A STUDY

ON
APPLICATI
ON OF
EDDY
CURRENT
BRAKES  

Guided By: Submitted By

Prof. R.R. Joshi Tanmay Arya
IV Year EE
 • Introduction
• Principle
• Types of Eddy Current Brakes
CONTENTS • Working
• Advantages 
• Disadvantages
• Applications 
INTRODUCTION

 An eddy current brake, like a conventional friction brake, is a device used

to slow or stop a moving object by dissipating its kinetic energy as heat.
 These brakes make use of opposing tendency of eddy currents.
 In an eddy current brake the magnetic field may be created by a
permanent magnet, or an electromagnet so the braking force can be
turned on and off or varied by varying the electric current in the
electromagnet's windings.
Contd..,
• The Eddy Current brakes does not work by friction, there are no brake
shoe surfaces to wear out, necessitating replacement, as with friction
brakes.
• Eddy current brakes are used to slow high-speed trains and roller
coasters, to stop powered tools quickly when power is turned off, and in
electric meters used by electric utilities.
PRINCIPLE

• Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction

• The induced electromotive force at any closed circuit is equal to the
negative of the time rate of change of the magnetic flux through the
circuit.

E= -N dΦ/dt
• Where
• E is EMF
• ΦB is Magnetic flux
• N is Number of turns of wire
• Lenz’s Law
• An induced emf always gives rise to a current whose magnetic field
opposite the change in magnetic flux.

E= -dΦ/dt
• Where
• E is EMF
• ΦB is Magnetic Flux
TYPES

Eddy Current Brakes

•  Circular
•   Linear

• Circular:- In a circular eddy

current brakes, the conductor
is a flat disk rotor that turns
between the poles of the
magnet.
• Linear :- In a linear eddy
current brakes, the
conductive piece is a straight
rail or track that the magnet
moves along.
 WORKING

Suppose we have a huge solid block of copper mounted on wheels. It is moving at a

very high speed and we need to stop it.

Suppose we place a giant magnet next to the track so that train had to pass nearby.

As the copper approached the magnet eddy currents would be

Contd..,
• generated inside the copper which would their own magnetic field.

• As the front part approached the magnet eddy currents in that bit of
copper would try to generate a repulsive magnetic field to slow down
copper’s approach to magnet.
• As the front passed by, slowing down, the currents there would reverse,
generating an attractive magnetic field that tried to pull the train back
again. (again, slowing it down).
• The copper would heat up the eddy currents swirled inside it, gaining the
kinetic energy lost by the train as it slowed down.
ADVANTAGES

 It uses electromagnetic force and not mechanical friction.

 Non-mechanical ( no moving parts, no friction )
 Fully resettable
 Can be activated at will via electrical signal
 Low maintenance
 Operates at any rotational speed
 Light weight
 Eddy-current brakes are quite, frictionless, and wear-free, and require little or no
maintenance.
 They produce no smell or pollution ( unlike friction brakes, which can release toxic
chemicals into the environment ).
DISADVANTAGES

• Braking force diminishes as speed diminishes with no ability to hold the

load in position at standstill.

• That could be considered to be a safety issue, but it really means that

friction braking may need to be used as well.

• Eddy-current brakes can only be used where the infrastructure has been
modified to accept them.

• It can not be used at low speed vehicles or vehicle running at low speed
APPLICATIONS

• For additional safety on long decants in mountain area.

• For high speed passenger and goods vehicle.

• Eddy current brakes are best substitutes for ordinary brakes, which are being used
nowadays in road vehicles even in trains, because of their jerk-free operation.

• In mountain areas where continuous braking force is needed, for a long time, the eddy
current braking is very much useful for working without overheating.

• Eddy current brakes are very much useful for high-speed passengers and good vehicles.
 CONCLUSION

•The ordinary brakes which are being used now a days stop the   vehicles by
means of mechanical blocking. These may cause skidding and wear and tear
of the vehicle.
• Eddy Current Brakes is a good invention for speed control of high speed
vehicles. 
• It is an abrasion free method for braking of vehicle including trains.
• It makes use of opposite tendency of eddy currents.
REFERENCES

1. Manual 1 Gonzalez, Volume 25,Issue 4,July 2004

2. IEEE Transactions on magnetics, Volume 34, Issue 4, July 1998
3. Analysis of eddy current brake for high-speed railway by Wang.P.J.&
Chiuch.S.J.
4. Automobile electrical equipments by Young &Griffith.
5. Automatic engineering by Kripal Sing.
6. Clutches and brakes by William.C.Orthwin.
7. www.reelectromagneticbrakes.com
8. www.lineareddycurrentbrakes.com
THANK YOU