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Theory & Practice of Electromagnetic Design of DC Motors & Actuators

George P. Gogue & Joseph J. Stupak, Jr.

G2 Consulting, Beaverton, OR 97007

CHAPTER 2

MAGNETIC MATERIALS

2.1 Magnetically hard (permanent magnet) materials:

Before the 1930's, the only available magnet material other than lodestone was
hardened steel. Since steel with a high carbon content hardened by
heat-treatment would retain its magnetism, whereas soft or mild steel with a
low carbon content would not, magnetic materials came to be called "hard" or
"soft" depending on whether they would retain a permanent magnetic field or
not. The names "hard" and "soft" as a description of magnetic properties have
remained, even though some modern magnetically soft materials are very hard
mechanically, and some relatively soft materials are magnetically hard.

Hardened steel has a very high (high flux) but very little coercivity ( ), as
shown in Figure 1.9. Reluctance to flux flow (in the surrounding space) is less
for a long, thin rod which is axially magnetized than for a shorter, thicker
part. In order to avoid self-demagnetization owing to shape, i.e. a B/H slope
line behind the knee of the curve, magnets had to be long and thin, like the
traditional compass needle. In the early 1930's, various magnetic materials
were found which had lower , but far greater coercivity and maximum energy
product than steel. The most successful of these were the alnico magnets. The
name "alnico" is derived from the constituent metals aluminum, nickel and
cobalt. Whereas a steel magnet might need to have an aspect ratio (length to
width) of 50:1 to avoid losing its field in air, an alnico magnet might be safe
at somewhere between 3:1 and 10:1, depending on the type used and its intended
service. By comparison, newer materials such as ferrites, samarium-cobalt, and
neodymium-iron have such high resistance to demagnetization from shape effects
in air that sometimes persons experienced in only these materials have never
encountered the effect and do not realize that the hazard exists. It is
nonetheless possible to partially demagnetize some of these materials by shape
effect, e.g. by using large, thin magnets magnetized through the thickness, or
by radially magnetizing a long, thin-walled tube with few poles. The B/H slopes
resulting in magnets as a function of several shapes and length:width ratio are
shown in Figure 2.1 (Ref. 41). If the slope results in the operating point
being behind the knee of the curve for the particular material intended, then
that magnet may work well in a magnetic circuit (with the magnet magnetized in
place, or transferred into the circuit with the aid of "keeper" flux shunts);
however, if the magnet is taken out for even an instant and then replaced, the
field in the gap will be less than before.

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Alnico is a hard, brittle material, which has to be ground to shape if close

tolerances on dimensions are required. Ceramic (ferrite) magnets are extremely
hard, so much so that they are cut only very slowly by tungsten-carbide or
silicon-carbide. They must be ground or cut to shape with diamond tools.

Samarium-cobalt magnets are also difficult to cut and can be made only in
limited sizes and shapes (in solid form). Neodymium-iron when cut, produces a
powder which is easily ignited by the heat caused by the tool, which makes the
process hazardous.

Ferrite, samarium-cobalt and neodymium-iron are also available in powder form,

which is either pressed to shape with a binder, or molded with a carrier
plastic. Bonded magnets made by either process are less powerful than the solid
forms of the same material but can be made into a much wider range of shapes at

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lower cost. The final part may be relatively rigid, bonded with materials like
nylon 6-6, or relatively flexible, bonded with rubber.

Some of the bonded materials are isotropic (having the same magnetic properties
in all directions) and are machineable. Some bonded products and most solid
magnet materials have a preferred direction of magnetization (but with either
N-S or S-N alignment allowed). Resistance to magnetization in other directions
may be extremely high. For example, the coercive force required to completely
magnetize a particular ferrite in the preferred direction is about 10,000 G.
The same material was not affected at all when exposed to a field of 20,000 G
in a transverse direction and it reportedly requires 100,000 G to magnetize it
in that direction.

The properties of permanent magnet materials are given in Table 2.1. These are
typical values only, since the actual properties vary between manufacturers.

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Notes on the above table:

1. All materials have a preferred direction of magnetization unless noted as

isotropic.

2. Thermal expansion for some materials is non-isotropic. If two figures are

given, "P" data is for direction parallel to preferred direction of
magnetization and "T" data is for directions transverse to the preferred
direction of magnetization.

3. Data are from various sources, of unknown accuracy and are given as examples
only. Design data should be obtained from the manufacturer. Except for
temperatures, data are at 20°C (68°F).

If magnetic materials are heated above a characteristic temperature called the

Curie temperature, they suddenly lose all magnetism. If they are then cooled to
room temperature, they are found to be completely demagnetized but otherwise
unaffected. It may not be possible to use this method to demagnetize bonded
magnets because the required temperature is high enough to destroy the bonding
material but it is an excellent way to demagnetize solid magnet materials
without coating or adhesives. For some materials it may be advisable to heat
the parts in an inert atmosphere to prevent corrosion.

Ferrite magnets sometimes continue to lose small amounts of powder from their

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surfaces. They are brittle and easily chipped. Samarium-cobalt may occasionally
spall off tiny bits of material. In order to avoid possible contamination and
to help protect against surface and edge damage, magnets are sometimes coated.
The surfacing materials used are often epoxies of polyurethane and the coatings
may be as thin as a few ten-thousandths of an inch (0.0002) up to perhaps five
thousandths of an inch (0.005). Ferrites may also develop cracks in
manufacturing which do not affect their magnetic performance but reduce their
strength and resistance to spalling. The cracks may be filled with epoxy. Some
magnet materials are subject to corrosion and oxidation which a coating may
prevent.

A number of other magnetic materials are known, besides the ones discussed.
Some of them have been in volume production in the past but are rarely used
today, because other materials are less expensive or have better properties.
Among them are cunife (copper-nickel-iron), which can be machined and
cold-worked; cunico (copper-nickel-cobalt); silmanal (silver-nickel-aluminum),
a material with great resistance to demagnetization; and vicalloy (iron-cobalt-
vanadium), which is machineable.

References 1-9 are recommended for further reading on permanent magnets and
their properties.

2.2 Magnetically soft materials:

Magnetically soft materials have a very narrow B-H curve and have very little
remanence, which means that after an applied magnetic field is removed, very
little flux remains in the circuit. The behavior of these materials is variable
and significant over such a wide range that their B-H curves are usually
plotted with semi-log scales, as shown in Figure 2.2 (H plotted on the
horizontal scale, logarithmically). Since the materials are reluctance rather
than coercive force sources, B and H are both plotted as positive (in the first
quadrant). There being very little or no difference between the rising and
falling curves, the plot is a single line. Plots are normally made of B versus
H; occasionally plots of permeability versus B or H are also made. Maximum
permeability does not usually occur at the beginning of the curve (very low H)
but somewhere in the middle. For very low-carbon steel, maximum permeability
may occur at approximately 7000 G and may be 3000 or so; initial permeability
(at 20 Gauss) is about 200. Permeability in this case means total B divided by
total H. Differential permeability, on the other hand, is the ratio of change
of B to change of H, which is the slope of the B-H curve. Differential
permeability is of interest when small variations (perhaps caused electrically)
are imposed over a steady magnetic field.

There is a big difference between choosing a pole material to carry a maximum

amount of flux (high saturation flux-density) and in choosing one for high
permeability. To specify high permeability, the maximum coercivity must also be
known. For very low coercivity (to perhaps 0.005 Oersted or so) a material like
Supermalloy may be best, with a permeability at this level as high as 200,000.
This alloy saturates at less than 8,000 G however. For high flux-density,
Vanadium Permandur is superior. Its initial permeability is only about 1,100
but it saturates at 23,000 G (compared to 20,500 G for low-carbon steel).

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Figure 2.2: B-H Curves

Notes on above Figure:

1. The curves shown are intrinsic. The flux-densities shown represent the
increase in field strength caused by the material, not the total field. To get
the normal curve (used for design), add the value of B found from the curve to
the value of (H times 1 Gauss/oersted). For example, for Vanadium-Permandur at
1000 Oe, the curve shows 22,600 G. The flux-density in an immediately adjacent
gap would be 23,600 G.

2. The data shown is plotted from information from various sources, and is of
unknown accuracy. It is given for illustrative purposes only. Design data
should be obtained from manufacturer.

3. The materials are shown in their highest state of permeability. Some

materials require special heat-treatment to reach their best magnetic
properties, and may be adversely affected if subsequent machining and forming
is done. The 3% silicon-iron sheet is anisotropic, and best magnetic properties
are obtained in only one direction.

In order to help suppress electrical eddy currents which slow down magnetic
field strength changes and waste energy, high electrical resistance is
desirable. Adding silicon to iron (up to 5%) increases the electrical
resistance but reduces the flux saturation density. It also makes the material
brittle and hard to form or machine. Silicon-iron is widely used in
transformers, electronic chokes and electrical motors (Refs. 42 & 44).

Many of the magnetic alloys require heat-treatment (annealing) to obtain the

best magnetic properties. The effect is reduced or lost by machining or forming
however, so it must be repeated after these operations. Some materials require
heat-treatment in a hydrogen atmosphere to obtain the best properties, a
somewhat dangerous process. If this is not possible, treatment may be done in
other gas mixtures, producing results which are not optimal but are greatly

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improved over the untreated state (Reference 11).

Besides iron, the metals nickel and cobalt are ferromagnetic and highly
permeable. Pure nickel saturates at 6080 Gauss which makes it useful on
occasion for calibration purposes.

Nickel plating can be either magnetic or non-magnetic, depending on the

application process. Magnetic nickel is often used to protect pole steel from
corrosion, with minimum added reluctance.

The 300 Series stainless steels (302, 303, 304, 316 and others) which contain
significant amounts of nickel (8% to 22%), as well as chrome (14% to 24%) are
usually austinitic in structure and are not considered to be magnetic. A magnet
is sometimes used in machine shops to test stainless steel versus other steels.
The 300 Series stainless materials may become magnetically permeable as the
result of cold-working as, for example, may happen to cold-forged bolts.
Certain special types (329, 355) may be either austinitic or martensitic(and
therefore magnetically impermeable, or permeable) depending on heat treatment.

The 400 Series stainless steels contain chrome but little or no nickel. They
are martensitic, hardenable by heat-treatment and magnetically permeable.
Because they can be hardened, 400 Series stainless steels are often used for
tools, instruments and bearing surfaces.

The B-H curves of magnetic materials change with temperature to varying

degrees, with flux density and permeability reducing with increased
temperature. Certain iron alloys containing a high percentage of nickel (around
30%) have permeabilities that are very strongly affected by temperature. For
example, one material changes its permeability by about a factor of 2 between
-40°F and 200°F, at 46 Oe coercive force. The variation of permeability is also
a function of coercivity; this same alloy increases its permeability at an even
greater rate over the same range, at a low coercivity (0.2 Oe). It is possible
to use these alloys to compensate for variations in the strength of permanent
magnets with temperature. The magnet is designed to produce more flux than is
required in the gap and the extra flux is shunted around the gap with a section
of the compensator material. If the temperature increases, the magnet output
will decrease but less flux will be passed by the shunt. With proper design,
the resulting flux in the gap can be made to be very nearly constant over a
wide range of temperature.

Although the B-H curves of pole materials are usually drawn as a single line,
there is in fact a small difference between the rising and falling curves. The
area traced out in B-H space represents energy lost per cycle, which is called
hysteresis loss. Although the loss per cycle is very small, the power
dissipated as heat over time, in devices subjected to constant cycling (such as
motors and transformers) can be significant. Eddy current losses in these
materials are also important and the two added together are termed core loss.
The amount of core loss, in units of watts per pound, is supplied by the
manufacturers of these materials, as a function of frequency (f), lamination
thickness (t) and maximum flux-density (B). An empirical formula for the core
loss in pole materials is:

The first term represents the hysteresis loss and the coefficient x is called
the Steinmetz coefficient (after Charles Proteus Steinmetz, who discovered the
relationship). It varies from about 1.5 to 2.5, depending on the material; 1.6
is often used. The second term represents eddy current loss. The constants
and depend on the material. If the power loss is known for several different

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conditions, the constants can be found and then the power losses at other
frequencies, material thicknesses and flux-densities can be calculated.

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