IEEE T r a n s a c t i o n s onMagnetics

vel. MAC-13,

NO.

5, September 1977

1125

FINITE ELEMENT
ANALYSIS
OF
THE
SKIN
EFFECT
I N CURRENT CARRYING
CONDUCTORS

M.V.K.
Chariand Z.J. Csendes
General Electric Company
Schenectady, New York 12301
p a r t s i r o n 4. t hThe
e p e romf e a b i l i t y
v iasl u seidn g l e
and t i m e i n v a r i a n t .
a conductor of
The c u r r e n t d e n s i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n i n
i s a f f e c t e d by the
presence
of
eddy
5. The c o n d u c t i v i toyt fhm
e edia
is constant.
f i n i t es i z e
c u r r e n t si nt h ec o n d u c t o r .T h i s
phenomenon, g e n e r a l l y
6 . T e m p e r a t u r ee f f e c t sa r en e g l e c t e d .
ohmic l o s s e s i n t h e
conknown as s k i n e f f e c t , c a u s e s
alters t h e imr a g n e t iicn d u c t i o nT. h iDs e r i v a t i oont fh e
Two-Dimensional D i f f u s i oEn q u a t i o n
d u c t o rasn d
paper presents an analysis of skin effect
phenomena
On t h e b a s i s o f t h e a b o v e a s s u m p t i o n s ,
Maxwell's equau s i n gt h et r i a n g u l a rf i n i t ee l e m e n t
method.
The ret
i
o
n
s
i
n
t
h
e
c
u
r
r
e
n
t
c
a
r
r
y
i
n
g
r
e
g
i
o
n
become
sults obtained by this
method a r e compared w i t h t h o s e
a cono fc l a s s i c a lo n e - d i m e n s i o n a la n a l y s i sf o r( i )
(1)
v x H = J = J +Js
ductorinfreespaceand(ii)
a conductorinthe
x E =
a
w
t
(2)
presence of an iron boundary.
Where Je is t h e eddy c u r r e n t d e n s i t y a n d
Js is t h e conIntroduction
duction current density
The p r e s e n c e of eddy c u r r e n t s i n c o n d u c t i n g m e d i a a f f e c t s
The c o n s t i t u t i v e r e l a t i o n s are
themagneticinductionandthecurrentdensitydistrib u t i o ni nt h er e g i o n .T h i s
phenomenon canproducesign i f i c a n tl o s s e si nt h ec o n d u c t o r s ,
and i s , t h e r e f o r e ,
J = UE
(4)
o fi n t e r e s ti ne l e c t r i c a le q u i p m e n td e s i g n .
Of t h e
a goodnumber
where E i s t h e e l e c t r i c f i e l d
andpruo
t h e permevariousmethodsofanalysisinexistence,
a
a v e c t o r A s u c ht h a t
arebasedon
a one-dimensionalanalysisandonlyin
a b i l i t y .D e f i n i n g
few casesofgeometricalsymmetry,
a two-dimensional
B = V x A
(5)
a n a l y s i sh a sb e e na t t e m p t e db yc l a s s i c a lm e t h o d s .F o r
general application to irregular contours
and m a t e r i a l
thefollowingrelationships
may beobtainedfrom
boundariessuch as t h o s e t h a t o c c u r i n t y p i c a l e l e c t r i e q u a t i o n s ( 2 ) a n d( 5 ) . a f t e rt h en e c e s s a r ys u b s t i t u t i o n s
c a le q u i p m e n t , a n u m e r i c a l method is n e c e s s a r y . Earlier
x E = - a / a t ( v x A)
(6)
work7 o n . t h e s u b j e c t r e l a t e s t o s k i n e f f e c t i n s l o t
em-

Abstract

b e d d e dc o n d u c t o r su s i n ge i g e n v a l u ea n a l y s i s .I nt h i s
paperananalysisemployingtriangularfiniteelements
i s p r e s e n t e d i l l u s t r a t i n g a novel technique of d e t e r miningtheeddycurrentdistributionincurrentcarryi n gc o n d u c t o r s .
Section 1 deals with the theoretical analysis of the
f i n i t e elementmethodand
i n S e c t i o n 2 , a comparison
i s made b e t w e e n t h e r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d
by t h i s methodand
t h o s eo ft h ec l a s s i c a lo n e - d i m e n s i o n a la n a l y s i sf o r
i ) a c o n d u c t o ri nf r e e - s p a c e
and i i ) a c o n d u c t o r i n t h e
presence of an iron boundary.

or
E =

aA/at

+ VQ

(7)

W r i t i n g VQ i n terms of Js, t h e r e is

A has been assumed,

Since a s i n u s o i d a l v a r i a t i o n o f
e q u a t i o n ( 7 ) r e d u c e st ot h ef o r m

E =-juA

+ Js/u

(9)

Section 1
S u b s t i t u t i o no fe q u a t i o n s
( 3 ) , ( 4 ) , (5)and
e q u a t i o n (1) y i e l d s t h e f o l l o w i n g e x p r e s s i o n

Basic Assumptions
The a n a l y s i s p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s p a p e r
following assumptions:
The c u r r e n t i n t h e c o n d u c t o r
directedalongtheconductor
varysinusoidallyin
time.

i s basedonthe

is assumed t o b e
and i s assumed t o

The m a g n e t i c v e c t o r p o t e n t i a l h a s o n l y
d i r e c t e d componentanddoesnotvary
t u d ea l o n gt h el e n g t ho ft h ec o n d u c t o r .
variessinusoidallyin
time.
D i s p l a c e m e n tc u r r e n t sa r en e g l e c t e da t
quencies.

l/prpo
Usingthewell

(V

x V x A) =

juwA

(6) into

+ Js

(10)

known v e c t o r i d e n t i t y

( V x V x A)

V(V.A)

- V2A

t h e r e r e s u l t s by s u b s t i t u t i n g f o r V - A = 0 ,

a 2
i n magniIt a l s o
power f r e -

l / p r p o V ~ A= j u d

J,

(11)

Equation (11) is t h er e q u i r e dt w o - d i m e n s i o n a ld i f f u s i o n
equation satisfying the specified boundary conditions
forlinearconditions.
V a r i a t i o n a l Method a n d t h e F i n i t e

ElementFormulation

The two-dimensional diffusion equation can be expressed

i n v a r i a t i o n a l t e r m s by t h e e n e r g y f u n c t i o n a l ( r e f .
F =

/.fS

where

V/2

l/pruo
and

VA

1'

ds

+ //,

k 2 / 2 A2 d s -

/fS. J s A

k2 = jwo

4)
ds

(12)

The m i n i m i z a t i o n o f t h e a b o v e f u n c t i o n a l y i e l d s t h e
solution to the field problem satisfying natural
bouni t s E u l e r e q u a t i o n is
d a r yc o n d i t i o n s ,p r o v i d e dt h a t
identicaltotheoriginaldiffusionequation(vide
r e f . 1). The EuLer e q u a t i o no f a two-dimensionalenergy
f u n c t i o n a l i s g i v e nb y ( r e f . 2 )
a/aX

(aF/aAx)

a/ay(aF/aAy)

aF/aA = 0

(13)

1126

a r e p a r t i a l d e r i v a t i v e s of A a l o n g t h e
where A, and
F i ne q u a t i o n
(11) from
x and y a x e s .S u b s t i t u t i n gf o r
e q u a t i o n (lo), o n eo b t a i n s
a ~ / a ~
+ )a / a y (v aA/ay) - K ~ A+ . J ~=

a l a x (v

(14)

Equation ( 1 4 ) i s i d e n t i c a l t o t h e d i f f u s i o n e q u a t i o n
(ll), s i n c e v = l / p r p 0 - i s c o n s t a n t i n a f i r s t o r d e r
f i n i t e e l e m e n t so thatminimizationoftheenergy
f u n c t i o n a li ne q u a t i o n( 1 2 )y i e l d st h er e q u i r e d
solut i o n t o t h e problem.
As is customary i n f i n i t e e l e m e n ta n a l y s i s ,t h e
two
i s d i v i d e di n t o t r i d i m e n s i o n a lr e g i o no fi n t e r e s t
a n g l e se n s u r i n gt h a tt h et r i a n g l ee d g e sc o i n c i d ew i t h
t h em a t e r i a li n t e r f a c e s
and b o u n d a r i e s . The r e l u c t i vityandconductivityare
assumed t o b e c o n s t a n t i n
e a c ht r i a n g u l a rr e g i o n .I ft h ep o t e n t i a lf u n c t i o ni n
a firstorderpiecee a c h t r i a n g l e is d e f i n e d t o b e
i t s v a l u e a t any p o i n t i n t h e
wisepolynomial,then
r e g i o n of t h e t r i a n g l e w i l l b e a l i n e a r i n t e r p o l a t e
of i t s v e r t e xv a l u e s .
Thus
m
A(x,y) = 1 / 2 A E (ai + b i x + Ciy)Ai
(15)
i
a t r i a n g l e and a , b and
where i , j , m a r e t h e v e r t i c e s o f
c are g e o m e t r i c a l c o n s t a n t s d e f i n e d b y t h e r e l a t i o n s

1/4A2

where[L]

S u b s t i t i t u t i n g f o r A fromequation(15)inequation
x and y , and
( 2 5 ) , i t is s e e n t h a t B is independentof
The v a l u eo f B i s ,
hence i s c o n s t a n ti ne a c ht r i a n g l e .
t h e r e f o r e ,o b t a i n e da s
IBI = 1 / 2 4 Y J b i A i

+ bjAj

+ bmh)2+

(ciAi

+ c.A.
+ c,%)~
J J

Sincethereluctivity
is a f u n c t i o n of / B 1 . i t is a l s o
i n d e p e n d e n to ft h ec o o r d i n a t es y s t e mf o rt h i sf i r s to r d e r
f i n i t e elementproblem.

(26)

ci =

To a s c e r t a i n t h e e f f i c a c y o f t h e
method f o r s o l v i n g twod i m e n s i o n a ld i f f u s i o np r o b l e m s ,t h ef o l l o w i n g
two s i m p l e
casesareconsideredfor
which c l o s e d f o r m s o l u t i o n s
a r e r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e as a b a s i s f o r c o m p a r i s o n .

(ak

31-

xj

C N i N j A i - ZANiJ,) d s ( 1 7 )

c i c i ) ,( b i b j

cicj)

bkx

1-41

[Ai, A j ,

i.

A t h i nf l a tc o n d u c t o ri nf r e es p a c e .

ii.

A c o n d u c t o ri nt h ep r e s e n c e

ofan

ironboundary.

I n b o t h of t h e a b o v e c a s e s , t h e m a g n e t i c i n d u c t i o n i n
t h eo n e - d i m e n s i o n a lc l o s e df o r ma n a l y s i s
i s assumed t o
haveonlyan
x component a s shown i n F i g . 1.

(18)

Cky)

(191

Am]

The f u n c t i o n a l i s d i f f e r e n t i a t e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o
A,, i n a similar manner t o t h e a b o v e .

A. and
J
Z

I ft h ea b o v ep r o c e s s
i s r e p e a t e df o re a c ha n de v e r y
t r i a n g l e i n t h e two d i m e n s i o n a l r e g i o n , a n e q u a t i o n
similar t o e q u a t i o n ( 1 7 ) w i l l be obtained which
will
includePoissonian,Laplaciananddiffusionregions.
as
Formallytheresultingequationcanbeexpressed

+ k2

b i = Y j - Ym

Nk

v [SI [A]

S i n c e B = V x A and A h a s o n l y a component a l o n g t h e
/ B obtainedforthe
two-dimenZ - a x i s ,t h ev a l u eo f
sionalproblem is

Section 2

+ c~c,) I

(bib,

A i (24)
- JA*ds//ds

Applications

~ J C V [L] [A] +

=[ ( b i b i

Ai

MagneticInductionandReluctivity

.
a1
. = x Jym
- %yj

(16)
S u b s t i t u t i n g f o r A fromequation (15) i n e q u a t i o n (12)
and s e t t i n g i t s d e r i v a t i v e w i t h r e s p e c t
t o eachnodal
p o t e n t i a l A i , A . a n de q u atloz e r ot,h ef o l l o w i n g
J .
e x p r e s s i o n is d e r l v e d a f t e r c o n s i d e r a b l e a l g e b r a i c
manipulation.

aF/aAi

t i a l s o b t a i n e d by s o l v i n g e q u a t i o n (ZO), o n l y t h e r e f e r e n c e l e v e l and n o t t h e s o l u t i o n t o t h e p r o b l e m
w i l l be
changed.
F u r t h e r ,t h ei m p o s i t i o n
of t h i s boundary cond i t i o ns a t i s f i e se q u a t i o n( 2 1 )a u t o m a t i c a l l y .
The eddyc u r r e n t v e c t o r p o t e n t i a l i s then given by

[TI [A] = J [A/31

F i g .1 . aS t r i pC o n d u c t o ri nF r e eS p a c e .

(20)

where [SI and [TI c a nb ee v a l u a t e df r o mt h eg e o m e t r i c a l c o e f f i c i e n t s of t h e i n d i v i d u a l t r i a n g l e s .

Fig.1.bConductor
Boundary Conditions
The a b o v e v a r i a t i o n a l f o r m u l a t i o n c o n t a i n s
homogeneous Neumann b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s u n l e s s a n o t h e r
i s e x p l i c i t l ys p e c i f i e d .T h e r e boundarycondition
f o r e , i t is o n l yn e c e s s a r yt os p e c i f yf i x e dp o t e n t i a l b o u n d a r i e s( f l u x - l i n eb o u n d a r i e s )o nt h e
domain
A further necessary condition that
mustbe s a t i s f i e d
is t h a tt h ei n t e g r a lo ft h ee d d y - c u r r e n td e n s i t y
o v e rt h er e g i o n
mustequalzero.Thiscanbe
exp r e s s e d as

{Je

d s = pjE*ds = - jwpIA-ds
(21)

i nt h ep r e s e n c eo fa nI r o n

Boundary.

The closedformexpressions
f o r t h ec u r r e n td e n s i t y
distributionfortheaforesaid
two casesweredevel.oped a n d t h e r e s u l t s a r e
compared w i t h t h o s e o f t h e
2, 3 and 4 .
f i n i t ee l e m e n ta n a l y s i si nF i g s .
1140
I

1160
I

CURRENTDENSITY I A M P S I O m l
I180
1200
1220
1240
I
I
I
I

1260 r1645r1O41
I

-ELEMENTMETHOD
FINITE
_ - -CLASSICAL

ONEDIMENSIONAL
ANALYSIS

5 m m DEEP

However, s i n c et h ea b o v ee q u a t i o nc a n n o tb ee x a c t l y
s a t i s f i e d , a r e s i d u a l R w i l l resultsuchthat

R = JJe* ds =
Hence

jWpJA * (22)
ds

(23)
= jA*ds//ds
*residual

If Aresidual

i s now s u b t r a c t e d f r o m e a c h

Fig. 2.a
of t h e p o t e n -

C u r r e n tD e n s i t yD i s t r i b u t i o n
Conductor I n FreeSpace.

In A

1127
CURRENTDENSITY
1050
I

1100
I

1150
I

lAMPS/Oml

1200

1250
I

C U R R E N TD E N S I T Y ( A M P S / o m ]

1300
I

1350

800

1400 ~ 1 6 . 4 5 ~ 1 0 ~ 1

1000

1200

1400
I

1600

1800 XI6.45XlO?

-FINITE ELEMENTMETHOO
--- CLASSICAL

ONE DIMENSIONAL
ANALYSIS

d = lOmm

liI

6.35 mm DEEP

- --

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

CLASSICAL
ONEDIMENSIONAL
ANALYSIS

F i g .2 . bC u r r e n tD e n s i t yD i s t r i b u t i o nI n
ConductorInFreeSpace.
1000

F i g .3 . bC u r r e n tD e n s i t yD i s t r i b u t i o nI n
ConductorIn The Presence Of
An
I r o n Boundary.

CURRENTDENSITY l A M P S / o m l
1100
I200
1300
1400

4.0

1500 x16.45X1041

- FINITE ELEMENTMETHOD

_ _ _ CLASSICAL ONE DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

w
c)

0.4 c

0.3-

0.2

-FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

CLASSICAL
ONE DIMENSIONAL
ANALYSIS

Fig. 4

V a r i a t i o n Of A.C.

R e s i s t a n c e With a d

F i g .2 . cC u r r e n tD e n s i t yD i s t r i b u t i o nI n
Conductor I n F r e e S p a c e .

C U R R E N TO E N S I T Y ( A M P S / O m )

l a r g e l y dependon
t h e number of elementschosen.
A l s o ,s i n c et h e
method g i v e s a n a p p r o x i m a t i o n t o t h e
truesolutionintheleastsquaresense,thelarger
t h e number o f e l e m e n t s , t h e c l o s e r t h e b o u n d a r y
conditionsaresatisfied.

References

1.

M.V.K. C h a r i ," F i n i t eE l e m e n tA n a l y s i s
of NonlinearMagneticFieldsinElectricMachines,"
Ph.D.
D i s s e r t a t i o n ,M c G i l lU n i v e r s i t y ,M o n t r e a l ,C a n a d a ,
19 70

2.

F.B. Hildebrand, MethodsofAppliedMathematics,

Englewood C l i f f s , N . J . : P r e n t i c e Hall, 1965

3.

O.C. Zienkiewicz, The F i n i t e Element Method i n

EngineeringScience, Mc-Graw Hill,London,1971

4.

P. S i l v e s t e r ," H i g h - o r d e rp o l y n o m i a lt r i a n g u l a r
f i n i t ee l e m e n t sf o rp o t e n t i a lp r o b l e m s , "I n t .
Engrg.Science,Vol.7,pp.849-861,1969

d = 5mrn

-FINITEELEMENTMETHOD
--- C L A S S I C A L
O N ED I M E N T I O N A L
ANALYSIS

F i g .3 . aC u r r e n tD e n s i t yD i s t r i b u t i o nI n
A
ConductorIn The Presence Of An
I r o n Boundary.
Conclusions
The r e s u l t s o f t h e f i n i t e e l e m e n t a n a l y s i s
compare w e l l
w i t h t h o s e of t h e c l a s s i c a l o n e - d i m e n s i o n a l a n a l y s i s f o r
small c o n d u c t o rd e p t h si nb o t ha p p l i c a t i o n s .F o rh i g h e r6 v a l u e so fc o n d u c t o rd e p t h ,t h eo n e - d i m e n s i o n a l
solut i o n is n o t s t r i c t l y a p p l i c a b l e , a n d t h i s
may account
forthedisparity.
Although i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o e s t a b l i s h s t r i c t e r r o r
bounds f o r t h e f i n i t e e l e m e n t
method,exceptingperhaps
will
f o r homogeneous c a s e s , t h e d i s c r e t i z a t i o n e r r o r

5.

M.V.K.
C h a r i ," F i n i t e - E l e m e n tS o l u t i o no ft h e
Eddy-currentProblem
i n M a g n e t i cS t r u c t u r e s , "
IEEE Trans.Vol.
PAS-93,Number
1, 1973
J. Lammeraner and M.

S t a f l , Eddy C u r r e n t s ,
I l i f f e Books L t d . , London,1966

7.

A. Konrad, J . L . Coulomb, J . C . Sabonnadiereand

P . P .S i l v e s t e r ," F i n i t e
ElementAnalysisof
SteadyStateSkinEffectinSlot
Embedded
Conductor," A 76-189-1, IEEE WinterMeeting,
Jan.1976.

J.