Inductance is the property in an
electrical circuit where a change in the
electric current through that circuit induces an
electromotive force (EMF) that opposes the change in current (See
Induced EMF).
In electrical circuits, any electric current
i produces a
magnetic field and hence generates a total
magnetic flux Φ acting on the circuit. This magnetic flux, due to
Lenz's law, tends to act to oppose changes in the flux by generating a voltage (a back
EMF) that counters or tends to reduce the rate of change in the current.
The ratio of the magnetic flux to the current is called the
self-inductance, which is usually simply referred to as the
inductance of the circuit. The term 'inductance' was coined by
Oliver Heaviside in February 1886.
[1] It is customary to use the symbol
L for inductance, possibly in honour of the physicist
Heinrich Lenz.
[2] [3]
In honour of
Joseph Henry, the unit of inductance has been given the name
Henry (H): 1 H = 1 Wb/A.
Definitions
The quantitative definition of the (self-) inductance of a wire loop in
SI units (
webers per
ampere, known as
henries) is
where
Φ denotes the magnetic flux through the area spanned by the loop, and N is the number of wire turns. The
flux linkage thus is
- .
There may, however, be contributions from other circuits. Consider for example two circuits
C1,
C2, carrying the currents
i1,
i2. The flux linkages of
C1 and
C2 are given by
According to the above definition,
L11 and
L22 are the self-inductances of
C1 and
C2, respectively. It can be shown (see below) that the other two coefficients are equal:
L12 = L21 = M, where
M is called the
mutual inductance of the pair of circuits.
The number of turns
N1 and
N2 occur somewhat asymmetrically in the definition above. But actually
Lmn always is proportional to the product
NmNn, and thus the total currents
Nmim contribute to the flux.
Self and mutual inductances also occur in the expression
for the energy of the magnetic field generated by
K electrical circuits where
in is the current in the nth circuit. This equation is an alternative definition of inductance that also applies when the currents are not confined to thin wires so that it is not immediately clear what area is encompassed by the circuit nor how the magnetic flux through the circuit is to be defined.
The definition
L = NΦ / i, in contrast, is more direct and more intuitive. It may be shown that the two definitions are equivalent by equating the time derivative of W and the electric power transferred to the system. It should be noted that this analysis assumes linearity, for nonlinear definitions and discussion see
nonlinear inductance.
Properties of inductance
Taking the time
derivative of both sides of the equation
NΦ = Li yields:
In most physical cases, the inductance is constant with time and so
By
Faraday's Law of Induction we have:
where
is the
Electromotive force (emf) and
v is the induced voltage. Note that the emf is opposite to the induced voltage. Thus:
or
These equations together state that, for a steady applied voltage
v, the current changes in a linear manner, at a
rate proportional to the applied voltage, but inversely proportional to the inductance. Conversely, if the current through the
inductor is changing at a constant rate, the induced voltage is constant.
The effect of inductance can be understood using a single loop of wire as an example. If a voltage is suddenly applied between the ends of the loop of wire, the current must change from zero to non-zero. However, a non-zero current induces a
magnetic field by
Ampère's law. This change in the magnetic field induces an emf that is in the opposite direction of the change in current. The strength of this emf is proportional to the change in current and the inductance. When these opposing forces are in balance, the result is a current that increases linearly with time where the rate of this change is determined by the applied voltage and the inductance.
An alternative explanation of this behaviour is possible in terms of energy conservation. Multiplying the equation for
di / dt above with
Li leads to
Since iv is the energy transferred to the system per time it follows that
is the energy of the magnetic field generated by the current. A change in current thus implies a change in magnetic field energy, and this only is possible if there also is a voltage.
A mechanical analogy is a body with mass
M, velocity
v and kinetic energy
(M / 2)v2. A change in velocity (current) requires or generates a force (an electrical voltage) proportional to mass (inductance).
Phasor circuit analysis and impedance
Using
phasors, the equivalent
impedance of an inductance is given by:
where
- j is the imaginary unit,
- L is the inductance,
- is the angular frequency,
- f is the frequency and
- is the inductive reactance.
Induced emf
The flux
through the
i-th circuit in a set is given by:
so that the
induced emf,
, of a specific circuit,
i, in any given set can be given directly by:
Coupled inductors
The circuit diagram representation of mutually inducting inductors. The two vertical lines between the inductors indicate a
solid core that the wires of the inductor are wrapped around. "n:m" shows the ratio between the number of windings of the left inductor to windings of the right inductor. This picture also shows the
dot convention.
Mutual inductance occurs when the change in current in one inductor induces a voltage in another nearby inductor. It is important as the mechanism by which
transformers work, but it can also cause unwanted coupling between conductors in a circuit.
The mutual inductance,
M, is also a measure of the coupling between two inductors. The mutual inductance by circuit
i on circuit
j is given by the double integral
Neumann formula, see
calculation techniques
The mutual inductance also has the relationship:
where
- M21 is the mutual inductance, and the subscript specifies the relationship of the voltage induced in coil 2 to the current in coil 1.
- N1 is the number of turns in coil 1,
- N2 is the number of turns in coil 2,
- P21 is the permeance of the space occupied by the flux.
The mutual inductance also has a relationship with the
coupling coefficient. The coupling coefficient is always between 1 and 0, and is a convenient way to specify the relationship between a certain orientation of inductor with arbitrary inductance:
where
- k is the coupling coefficient and 0 ≤ k ≤ 1,
- L1 is the inductance of the first coil, and
- L2 is the inductance of the second coil.
Once the mutual inductance,
M, is determined from this factor, it can be used to predict the behavior of a circuit:
where
- V is the voltage across the inductor of interest,
- L1 is the inductance of the inductor of interest,
- dI1 / dt is the derivative, with respect to time, of the current through the inductor of interest,
- dI2 / dt is the derivative, with respect to time, of the current through the inductor that is coupled to the first inductor, and
- M is the mutual inductance. The minus sign arises because of the sense the current has been defined in the diagram. With both currents defined going into the dots the sign of M will be positive.[4]
When one inductor is closely coupled to another inductor through mutual inductance, such as in a
transformer, the voltages, currents, and number of turns can be related in the following way:
where
- Vs is the voltage across the secondary inductor,
- Vp is the voltage across the primary inductor (the one connected to a power source),
- Ns is the number of turns in the secondary inductor, and
- Np is the number of turns in the primary inductor.
Conversely the current:
where
- Is is the current through the secondary inductor,
- Ip is the current through the primary inductor (the one connected to a power source),
- Ns is the number of turns in the secondary inductor, and
- Np is the number of turns in the primary inductor.
Note that the power through one inductor is the same as the power through the other. Also note that these equations don't work if both transformers are forced (with power sources).
When either side of the transformer is a
tuned circuit, the amount of mutual inductance between the two windings determines the shape of the frequency response curve. Although no boundaries are defined, this is often referred to as loose-, critical-, and over-coupling. When two tuned circuits are loosely coupled through mutual inductance, the bandwidth will be narrow. As the amount of mutual inductance increases, the bandwidth continues to grow. When the mutual inductance is increased beyond a critical point, the peak in the response curve begins to drop, and the center frequency will be attenuated more strongly than its direct sidebands. This is known as overcoupling.
Calculation techniques
Mutual inductance
The mutual inductance by a filamentary circuit
i on a filamentary circuit
j is given by the double integral
Neumann formula
The symbol
μ0 denotes the
magnetic constant (4
π × 10
−7 H/m),
Ci and
Cj are the curves spanned by the wires,
Rij is the distance between two points. See a
derivation of this equation.
Self-inductance
Formally the self-inductance of a wire loop would be given by the above equation with
i =
j. However,
1 / R becomes infinite and thus the finite radius
a along with the distribution of the current in the wire must be taken into account. There remain the contribution from the integral over all points where
and a correction term,
Here
a and
l denote radius and length of the wire, and
Y is a constant that depends on the distribution of the current in the wire:
Y = 0 when the current flows in the surface of the wire (
skin effect),
Y = 1 / 4 when the current is homogenuous across the wire. This approximation is accurate when the wires are long compared to their cross-sectional dimensions. Here is a
derivation of this equation.
Method of images
In some cases different current distributions generate the same magnetic field in some section of space. This fact may be used to relate self inductances (
method of images). As an example consider the two systems:
- A wire at distance d / 2 in front of a perfectly conducting wall (which is the return)
- Two parallel wires at distance d, with opposite current
The magnetic field of the two systems coincides (in a half space). The magnetic field energy and the inductance of the second system thus are twice as large as that of the first system.
Relation between inductance and capacitance
Inductance per length
L' and
capacitance per length
C' are related to each other in the special case of
transmission lines consisting of two parallel perfect conductors of arbitrary but constant cross section,
[5]
Here
and
μ denote dielectric constant and magnetic permeability of the medium the conductors are embedded in. There is no electric and no magnetic field inside the conductors (complete
skin effect, high frequency). Current flows down on one line and returns on the other. The signal propagation speed coincides with the propagation speed of electromagnetic waves in the bulk.
Self-inductance of simple electrical circuits in air
The self-inductance of many types of electrical circuits can be given in closed form. Examples are listed in the table.
Inductance of simple electrical circuits in air
Type | Inductance / μ0 | Comment |
Single layer
solenoid[6] |
for w << 1
for w >> 1
| N: Number of turns
r: Radius
l: Length
w = r / l
m = 4w2
E,K: Elliptic integrals |
Coaxial cable,
high frequency | | a1: Outer radius
a: Inner radius
l: Length |
Circular loop | | r: Loop radius
a: Wire radius |
Rectangle | | b, d: Border length
d >> a, b >> a
a: Wire radius |
Pair of parallel
wires | | a: Wire radius
d: Distance, d ≥ 2a
l: Length of pair |
Pair of parallel
wires, high
frequency | | a: Wire radius
d: Distance, d ≥ 2a
l: Length of pair |
Wire parallel to
perfectly
conducting wall | | a: Wire radius
d: Distance, d ≥ a
l: Length |
Wire parallel to
conducting wall,
high frequency | | a: Wire radius
d: Distance, d ≥ a
l: Length |
The symbol
μ0 denotes the
magnetic constant (4
π × 10
−7 H/m). For high frequencies the electrical current flows in the conductor surface (
skin effect), and depending on the geometry it sometimes is necessary to distinguish low and high frequency inductances. This is the purpose of the constant Y: Y=0 when the current is uniformly distributed over the surface of the wire (skin effect), Y=1/4 when the current is uniformly distributed over the cross section of the wire. In the high frequency case, if conductors approach each other, an additional screening current flows in their surface, and expressions containing Y become invalid.
Inductance of a solenoid
A
solenoid is a long, thin coil, i.e. a coil whose length is much greater than the diameter. Under these conditions, and without any magnetic material used, the
magnetic flux density B within the coil is practically constant and is given by
where
μ0 is the
magnetic constant,
N the number of turns,
i the current and
l the length of the coil. Ignoring end effects the total magnetic flux through the coil is obtained by multiplying the flux density
B by the cross-section area
A and the number of turns
N:
from which it follows that the inductance of a solenoid is given by:
A table of inductance for short solenoids of various diameter to length ratios has been calculated by Dellinger, Whittmore, and Ould
[7]
This, and the inductance of more complicated shapes, can be derived from
Maxwell's equations. For rigid air-core coils, inductance is a function of coil geometry and number of turns, and is independent of current.
Similar analysis applies to a solenoid with a magnetic core, but only if the length of the coil is much greater than the product of the relative permeability of the magnetic core and the diameter. That limits the simple analysis to low-permeability cores, or extremely long thin solenoids. Although rarely useful, the equations are,
where
μr the relative permeability of the material within the solenoid,
from which it follows that the inductance of a solenoid is given by:
Note that since the permeability of ferromagnetic materials changes with applied magnetic flux, the inductance of a coil with a ferromagnetic core will generally vary with current.
Inductance of a coaxial line
Let the inner conductor have radius
ri and
permeability μi, let the dielectric between the inner and outer conductor have permeability
μd, and let the outer conductor have inner radius
ro1, outer radius
ro2, and permeability
μo. Assume that a DC current
I flows in opposite directions in the two conductors, with uniform current density. The magnetic field generated by these currents points in the azimuthal direction and is a function of radius
r; it can be computed using
Ampère's Law:
The flux per length
l in the region between the conductors can be computed by drawing a surface containing the axis:
Inside the conductors, L can be computed by equating the energy stored in an inductor,
, with the energy stored in the magnetic field:
For a cylindrical geometry with no
l dependence, the energy per unit length is
where
L' is the inductance per unit length. For the inner conductor, the integral on the right-hand-side is
; for the outer conductor it is
Solving for
L' and summing the terms for each region together gives a total inductance per unit length of:
However, for a typical coaxial line application we are interested in passing (non-DC) signals at frequencies for which the resistive
skin effect cannot be neglected. In most cases, the inner and outer conductor terms are negligible, in which case one may approximate
Nonlinear Inductance
Many inductors make use of
magnetic materials. These materials over a large enough range exhibit a nonlinear permeability with such effects as
saturation. This in-turn makes the resulting inductance a function of the applied current. Faraday's Law still holds but inductance is ambiguous and is different whether you are calculating circuit parameters or magnetic fluxes.
The secant or large-signal inductance is used in flux calculations. It is defined as:
The differential or small-signal inductance, on the other hand, is used in calculating voltage. It is defined as:
The circuit voltage for a nonlinear inductor is obtained via the differential inductance as shown by Faraday's Law and the
chain rule of calculus.
There are similar definitions for nonlinear mutual inductances.