Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

History
The first person to observe current eddies was Franois Arago (1786-1853), the 25th president of the France, who was also a mathematician, physicist and astronomer. In 1824 he observed what has been called rotator magnetism and the fact that most conductive bodies could be magnetized; these discoveries were completed and explained by Michael Faraday (1791-1867). In 1834, Heinrich Lenz stated the Lenz s Law, which states that the direction of the induced current flows in an object will be such that its magnetic field will oppose the magnetic field that caused the current flow. Eddy currents develop secondary flux that cancels a part of the external flux. French physicist, Lacoun Foucault (1819-1861) is credited with having discovered Eddy currents. In September, 1855, he discovered that the force required for the rotation of a copper disc becomes greater when it is made to rotate with its rim between the poles of magnet, the disc at the same time becoming heated by the eddy current induced in the metal. The first use of eddy current for Nondestructive testing occurred in 1879, when D.E. Hughes used the principles to conduct metallurgical sorting testing. The first train in commercial circulation to use such a braking system has been the ICE-3
Dept. of Electrical Engg. GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Introduction
Many of the ordinary brakes, which are being used now days stop the vehicle by means of mechanical blocking. These causes skidding and wear & tear of the vehicle. And if the speed of the vehicle is very high, the brake cannot provide that much high braking force and it will cause problems. These drawbacks of ordinary brakes can be overcome by a simple and effective mechanism of braking system 'The eddy current brake'. It is an abrasion-free method for braking of vehicles including trains. It makes use of the opposing tendency of eddy current Eddy current is the swirling current produced in a conductor, which is subjected to a change in magnetic field. Because of the tendency of eddy currents to oppose, eddy currents cause energy to be lost. More accurately, eddy currents transform more useful forms of energy such as kinetic energy into heat, which is much less useful. In many applications, the loss of useful energy is not particularly desirable. But there are some practical applications. Such an application is the eddy current brake.

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Eddy Current Brakes

Eddy current brakes are simple magnetic devices that consist of a non-ferromagnetic conductor that moves through a magnetic field. Where a magnetic field is created in the gap of a toroidal electromagnet, with diameter D. When the conductive disc rotates, eddy currents are induced at an average distance R from the axis of rotation where the pole s magnetic field moves as a function of the angular velocity of the disk.1 Power is dissipated in the conductive disk by the Joule Effect, which creates a viscous-like torque applied to the disk.

Above figure is the sketch of eddy currents in a rotating disc. The crosses represent a steady magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the disc. According to Faraday s law, eddy currents appear in those points of the disc where the magnetic field increases or decreases.
Dept. of Electrical Engg. GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Principle of Operation
Eddy current brake works according to Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. According to this law, whenever a conductor cuts magnetic lines of forces, an emf is induced in the conductor, the magnitude of which is proportional to the strength of magnetic field and the speed of the conductor. If the conductor is a disc, there will be circulatory currents i.e. eddy currents in the disc. According to Lenz's law, the direction of the current is in such a way as to oppose the cause, i.e. movement of the disc. Essentially the eddy current brake consists of two parts, a stationary magnetic field system and a solid rotating part, which include a metal disc. During braking, the metal disc is exposed to a magnetic field from an electromagnet, generating eddy currents in the disc. The magnetic interaction between the applied field and the eddy currents slow down the rotating disc. Thus the wheels of the vehicle also slow down since the wheels are directly coupled to the disc of the eddy current brake, thus producing smooth stopping motion.

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Types of Eddy Current Brakes

Electromagnetic brakes are similar to electrical motors; nonferromagnetic metal discs (rotors) are connected to a rotating coil, and a magnetic field between the rotor and the coil creates a resistance used to generate electricity or heat. When electromagnets are used, control of the braking action is made possible by varying the strength of the magnetic field. A braking force is possible when electric current is passed through the electromagnets. The movement of the metal through the magnetic field of the electromagnets creates eddy currents in the discs. These eddy currents generate an opposing magnetic field, which then resists the rotation of the discs, providing braking force. The net result is to convert the motion of the rotors into heat in the rotors.

Linear Eddy Current Brakes

It consists of a magnetic yoke with electrical coils which are being magnetized alternately. This magnet does not touch the rail (held at approx 7 mm). When the magnet is moved along the rail, it generates a non-stationary magnetic field which generates electrical tension and causes eddy currents. These disturb the magnetic field in such a way that the magnetic force is diverted to the opposite of the direction of the movement. The braking

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

energy of the vehicle is converted in eddy current losses which lead to a warming of the rail.

Circular Eddy Current Brakes

When electromagnets are used, control of the braking action is made possible by varying the strength of the magnetic field. A braking force is possible when electric current is passed through the electromagnets. The movement of the metal through the magnetic field of the electromagnets creates eddy currents in the discs. These eddy currents generate an opposing magnetic field, which then resists the rotation of the discs, providing braking

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

force. The net result is to convert the motion of the rotors into heat in rotors.

Eddy current brakes at the Intamin roller coaster Goliath in Walibi World (Netherlands). The first train in commercial circulation to use such a braking is the ICE 3. Modern roller coasters use this type of braking, but utilize permanent magnets instead of electromagnets, and require no electricity. However, their braking strength cannot be adjusted.

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Parameters Affecting Eddy Current

Braking Time of the Disc
First of all, the time necessary for the disc to completely stop from a fixed initial angular speed when the motor is turned off can be measured as a function of the excitation intensity. We must keep in mind that the larger the excitation intensity is selected, the larger the voltage applied to the motor must be to achieve that initial speed. Error bars have been set to 0.3 s, a typical uncertainty when using stopwatches. Equation (1) implies that the eddy current braking torque is proportional to the instantaneous angular speed. However, the results plotted in figure 3 are not suitable for verifying this fact, due to the lack of a known model for the internal braking torque acting on the motor. Therefore, the result of this first experiment cannot be numerically tested.

Braking time for the copper disc versus excitation intensity.

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Eddy Current Losses versus Angular Velocity

To test the proportionality between Pe and 2 shown by equation (1) a fixed excitation intensity Iex must be chosen. Then the voltage supplied by the power source of the motor must be varied in order to select various angular speeds. For any chosen speed motor Pm (Iex, of the disc the power consumption of the ) can be calculated as the product of its

voltage and intensity. The power consumption Pm (0, ) when the electromagnet is turned off must be computed in the same way. Then the power dissipated only by eddy currents is simply: Pe ( ) = Pm (Iex, ) Pm (0, ) (Iex fixed).

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

From the above it may be deduced that:

y Eddy current brakes are an effective means of regulating train speed at higher line speeds. y The brake effort can be regulated and varied to provide both service and emergency braking modes. y The infrastructure will need to be adapted for the use of eddy current brakes. y Physical clearance must exist between track structure and the eddy current brake head. y Electromagnetic compatibility issues with track mounted and line side equipment must be addressed. y The track resistance to longitudinal, vertical and lateral forces must be considered and that this will place additional requirements on the design and construction of the track.

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Advantages
 The device can be used in heavy automobile as an accessory.  It is highly at high speed  It works on electricity and consumes very small amount of power for a tiny time period  Can be easily controlled and resettable  Very light weight and low maintenance  Consumes small space therefore installation is easy  Running cost is small

Disadvantages
 Higher running cost  Very large amount of heat generation

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Applications
 Used in the braking system of roller coaster.

 Used in the braking system high speed train

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Future Scope
The eddy current increases with decreases in resistivity of material. There is a slope of applying Cu wire winding of AWG 20.08 less to get highly conductive surface and minimum resistance possible to increase the eddy current induced. The magnetic field induced by electromagnet is not too large and can be increased by supplying higher current. Speed of shaft can be increased by providing a gear arrangement instead of chain sprocket assembly of high gear ratios to get higher speeds.

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Conclusion
 The eddy current brakes can be used as an accessory in heavy automobiles with conventional friction brakes; because it is the remedy of problems faced by any conventional brakes like fading skidding, requirement of servo mechanism breaking, higher weights etc.  This device is easy to install and cost incurred is small so can be used in the automobiles manufactured.

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Reference
www.freepatentonline.com www.wikipedia.com www.eddycurrentbrake.com www.railwaygazette.com

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Acknowledgement
With all due respect, I sincerely express my gratitude to our beloved Head of the Department, Sri. S.Jayaram, for his blessings and undying support. May I thank all the department faculties too, who have been there to help me whenever I needed them. At this juncture, I also wish to whole-heartedly thank all my friends for their encouragement and good wishes, and for all the unforgettable experiences shared while searching for a topic. I also thank the LORD ALMIGHTY without his will this paper could not have materialized.

Vimal. B

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Contents
1. History 2. Introduction 3. Eddy Current Brakes 4. Principle of Operation 5. Types of Eddy Current Brakes 6. Parameters affecting Eddy Current 7. Advantages 8. Disadvantages 9. Applications 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Future Scope Conclusion Reference Abstract Acknowledgement

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal

Eddy Current Brakes

2011-2012

Abstract
Many of the ordinary brakes, which are being used now days, stop the vehicle by means of mechanical blocking. This causes skidding and wear and tear of the vehicle. And if the speed of the vehicle is very high, the brake cannot provide that much high braking force and it will cause problems. These drawbacks of ordinary brakes can be overcome by a simple and effective mechanism of braking system 'The eddy current brake'. It is an abrasion-free method for braking of vehicles including trains. It makes use of the opposing tendency of eddy current Eddy current is the swirling current produced in a conductor, which is subjected to a change in magnetic field. Because of the tendency of eddy currents to oppose, eddy currents cause energy to be lost. More accurately, eddy currents transform more useful forms of energy such as kinetic energy into heat, which is much less useful. In many applications, the loss of useful energy is not particularly desirable. But there are some practical applications. Such an application is the eddy current brake.

Dept. of Electrical Engg.

GPTC, Attingal