Inductance of a toroidal winding 2026-10-18
For a slender winding around a toroid with turns, core area , mean magnetic path length and approximately constant magnetic permeability , Ampère's law gives . The linked magnetic flux is , so . This approximation neglects flux leakage and variation across the core and assumes operation below magnetic saturation. With a nonlinear magnetic core, an incremental inductance instead depends on differential permeability at the operating point.
Magnetic saturation 2026-10-18
Magnetic saturation is the regime in which increasing the applied magnetic field intensity produces little further increase in magnetization. The total magnetic flux density can still increase through its vacuum contribution, . Consequently a constant large magnetic permeability cannot describe a core throughout this regime; ideal magnetic circuit predictions based on that assumption overestimate field concentration.
An electrical transformer transfers alternating electrical power between windings through a shared changing magnetic flux. A core with large magnetic permeability confines most of the flux, so both windings link approximately the same flux . Faraday's law gives induced electromotive forcesFor an ideal electrical transformer, negligible winding resistance and leakage flux imply the terminal-voltage magnitude ratioThe relative phase depends on the winding sense and terminal convention. At a loaded secondary, Lenz's law makes the secondary current oppose the flux change. The primary draws an additional current which approximately cancels the secondary magnetomotive force: in magnitude when the magnetizing current is negligible. Consequentlyfor a resistive load, using root mean square values. More generally the ideal device conserves instantaneous power, with the appropriate current signs. A load impedance appears at the primary as , enabling impedance matching and electrical isolation.
For sinusoidal flux, gives . At a given supply voltage, reducing frequency increases the required peak flux and can drive the core into magnetic saturation. Real losses include winding Joule heating, magnetic hysteresis, eddy currents and leakage flux; a laminated core suppresses eddy-current loops. A steady direct current produces no continuing secondary electromotive force, while its small winding resistance can allow a damaging primary current after switching transients.
Set . Comparing with the untapered expression in part (d), using the same and large radius ,The stated limit makes , soThe taper concentrates magnetic flux into a smaller pole-face area, increasing the gap magnetic field intensity and magnetic flux density for the same winding electric current. If , the enhancement approaches . If instead , the gap dominates the magnetic reluctance and the enhancement approaches unity: both fields approach .
The benefit is therefore strongest when the untapered core's contribution is significant, while the taper lengths contribute little. The same-core-length convention is the comparison defined by parts (d) and (e); if one instead fixes the full iron path length, the untapered comparator has length , a difference negligible in the stated limit. A smaller gap area can increase the field even though the total magnetic flux need not increase. Magnetic saturation and magnetic fringing, excluded from this model, limit the ideal concentration.