University of Cape Town Department of Electrical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment EEE2044S
EEE2044S TUTORIAL EXERCISE 2: INTRODUCTION TO POWER
ENGINEERING
Instructions: Please answer all questions. Show your workings always. You are not required to hand-in this
tutorial exercise. However, it serves as a guide for what you can expect in the tests and the exam.
1. The toroidal (circular cross section) core shown in Figure 1 below is made from a material with a relative
permeability of 1000.
a) Calculate the coil current required to produce a core flux density of 1.5T at the mean radius of the
toroid.
b) What is the flux of the core? Assume uniform flux density in the core.
c) If a 2-mm wide air gap is made in the toroid, determine the new coil current required to maintain a
core flux density of 1.5 T.
(2.999 𝐴𝐴, 1.89 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚, 12.54 𝐴𝐴)
Figure 1 Figure 2
2. A closed magnetic circuit of cast steel contains a 6 cm long mean-path of cross-sectional area 1 cm2 and a 2
cm long mean-path of cross-sectional area 0.5 cm2. A coil of 200 turns is wound around the 6 cm length of
the circuit and a current of 0.4 A flows. Determine the flux density in the 2 cm path if the relative
permeability of the cast steel is 800.
(1.61 𝑇𝑇)
3. Figure 2 shows a ring formed with two different materials—cast steel and mild steel. The dimensions are:
mean length cross-sectional area B H
Mild steel 800 mm 400 mm2 0.5 T 700 At/m
Cast steel 300 mm 200 mm 2
1T 900 At/m
Find the total mmf required to cause a flux of 200µWb in the magnetic circuit. Determine also the total circuit
reluctance.
(830 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴, 4.15 × 106 𝐻𝐻−1)
4. The magnetic circuit of Figure 3 has a core of relative permeability 𝜇𝜇𝑟𝑟 = 2000, core depth of 7.5 cm and coil
of 500turns which carries a current of 1.85A. If an airgap of 1.2cm wide is then created in the core and a 10%
increase in the effective cross-sectional area of the air gap occurs due to fringing;
a) Draw the resulting magnetic equivalent circuit.
b) Find the flux and flux density in the core.
c) Determine the inductance of the coil.
(0.758 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚, 0.101 𝑇𝑇, 0.205 𝐻𝐻)
Figure 3 Figure 4
5. A section through a magnetic circuit of uniform cross-sectional area 2 cm2 is shown in Figure 4. The cast steel
core has a mean length of 25 cm. The air gap is 1 mm wide and the coil has 5000 turns. Using the B– H curve
for cast steel, determine the current in the coil to produce a flux density of 0.80 T in the air gap, if all the flux
passes through both parts of the magnetic circuit. (0.165 𝐴𝐴)
University of Cape Town Department of Electrical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment EEE2044S
6. An inductor is made of two coils, A and B, having 400 and 250 turns, respectively. The coils are wound on a
cast steel core and in directions as shown in Figure 5. The two coils are connected in series to a dc voltage.
(a) Determine the two possible values of current required in the coils to establish a flux density of 1.5T
in the air gap. (Hint: You can use the B-H curve of the cast steel).
(b) Determine the self-inductances LA and LB of the two coils. Neglect magnetic leakage and fringing.
(4.23 𝐴𝐴, 18.31 𝐴𝐴; 34.96 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚, 13.66 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚)
Figure 5 Figure 6
7. The electromagnet shown in Figure 6 can be used to lift a length of steel strip. The coil has 450 turns and can
carry a current of 25A without overheating. The magnetic material has negligible reluctance at flux densities
up to 1.5T. Determine the maximum air gap for which a flux density of 1.5T can be established with a coil
current of 25A. Neglect magnetic leakage and fringing of flux at the air gap.
(4.71𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚)
Figure 7: B-H curves for Questions 3, 5 and 6.
