losses at high frequencies due to low
eddy currents. SMCs are applied in the frequency range from
several tens of hertz to few tens of kilohertz. These materials
exhibit several advantages including the 3-D isotropic structure
in the bulk, low total losses at high frequencies, and SMCs
can be produced in desired shapes and sizes by pressing
technology. SMC consists of ferromagnetic powder particles
surrounded by an electrical insulating layer [1]. Addition of
insulating material is an important part of the manufacturing
process. The task of suitable electrical insulating material is
to improve the electrical resistivity of SMC and to reduce
eddy current losses due to negligible interparticle junctions.
The advantages of organic material insulation are the simple
coating process and uniform insulation of particles. These
properties lead to higher electrical resistivity of powder bulk
core. The main disadvantage of resin is a low thermal sta-
bility [2]. The inorganic coating material possesses sufficient
thermal resistance for removing internal stresses created during
the pressing; however, there are brittleness of compacts and
peeling of insulation layer leading to the metal-on-metal
contacts. Nowadays, some authors use ferrite as an inorganic
insulation of powder particles [2]–[5]. Mn–Zn, Ni–Zn, and
Ni ferrites possess appropriate properties such as very high
electrical resistivity, low eddy current losses, and superior
Manuscript received April 11, 2018; revised July 12, 2018;
accepted August 19, 2018. Corresponding author: S. Dobák (e-mail:
samuel.dobak@student.upjs.sk).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMAG.2018.2866814
0018-9464 © 2018 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
SMC applications [6]. Total losses of SMCs with various
ferromagnetic and insulation materials have been studied by
Wu et al. [7], de la Barrière et al. [8], [9], Taghvaei et al. [10],
Ďáková et al. [11], Lauda et al. [12], Birčáková et al. [13].
de la Barrière et al. [8] have experimentally found that total
magnetic losses may depend on the sample cross-sectional area
S only in the sufficiently large cores (S > 5 mm×5 mm) of the
resistivity of a few 10−4 ·m or lower. This effect is related
to the rising macroscopic eddy current contribution with the
sample cross section. In smaller samples of this resistivity,
eddy current paths are well-confined to the microscopic scale
of individual particles or their clusters and macroscopic term
can be disregarded. Bertotti [14] has found that with increasing
frequency, there is a linear increase of number of active mag-
netic objects (MOs) (i.e., domain walls) in various materials.
In this paper, FeSi powder was insulated by a mixture of
boron phenol–formaldehyde resin and Ni0.3 Zn0.7 Fe2 O4 ferrite
nanofibers. The bulk samples were prepared by the compaction
under high pressure to form the ring-shaped cores for the
investigation of electrical and magnetic properties. The com-
posites exhibit very high electrical resistivity in comparison
with the other SMCs found in [2], [3], and [10]. The image
analysis was applied to SEM photographs of bulk samples to
find the average area of ferromagnetic clusters and accordingly
calculate the eddy current loss contribution.
II. E XPERIMENT
The ferromagnetic component of prepared SMC was
FeSi powder available by Höganäs Corporation. FeSi
powder was coated by 3 wt% phenol–formaldehyde
resin enriched by boron (PFRB). The molar ratio of
phenol/formaldehyde/ammonia/boric acid was set to
1/1.5/0.35/0.1. PFRB resin synthesis was described in [15]
and [16]. The Ni0.2 Zn0.8 Fe2 O4 fibers were made of 7
wt% solution of polyvinyl alcohol with Ni(NO3 )2 ·6H2 O,
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2 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS
TABLE I
P HYSICAL P ROPERTIES OF C OMPOSITES , D ENSITY δ, S PECIFIC E LECTRICAL R ESISTIVITY ρ, C OERCIVITY Hc ,
H YSTERESIS L OSS Wh , AND AVERAGE C LUSTER A REA S
Zn(NO3)2 ·6H2 O, and Fe(NO3 )3 ·9H2 O. The molar ratio of
Ni2+ /Zn2+ /Fe3+ was 0.3/0.7/2. Ferrite was prepared by
a needle-less electrospinning technology by a Nanospider
NS Laboratory (ELMARCO) from polyvinyl alcohol/metal
nitrates solution. Electrospun nanofibers were dried at
90 °C for 15 min and then annealed at 800 °C for 4 h.
Ni0.3 Zn0.7 Fe2 O4 fibers were added to the resin. Prepared
samples consisted of different portions of ferrite nanofibers
in resin. PFRB resin contained 0, 0.24, 0.49, and 1.46 wt%
of Ni0.3 Zn0.7 Fe2 O4 fibers, respectively. Powder with resin
was pressed into the ring and cylinder shapes under the
uniaxial pressure of 600 MPa. The ring dimensions were as
follows: the outer diameter of 24 mm, the inner diameter
of 17 mm, and the height of 2 mm. The cylinders had
the dimensions: the diameter of 10 mm and the height
of 2 mm. Green-pressed composites were slowly cured up to
220 °C. The toroidal shape was used for the measurements
of specific electrical resistivity, total magnetic losses, and
complex permeability. Cylindrical samples were used for
the coercivity measurements. Specific electrical resistivity
was measured by a standard four-point method. Real and
imaginary parts of complex permeability were measured by
an impedance analyzer (HP4194A) in the frequency range
from 1 kHz to 40 MHz. Total losses were measured at the
peak magnetic induction Bmax = 0.1 T. The dc hysteresis
loops were measured by a dc flux meter-based hysteresis
graph. Hysteresis loss was determined as an area of a
quasi-dc hysteresis loop in J/m3 . The ac hysteresis loops were
measured by an AMH-1K-S hysteresis graph in the frequency
interval from 100 Hz to 1.2 kHz and by a MATS-2010SA
permeameter in the frequency range from 1 to 37 kHz.
III. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION
Density, specific electrical resistivity ρ, coercivity Hc ,
hysteresis loss Wh , and average cross-sectional area S of
the ferromagnetic component of samples are summarized
in Table I. The specific electrical resistivity of the composite
samples is very high in comparison with previously studied
composites (5.5 × 10−5 ·m [17], 1.1 ·m [18], 1.28 ×
10−6 ·m [19], and 8.53 × 10−6 ·m [20]) and also high in
comparison with Fe–6.5 wt% Si/MnZn(Fe2O4 )2 powder core
(2.9 × 10−5 ·m) [21]. Sample FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite)
exhibits the highest specific electrical resistivity (6.05 ·m)
and the lowest cluster cross-sectional area while the sample
FeSi/resin (1.46 wt% ferrite) the highest density. Hysteresis
loss and coercivity depend on the structure of the ferro-
magnetic component. Impurities in the materials hinder the
movement of the domain walls and cause the increase of
Fig. 1. SEM image of FeSi/resin sample with bounded cluster areas of FeSi
particles.
hysteresis loss and coercivity. Sample FeSi/resin (0.49 wt%
ferrite) has the lowest hysteresis loss and coercivity and the
lowest average area of ferromagnetic clusters due to the best
homogenization of resin in the sample supported by ferrite
nanofiber reinforcement.
For the calculation of eddy current losses inside the ferro-
magnetic particles, it is necessary to know the area, in which
the eddy currents flow. The powder clusters may be created
in the compression process. For that reason, SEM images
were subjected to an extensive ImageJ software analysis
to determine the average area of the cluster related to the
area where the eddy currents flow. After the image analy-
sis, the average cluster area was determined, and individ-
ual ferromagnetic particles and their clusters are shown in
Fig. 1 (red).
In Fig. 2, size and number of clusters are compared for
each sample. It is obvious that the composition of dielectric
part influences the clustering of FeSi powders. FeSi/resin
(0.49 wt% ferrite) sample consists of the largest number of
small clusters [Fig. 2(c)]. It is because of the properly coated
particles. This sample shows the highest measured specific
electrical resistivity of the studied composites.
The real part of complex permeability depends on the
density; sample FeSi/resin (1.46 wt% ferrite) achieves the
highest real part of complex permeability (59 at a frequency
of 1 MHz, Fig. 3). Samples FeSi/resin, FeSi/resin (0.24 wt%
ferrite), and FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite) do not attain their
relaxation frequency in measured frequency range due to
high specific electrical resistivity. Composite with 1.46 wt%
ferrite in resin has a relaxation frequency at 15.2 MHz
(Fig. 4).
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ĎÁKOVÁ et al.: ANALYSIS OF MAGNETIC LOSSES AND COMPLEX PERMEABILITY IN NOVEL SMC 3

Fig. 2. Number of clusters with their average cross-sectional area. (a) FeSi/resin. (b) FeSi/resin (0.24 wt% ferrite). (c) FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite). (d)
FeSi/resin (1.46 wt% ferrite).

Fig. 3. Frequency dependencies of the real part of complex permeability.

Fig. 4. Frequency dependencies of the imaginary part of complex perme-
ability.
Total losses were measured at Bmax = 0.1 T with quasi-
static and alternating magnetization in the frequency range by the effective dimension, in which eddy currents flow in
from 100 Hz to 37 kHz. Sample FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite) the cross section of the sample. In SMC, there are two
has the lowest losses due to the lowest hysteresis loss, low different paths for eddy currents, inside particles and between
coercivity, and high specific electrical resistivity (Fig. 5). particles (due to damaged insulation). Wexc originate in the
The one key property of magnetic materials is energy eddy currents generated by the movement of the domain walls,
dissipated during the magnetization cycle. Total losses can be hence depend on the domain structure.
divided into three components, namely, hysteresis losses Wh , According to [8], the eddy current losses inside the ferro-
eddy current losses Wclass , and excess losses Wexc . The intra were calculated as
magnetic particles Wclass
stress in ferromagnetic particles generated during the pressing  T  2
process leads to the creation of pinning centers which block 1 dB
Wclass =
intra
K (R)S dt (1)
the movement of the domain walls [1]. Wclass are determined ρFeSi 0 dt
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4 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS
Fig. 5. Dependence of total magnetic losses on frequency at Bmax = 0.1 T.
TABLE II
FeSi PARTICLE A SPECT R ATIO R
where ρFeSi is the specific electrical resistivity of FeSi parti-
cles, K (R) is the function of a FeSi particle aspect ratio R,
R is the width-to-length ratio, and it was determined for each
ferromagnetic cluster separately from the SEM cross-sectional
view. R values of FeSi component for each sample are
in Table II; S is the area where eddy currents are present; Bmax
is the maximum magnetic induction [8]. For the calculation
inter of the sample,
of eddy current losses in cross-sectional Wclass
the following relation [8] was used:
 T  2
1 dB
inter
Wclass = K (R)S dt (2)
ρcomposite 0 dt
where ρcomposite is the specific electrical resistivity of com-
posite, K (R) is the function of a sample cross section aspect
ratio R.
Fig. 6 shows the frequency dependence of total losses
and their separation. Sample FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite)
inter in the measured
shows the lowest eddy current losses Wclass
inter depend
frequency range in the sample cross section. Wclass
on the specific electrical resistivity of the whole sample.
Different coating qualities of particles are the result of various
amounts of ferrites in the resin. Ferromagnetic clusters with
different average areas for each sample are thus formed during
pressing. FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite) composite has the
smallest average cluster area and therefore has the lowest eddy
intra [Fig. 6(c)]. W
current losses inside particles Wclass exc are the
intra , W inter , and W from the total
result of subtracting Wclass class h
losses. SEM images showed that the further addition of ferrite
fibers to the same amount of polymer caused desiccation of the
FeSi surface. This fact can be explained by the increase of FeSi
surface with respect to the porous nature of fibers that leads to
insufficient coverage of FeSi surface by resin, resulted in the
moderate deterioration of electrical and magnetic properties.
Bertotti’s statistical approach leads to the conclusion that
the behavior of magnetic domains can be described by the
dynamic term n of the statistically independent MOs, where
each corresponds to a group of neighboring interacting domain
walls. This reduces the loss study to the investigation of the
properties of n as a function of f and B [14]. According
to this theory, excess losses arise from the compensation of
inhomogeneous internal counterfield by an applied magnetic
field. The number n of activated objects is related to the excess
field Hexc [22].
The number of active MOs per area depending on Hexc
was calculated according to [14] and [22] using the following
relations:
n 16 GB2max f
= (3)
S Wexc ρFeSi
Wexc
Hexc = (4)
4 Bmax
where n is the number of simultaneously activated MOs,
G = 0.1356, Bmax is the maximum magnetic induction, S is
the sample cross-sectional area, f is the frequency, Wexc are
the eddy current losses caused by the movement of domain
walls, ρFeSi is the FeSi specific electrical resistivity, and Hexc
is the excess field acting on a domain wall that is dynamically
applied against mesoscopic eddy currents (i.e., eddy currents
near the domain walls) [9]. Since the ferrite amount was
negligible with respect to FeSi particles, the number of active
MOs was calculated only within FeSi ferromagnetic particles.
The dependence of the number of activated MOs on the excess
field is displayed in Fig. 7. MOs in the particles were activated
by increasing frequency. Higher value of n 0 corresponds to
the lower average cluster size (Table III). The number of
active MOs in quasi-static magnetization n 0 was determined
from the fit of this dependence for each sample. FeSi/resin
sample exhibits the lowest excess losses at low frequencies
due to the highest number of active MOs in the quasi-static
magnetization.
IV. C ONCLUSION
The aim of our research was to study the properties of
FeSi composites with ferrite nanofibers in PFRB resin. The
SEM image analysis was used to determine the average area
of the ferromagnetic component, where local eddy currents
flow, to calculate the eddy current losses. The result of the
image analysis showed that FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite) has
the smallest average area due to the best insulated particles.
This was reflected in the highest specific electrical resistivity
and the lowest total losses. The optimal amount of ferrite fibers
can increase the specific electrical resistivity to the very high
values. SMCs with very high electrical resistivity can find
application in high-frequency devices from a few hundreds of
kilohertz to 1 MHz in telecommunication engineering, signal
transformers, and high-frequency magnetic cores.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported in part by the Slovak Research
and Development Agency under Grant APVV-15-0115, in part
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ĎÁKOVÁ et al.: ANALYSIS OF MAGNETIC LOSSES AND COMPLEX PERMEABILITY IN NOVEL SMC
Fig. 6. Separation of total losses in the frequency range from 1 to 37 kHz for samples at Bmax = 0.1 T. (a) FeSi/resin. (b) FeSi/resin (0.24 wt% ferrite).
(c) FeSi/resin (0.49 wt% ferrite). (d) FeSi/resin (1.46 wt% ferrite).
Fig. 7. Number of active MOs depending on Hexc and the fit determining
the number of activated MOs in quasi-static magnetization.
TABLE III
N UMBER OF A CTIVE MOs U NDER THE Q UASI -S TATIC M AGNETIZATION
by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Educa-
tion, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic
and the Slovak Academy of Sciences under Grant VEGA
1/0330/15 and Grant VEGA 1/0377/16, and in part by the
5
Internal Scientific Grant of the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef
Šafárik University, Košice, under Grant VVGS-PF-2017-230.
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