IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 50, NO.

5, MAY 2014 7027010

Development of Dynamic Magnetic Circuit Models

Including Iron Saturation and Losses
Arthur V. Radun
GE Aviation, Cincinnati, OH 45215 USA

There is a continuing need in power electronic circuits to model magnetic components. It is necessary to determine the interaction
of the magnetic component with the rest of the power electronic system so that a dynamic circuit model of the magnetic component
including material saturation and iron losses is required. In addition, the magnetic component model must be valid when the magnetic
component’s excitation is not sinusoidal. A general dynamic magnetic circuit model is developed including specific magnetic saturation
and iron losses, but the magnetic circuit model can be used with most other magnetic material models that include saturation and
iron losses that have been proposed in the past. The dynamic magnetic circuit model is derived from Maxwell’s equations along
with useful theorems for building the circuit models from the structure of the magnetic device. Dynamic magnetic circuit models
including magnetic saturation and iron losses are developed for selected magnetic components to illustrate the application of the
modeling technique. The components include a simple inductor, simple transformer, a three winding center tapped transformer, and
a three phase transformer.
Index Terms— Dynamic magnetic circuit model, dynamic magnetic device modeling, magnetic circuit model, magnetic model.

N OMENCLATURE Ix Virtual current associated with region x.

Bx Magnetic flux density (B-field) in region x. N Number of turns.
B sat Saturation flux density of iron. Ni Number of turns of coil i .
Hx Magnetic field intensity (H -field) in region x. L Feo Unsaturated iron inductance.
Hloss H -field due to iron losses. IFesat Iron inductance saturation current.
Hstore H -field due to stored magnetic energy. L Fes Saturated iron inductance.
λ Linked flux. Ic Coercive force hysteresis loss current.
λi Region i linked flux. Also used to label G hyst Hysteresis loss current magnetic flux gain.
inductor symbols for nonlinear magnetic Reddy Eddy current loss resistance.
regions that are not characterized by a single
inductance. I. I NTRODUCTION
L Inductance.
Li Region i inductance. Used to label linear
magnetic regions (air gaps and leak fluxes).
T HE USE of magnetic circuit models to model magnetic
devices is a simple and common approach [1]–[5].
Traditional magnetic circuit models suffer from the fact that
μ Permeability.
the winding currents must be known a priori, the analysis
μo Permeability of free space.
is static, and iron losses cannot be included. Starting from
g Air gap path length.
Maxwell’s equations, this paper develops a new approach to
lFe Iron path length.
magnetic circuit modeling that results in a dynamic magnetic
lx Path length in region x.
circuit model that can be connected to an external circuit,
Ac Area of core.
that includes iron saturation and iron losses. The approach is
Ax Area of region x.
quite general and can utilize any number of material and iron
Peddy Eddy current iron losses per unit volume.
loss models to characterize the iron though this paper will use
Physt Hysteresis iron losses per unit volume.
the magnetic and iron loss model described in [6]. Important
K eddy Eddy current loss factor.
theorems useful for constructing the models are proved.
Hc Coercive force.
Examples of applying the proposed modeling approach are
K hyst Hysteresis loss factor for change in hysteresis
provided including the resulting circuit schematics. Dynamic
loss with magnetic flux density.
circuit models for a gapped inductor, a two winding trans-
Ihyst Current due to magnetic hysteresis losses.
former, a transformer with two secondaries, and a three phase
Ieddy Current due to magnetic eddy current losses.
transformer are developed.
Istore Current due to magnetic energy storage.
II. M AGNETIC M ATERIAL M ODEL
Manuscript received May 25, 2013; revised November 16, 2013; accepted
November 17, 2013. Date of publication December 5, 2013; date of In this paper, the magnetic material model in [6] is used
current version May 1, 2014. Corresponding author: A. V. Radun (e-mail: to obtain specific results. However, the circuit modeling
art.radun@ge.com). approach, which is the main topic of this paper, is sufficiently
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. general that it can be used with alternative magnetic material
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMAG.2013.2293638 models [7]–[12]. Fig. 1 shows a typical plot of the relationship
0018-9464 © 2013 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.
7027010 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 50, NO. 5, MAY 2014

Fig. 2. B − H loop broken into energy storage and loss parts.

Fig. 1. Magnetic iron B − H loop for increasing and decreasing field.

measured [6]–[13]. In (5), Hc is the coercive force and khyst

between the magnetic flux density (B) and the magnetic field accounts for the change in the hysteresis losses with magnetic
intensity (H ). Here, it is assumed B and H are in the same flux density [6], [10], [12]. In the simplest case, khyst is zero.
directions. The B − H loop is broken into its energy storage Both Hc and khyst are measured. It can be shown that for
and loss parts in Fig. 2. The power per unit volume is sinusoidal excitation, the eddy current loss per cycle depends

d B(t) 
d B(t) 
d B(t) on the frequency, whereas the hysteresis loss per cycle does
Pvol (t) = H (t) · = Hstore · + Hloss · . (1) not and in fact the hysteresis loss only depends on the peak
dt dt dt
of the magnetic flux density.
Because B and H are assumed to be in the same directions,
Applying the above iron model to a single core inductor
the magnitudes of the fields can be used instead of the vectors
with a cross-sectional area Ac and iron path length lFe gives
in (1). The energy storage B − H relationship is a single valued
(6) for the flux linked and (7) for the power loss per unit
function with both B and H in the same direction and is
volume
approximated with the analytical expression in [8] and [10]
μ N 2 Ac · Istore μoN 2 Ac · Istore
μ H λ(Istore ) =  + (6)
B =  
 

+ μo H. (2) lFe 1 + μN|I store | lFe
μ H  
lFe Bsat
 
1+ lFe  λ 
Hc + khyst   |V (t)|
Bsat
Ploss(t) =
Because the energy storage is a single valued function, the N N · Ac 
power into the system for positive dB/dt is equal and opposite keddy
+lFe 2 (V (t))2. (7)
that for negative dB/dt for periodic excitation resulting in no N Ac
net loss over a cycle. The iron energy storage circuit model parameters can be
The loss part of the B − H loop is double valued with the defined using (6) and are
branch that is used determined by the sign of the time rate of
μ N 2 Ac lFe Bsat μoN 2 Ac
change of the magnetic flux density as given in (3). Thus, the L Feo = , IFesat = , L Fes = .
loss power at each instant is always positive. The magnetic lFe μ· N lFe
losses are broken into eddy current and hysteresis parts (8)

     The nonlinear incremental inductance is computed by taking

 d B(t) dB dB dB
Hloss · = H B, · sign . (3) the derivative of the flux in (6) with respect to Istore . Using the
dt dt dt dt definitions in (8), the incremental inductance is
The eddy current losses per unit volume are given in [6]–[13]
L Fe (Istore )
and the hysteresis losses per unit volume are given in
dλ(Istore ) L Feo L Feo · Istore
[6] and [11] = =  − 2 + L Fes .
d Istore |store|
  1 + IFesat 1 + |store| I
dB 2 IFesat Fesat
Peddy (t) = keddy (4) (9)
dt
 
  dB 
Physt (t) = Hc + khyst |B(t)|  . (5) The iron loss circuit model parameters are defined from (7)
dt  and are
The eddy current loss factor keddy in (4) can be computed lFe · Hc lFe · khyst N 2 Ac
Ic = , G hyst = 2 , Reddy = . (10)
theoretically for a thin lamination though in general it is N N · Ac lFe · keddy
RADUN: DEVELOPMENT OF DYNAMIC MAGNETIC CIRCUIT MODELS
Fig. 3. B − H loop broken into energy storage and loss parts.
Fig. 4. Symbol for iron model including saturation and losses.
Fig. 5. Iron core with an air gap (series magnetic structure).
Because power is the product of voltage and current, the circuit
schematic for the iron shown in Fig. 3 results. The schematic
symbol that will be used for the nonlinear iron model in Fig. 3
is shown in Fig. 4.
III. DYNAMIC M AGNETIC C IRCUIT M ODEL
The dynamic magnetic circuit model is developed starting
with simple composite structures.
A. Single Winding Series Magnetic Structure
The simplest composite magnetic structure is a series mag-
netic structure (material regions in series), such as the iron
core with an air gap inductor shown in Fig. 5. The iron can
be described with the model in Section II. Writing Ampere’s
law
Hg · g + HFe · lFe = N · I ≡ N · Ig + N · IFe
where Hg is the H -field in the air gap, g is the gap path length,
HFe is the H -field in the iron, and lFe is the path length of
the iron. Two new nonphysical or virtual currents Ig and IFe
are defined such that
Hg · g = N · Ig , HFe · lFe = N · IFe .
The divergence law requires that the B-field in the iron and the
B-field in the air gap are equal. This common B-field is equal
to some function of Hg and is also equal to some function of
HFe
   
N Ig N IFe
B = Bg (H g) = Bg = BFe (HFe ) = Bg .
g lFe
(13)
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Fig. 6. Model of series magnetic structure as two parallel inductors.
Using Faraday’s law gives
d Bg (N Ig /g) d BFe (N IFe /lFe )
Vm = N Ac = N Ac . (14)
dt dt
The results in (11)–(14) show that the inductor in Fig. 5
can be modeled as two inductors in parallel as shown in
Fig. 6. The gray areas labeled μ → ∞ in Fig. 6 consist
of an ideal magnetic material with zero losses, no saturation,
and infinite permeability so that H is always zero in these
areas. One inductor accounts for the contribution of the air
gap to the composite structure’s inductance and the other
accounts for the iron’s contribution to the composite structure’s
inductance. The results in (11)–(14) have not assumed a
particular relationship between B and H so that the results
are completely general and do not depend on the iron model
used.
Note the more general conclusion that magnetic structures,
or regions, that are magnetically in series turn into circuit
elements that are in parallel, including the case where the
areas of each region are not equal. Each magnetic region in
series becomes another parallel circuit element. The nonideal
iron in the gapped inductor example lowers the inductance
of the inductor compared with the inductance of an ideal
gapped inductor with infinite permeability iron. Note too that
the parallel inductor corresponding to the gapped region has
N turns even though there is no winding where the gap is
physically located.
Using the magnetic iron model from Section II gives the
gapped inductor circuit model in Fig. 7. The linear constant
inductance of the gap is labeled with its inductance L g ,
whereas the nonlinear magnetic component for the iron is
labeled with flux λFe since in the nonlinear case flux does
(11) not simply equal L I . This convention will be used throughout
this paper. Note that the two windings for the two inductors
are wound so that they both produce magnetic fields in the
same direction.
In the traditional magnetic circuit model the H field is
associated with voltage and not current as it is here. This is
(12) because the curl of H is traditionally taken as the analog of
the curl of the electric field E. Similarly, in the traditional
magnetic circuit model the B-field is taken as the analog of
current rather than voltage as it is here. This is because the
divergence of B being zero is traditionally taken as the analog
of the divergence of the current density J (with no charge
storage). However, both the curl and the divergence lead to
the sum of circuit values adding to zero. Thus, the roles can
be reversed as has been shown here.
7027010
Fig. 7. Model of series magnetic structure as two parallel inductors.
Fig. 8. Two parallel inductor model of a series magnetic structure in the
lossless no saturation limit.
For lossless iron at low currents, where iron saturation is not
important, the circuit model of the gapped inductor becomes
the circuit in Fig. 8. The parallel combination of the air
gap inductance and the iron inductance in (15) is the correct
inductance for this inductor
μoN 2 Ac
L=  .
g 1 + μo lFe
μ g
Fig. 9 shows a dynamic Simulink model for the gapped
inductor that includes saturation and iron losses. Note that
the sign of the voltage is computed using a 1/4 gain block
followed by a saturation block that saturates at +1 and −1.
This is done to handle the case where the voltage may be zero
for a finite amount of time. Note also that the model only uses
integration to obtain the iron storage current and not the gap
current as would be suggested by the circuit in Fig. 7. Instead
it uses the iron flux, which equals the gap flux, to obtain the
gap current. The two model currents are not independent state
variables and thus integration of the voltage is not able to
correctly divide the current between the two parallel inductors
at dc. Using the algebraic equation for the gap flux solves this
problem and correctly divides the current between the two
parallel inductors at dc.
The inductor modeled uses amorphous C-cores. The iron
material parameter values are given in Table I. These iron
material parameter values were obtained by fitting the cat-
alog data to the iron model. To do the fit for the iron
losses (4) and (5) was specialized to the sinusoidal case and
the average of the equations was computed in terms of
the peak magnetic flux density, frequency, and loss factors
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 50, NO. 5, MAY 2014
TABLE I
A MORPHOUS C-C ORE I NDUCTOR M ODEL PARAMETER VALUES
TABLE II
G APPED I NDUCTOR M ODEL PARAMETER VALUES
(K eddy , Hc , K hyst ). The loss factors were then chosen to
minimize the error between the model predictions and the
catalog data. The parameters for the inductor are summarized
in Table II.
The Simulink gapped inductor model in Fig. 9 was simu-
lated with a 14 kHz, 332 V peak, square wave voltage source
connected to its terminals. The predicted total inductor current,
model gap inductance current, and model iron inductance cur-
rent are shown in Fig. 10. The results show the total inductor
and iron current saturating, whereas the gap inductance current
does not saturate.
(15) Fig. 11 shows the computed iron loss currents versus time
including the total loss current, the hysteresis loss current,
and the eddy current loss current. Multiplying these currents
by the inductor voltage gives the iron loss versus time. Taking
the time-average of the power versus time gives the average
iron losses.
B. Single Winding Parallel Magnetic Structure
Fig. 12 shows a composite magnetic structure consisting of
two magnetic structures or regions in parallel.
Writing Ampere’s law gives
H1 · l1 = H2 · l2 = N · I. (16)
Next, use Faraday’s law and define two nonphysical or virtual
voltages
d
Vm = B · nda
dt
s
d B1(N I /l1 ) d B2(N I /l2 )
= N A1 + N A2 = V1 +V2 . (17)
dt dt
The results in (16) and (17) show that the inductor in Fig. 12
can be modeled as two inductors in series as shown in Fig. 13.
One inductor accounts for the first magnetic region’s contri-
bution to the inductance and the other inductor accounts for
RADUN: DEVELOPMENT OF DYNAMIC MAGNETIC CIRCUIT MODELS 7027010

Fig. 9. Dynamic Simulink model of the gapped inductor in Fig. 7 including saturation and iron losses.

Fig. 10. Computed total, saturating iron inductor, and gapped inductor current Fig. 11. Simulated total iron loss current, hysteresis loss current, and eddy
for a 14 kHz, 332 V peak, and square wave voltage. current loss current with a 14 kHz, 332 V peak, and square wave voltage.

the second magnetic region’s contribution to the inductance. In

general, any number of magnetic structures or regions that are
magnetically in parallel turn into an equal number of circuit
elements in series including the case where the areas and
lengths of each region are not equal. Note that both inductors
have N turns even though there is no winding around either
region by itself. The magnetic structure in Fig. 12 can be
used to build more complex models for an iron sample from Fig. 12. Parallel magnetic structure.
the basic iron model presented in Section II. This is done
by assuming that the iron has two phases and that the two
Writing Ampere’s law
phases can be modeled as two separate regions in parallel.
The final model for the flux will have two different values of H1l1 + H3l3 = N1 i 1 = N1 i 11 + N1 i 13 (18)
permeability in it and two different saturation flux densities. H2l2 − H3l3 = N2 i 2 = N2 i 22 − N2 i 23 . (19)
The parallel structure model can also be used to model the
fringing field around an air gap, multiple laminations, and The following definitions are suggested by (18) and (19):
the space between laminations. The dynamic circuit model of
H1l1 = N1 i 11 , H2l2 = N1 i 22 , H3l3 = N1 i 13 = N2 i 23 . (20)
the parallel magnetic structure including saturation and losses
is shown in Fig. 14. Now, write Faraday’s law
d(A1 B1 ) d(A2 B2 )
V1 = N1 , V2 = N2 (21)
C. Simple Two Winding Magnetic Structure dt dt
and the divergence law
A basic two winding structure is shown in Fig. 15.
This is the structure of a transformer with leakage inductance. A 1 B1 = A 2 B2 + A 3 B3 . (22)
7027010 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 50, NO. 5, MAY 2014

Fig. 13. Model of parallel magnetic structure as two series inductors.

Fig. 14. Model of parallel magnetic structure as two series inductors.

Take the time derivative of the divergence law and use
Faraday’s law to obtain
V1 d(A1 B1 ) d(A2 B2 ) d(A3 B3 ) V2
= = + = + V3 (23)
N1 dt dt dt N2
V2 d(A2 B2 ) d(A1 B1 ) d(A3 B3 ) V1
= = + = − V3 (24)
N2 dt dt dt N1
where V3 is a nonphysical virtual voltage defined as
d(A3 B3 )
V3 = . (25)
dt Fig. 15. Magnetic structure with two windings (transformer with leakage
inductance).
The Ampere’s law field equations (18)–(20) are written as
circuit equations in (25)–(27) and are expressions of Kirch-
hoff’s current law. Faraday’s law field equations (23)–(25) are
written as circuit equations in (29)–(31). The Kirchhoff’s law
current and voltage equations can be combined to draw the
circuit in Fig. 16
i3
i 1 = i 11 + i 13 = i 11 + (26)
N1
i3
i2 = i 22 − i 23 = i 22 − (27) Fig. 16. Circuit schematic of two winding magnetic structure.
N2
N1 i 13 = N2 i 23 = i 3 (28)
dλ1 (i 11 ) N1 permeability so that H is always zero in these areas. Note that
V1 = = V2 + N1 V3 (29) each of the magnetic structures in Fig. 17 has N1 turns. Also,
dt N2
because the area of the core is inside the time derivative in
dλ2 (i 22 ) N2
V2 = = V1 − N2 V3 (30) (23)–(25), the results obtained are valid if there is motion.
dt N1 Inspection of Fig. 16 shows that if the leakage path did not
d(A3 B3 ) dλ3 (i 3 ) V1 V2
V3 = = = − . (31) exist, this two winding magnetic structure would be a series
dt dt N1 N2 magnetic structure with the region 1 circuit element in parallel
In the schematic of the two winding magnetic structure, the with the region 2 circuit element, each with the same number
voltages and currents have been reflected to the first winding of turns. Thus, the parallel circuit model of a series magnetic
and the inductor symbol with a hysteresis loop stands for structure is valid whether or not there is a winding around
the circuit schematic in Fig. 3 as defined by Fig. 4. This region 2. If the number of turns around region 2 is not equal
symbol is applied to regions 1 and 2 because they consist of to the number of turns around region 1, the region 2 variables
iron, but not to the region 3 leakage path, which is assumed must be transformed by the turns ratio to make the winding 1
to consist of air. The circuit schematic in Fig. 16 with the and winding 2 turns equal. Including the leakage path, the
general circuit symbols replaced with normal inductor symbols magnetic structure in Fig. 15 consists of region 1 in series
gives the lossless circuit schematic of a transformer. This with the structure consisting of regions 3 and 2 in parallel.
schematic is the pi equivalent circuit of the more conventional Thus, the circuit model should be the region 1 circuit element
T equivalent circuit. The horizontal circuit element N1 L 3 in parallel with region 3 in series with region 2 as shown
is the leakage inductance of the transformer. The parallel directly.
combination of the two nonlinear vertical inductances λ1 and The dynamic magnetic circuit model in Fig. 16 is satis-
λ2 is the magnetizing inductance. factory, if the two windings are independent and thus not
The conceptual drawing in Fig. 17 gives the schematic connected together. However, if for example, the two windings
shown in Fig. 16 in terms of the magnetic device’s geom- are connected in series (plus of V2 connected to the minus of
etry with all quantities reflected to winding 1. In Fig. 17, V1 ) V2 is shorted. This does not happen in reality because the
the gray areas labeled μ → ∞ again consist of an ideal windings are isolated and is a limitation of the circuit model.
magnetic material with zero losses, no saturation, and infinite The more general circuit model in Fig. 18 solves this problem.
RADUN: DEVELOPMENT OF DYNAMIC MAGNETIC CIRCUIT MODELS
Fig. 17. Circuit schematic of two winding magnetic structure.
Fig. 18. General isolated winding circuit schematic for a two winding
magnetic structure.
Fig. 19. Alternative isolated winding circuit schematic for a two winding
magnetic structure.
The dependent current and voltage sources isolate the three
parts of the magnetic device. As shown, the model includes
nonlinear magnetic behavior and losses. If the magnetic device
is assumed to be linear and lossless it can be shown that the
circuit model in Fig. 18 predicts the correct inductance for the
windings in series or parallel.
It should also be noted that the circuit in Fig. 18 is not
a unique dynamic circuit representation of the two winding
magnetic structure in Fig. 15. For example, all quantities
could be reflected to the primary and the pole inductances
can be moved from the individual winding circuits as shown
in Fig. 19, to obtain a completely equivalent circuit model.
Like the gapped inductor, the three fluxes corresponding to
7027010
Fig. 20. Magnetic structure of a transformer with a center tapped secondary.
Fig. 21. Circuit schematic for a transformer with a center tapped secondary.
Fig. 22. General isolated winding circuit schematic for a transformer with
a center tapped secondary.
the three inductor voltages are not independent. Thus, it is a
good idea to compute one model inductor current using flux
instead of voltage for a model that is required to work with dc.
IV. C IRCUIT M ODEL OF A T RANSFORMER
W ITH T WO S ECONDARIES
As another example of developing a dynamic circuit model
consider the magnetic structure in Fig. 20, a transformer
with a primary and two secondaries. Applying the rules of
parallel and series magnetic structures, and using the fact
that additional windings do not changes these rules if all
the windings have the same number of turns, results in the
dynamic circuit model in Fig. 21. This circuit model assumes
all circuit quantities have been reflected to a common winding
(say the primary) so all the inductances have the same number
of turns (Np).
To see that the dynamic magnetic circuit model is correct,
use the fact that Kirchhoff’s voltage law maps into the
divergence law. Assuming the three windings have the same
N number of turns or equivalently all circuit parameters are
reflected to the same winding, three of the nine magnetic
7027010 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 50, NO. 5, MAY 2014

divergence (node) equations with their corresponding circuit

equations are
N · B p1 A p1 = N · B F 1 A F 1 + N · B F 2 A F 2 + N · B P2 A P2
V1 = VF 1 + VF 2 + V P2 (32)
N · BY 1 AY 1 = N · B F 2 A F 2 + N · B P2 A P2
VY 1 = VF 2 + V P2 (33)
N · B F 2 A F 2 + N · B p2 A p2 = N · B F 3 A F 3 + N · B p3 A p3
VF 2 + V p2 = VF 3 + V p3 . (34)
Next, use the fact that Kirchhoff’s current law maps into
Ampere’s law. Assuming the three windings have the same
N turns, three of the six magnetic Ampere contour integral
equations with their corresponding circuit equations are
N · I1 = H p1l p1 + H F 1l F 1
I1 = I p1 + I F 1 (35)
0 = −H F 1l F 1 + HY 1lY 1 + H F 2l F 2 + H F 3l F 3 + HY 2lY 2 Fig. 23. Development of a dynamic magnetic circuit model of three couple
inductors.
0 = −I F 1 + IY 1 + I F 2 + I F 3 + IY 2 (36)
N · I3 = H p3l p3 + HY 2lY 2 − H F 1l F 1 + HY 1lY 1 + H F 2l F 2
I3 = I p3 + IY 2 − I F 1 + IY 1 + I F 2 . (37)
Dependent sources are added to the dynamic circuit model
in Fig. 21 to obtain the isolated winding model in Fig. 22.
Again it must be noted that this circuit schematic is not unique.
If the two isolated secondaries are put in series, a model of a
transformer with a center tapped secondary results.

V. C IRCUIT M ODEL OF A T HREE W INDING

C OUPLED I NDUCTOR
Fig. 23 shows the geometry of a three winding coupled
inductor with fringing fields (labeled Fi for fringing path i )
along with its nonisolated dynamic circuit model constructed
using the basic rules of parallel and series magnetic structures.
In the resulting dynamic magnetic circuit model, inductor
symbols associated with a magnetic iron path are shown with a
hysteresis loop to remind the reader that these symbols consist
of a saturating energy storage inductor in parallel with eddy
current loss and hysteresis loss elements. The fringing flux
inductors are shown as ideal inductors since it is assumed that
the fringing flux passes through air.
To see that the dynamic magnetic circuit model is correct,
again use the fact that Kirchhoff’s voltage law maps into the
divergence law. Assuming the three windings have the same
N number of turns, three of the ten magnetic divergence (node)
equations with their corresponding circuit equations are
N · B p1 A p1 = N · BY u1 AY u1 + N · BY u2 AY u2
V1 = V p1 = VY u1 + VY u2 (38)
N · BY u1 AY u1 = N · B F 1 A F 1 + N · BY u3 AY u3
VY u1 = VF 1 + VY u3 (39)
N · B F 3 A F 3 + N · B p2 A p2 = N · BY l3 AY l3
VF 3 + V p2 = VF 3 + V2 = VY l3 . (40)
Next, use the fact that Kirchhoff’s current law maps into
Ampere’s law. Because the three windings have the same
Fig. 24. Dynamic magnetic circuit model of a three phase transformer with
isolated windings.
N turns, three of the six magnetic Ampere contour integral
equations with their corresponding circuit equations are
N · I1 = H p1l p1 + HY u2lY u2 + H F 2l F 2 + HY l2lY l2
I1 = I p1 + IY u2 + I F 2 + IY u2 (41)
N · I3 = −H F 2l F 2 + HY u4lY u4 + H p3l p3 + HY l4lY l4
I3 = −I F 2 + IY u4 + I p3 + IY l4 (42)
−N · I3 = −H p3l p3 + H F 4l F 4
−I3 = −I p3 + I F 4 . (43)
In Fig. 24, dependent sources are used to obtain a dynamic
magnetic circuit model of the three winding coupled inductor
where all of the windings are isolated and thus can be
connected in an arbitrary way. Fig. 24 is drawn assuming
the number of turns for each winding are equal as expected
for a three winding coupled inductor, but the model is
more general since windings 2 and 3 can be reflected to
winding 1.
The polarity of the sources V1 , V2 , and V3 in Figs. 20 and 21
are determined by the direction each winding is wound in.
In Fig. 24, the winding directions were chosen so that the rules
of parallel and series magnetic structures could be applied
without any sign confusion. If any winding is wound so it
would produce flux in the opposite direction from that shown
RADUN: DEVELOPMENT OF DYNAMIC MAGNETIC CIRCUIT MODELS
Fig. 25. Two windings around a common pole.
Fig. 26. Circuit schematic for two windings around a common pole.
Fig. 27. Circuit schematic for a three phase transformer.
in Fig. 23, the sign of the corresponding voltage and current
would need to be reversed.
VI. C IRCUIT M ODEL OF A T HREE P HASE T RANSFORMER
The three phase coupled inductor model can be extended
to a three phase transformer model by including secondary
windings into the magnetic structure. Fig. 25 shows a simpler
magnetic structure where two windings are wrapped around
a common pole with a leakage path around each winding.
The yoke region represents the rest of the magnetic structure,
and thus the rest of the three phase transformer.
The circuit model in Fig. 26 is obtained directly from
the magnetic structure in Fig. 25 using the rules of parallel
and series magnetic structures. The circuit schematic of the
magnetic structure in Fig. 25 is shown in Fig. 26. The circuit
elements inside the dotted boxes replace the single pole
windings in Fig. 24 to obtain a circuit model of the three
phase transformer.
Combining Fig. 24 with Fig. 26 gives the dynamic circuit
model for a three phase transformer shown in Fig. 27. The
circuit model includes six isolated windings, linear leak-
age inductances, and nonlinear pole and yoke inductances.
The circuit model in Fig. 27 could also have been developed
directly from the three phase transformer geometry in Fig. 28.
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Fig. 28. Direct development of a circuit model for a three phase transformer.
Thus, the development of the three phase transformer circuit
model using Figs. 24–26 shows the development of a model
using hierarchal sub-models.
VII. C ONCLUSION
A fundamentally new electric circuit model for magnetic
systems that lend themselves to analysis by traditional
magnetic circuits [13]–[18] has been developed. Fundamental
theorems underlying the modeling approach have been
proven. For each magnetic structure modeled, the resulting
circuit model has been demonstrated to be correct by
comparing Kirchhoff’s voltage and current equations to
integral results from Maxwell’s equations. The models
developed are inherently dynamic and naturally incorporate
saturation and losses. The model is well suited to transformers,
dc/dc converter coupled inductors, and switched reluctance
motors where saturation and losses are important.
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Arthur V. Radun (M’90–SM’93) received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees
in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA, USA, in 1978 and 1981, respectively.
He was with the General Electric Ordnance Systems Department from 1981
to 1986 and General Electric Corporate Research and Development from 1986
to 1993. From 1993 to 2006, he was a Faculty Member with the Electrical and
Computer Engineering Department, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY,
USA. He is currently with GE Aviation, Cincinnati, OH, USA. His current
research interests include power electronic energy conversion, electromechan-
ical energy conversion, electromagnetics, and power semiconductor device
physics.