In electromagnetism, an eddy current (also called Foucault's current) is a loop of

electric current induced within conductors by a changing magnetic field in the

conductor according to Faraday's law of induction or by the relative motion of a
conductor in a magnetic field. Eddy currents flow in closed loops within
conductors, in planes perpendicular to the magnetic field. They can be induced
within nearby stationary conductors by a time-varying magnetic field created by an
AC electromagnet or transformer, for example, or by relative motion between a
magnet and a nearby conductor. The magnitude of the current in a given loop is
proportional to the strength of the magnetic field, the area of the loop, and the
rate of change of flux, and inversely proportional to the resistivity of the
material. When graphed, these circular currents within a piece of metal look
vaguely like eddies or whirlpools in a liquid.

By Lenz's law, an eddy current creates a magnetic field that opposes the change in
the magnetic field that created it, and thus eddy currents react back on the source
of the magnetic field. For example, a nearby conductive surface will exert a drag
force on a moving magnet that opposes its motion, due to eddy currents induced in
the surface by the moving magnetic field. This effect is employed in eddy current
brakes which are used to stop rotating power tools quickly when they are turned
off. The current flowing through the resistance of the conductor also dissipates
energy as heat in the material. Thus eddy currents are a cause of energy loss in
alternating current (AC) inductors, transformers, electric motors and generators,
and other AC machinery, requiring special construction such as laminated magnetic
cores or ferrite cores to minimize them. Eddy currents are also used to heat
objects in induction heating furnaces and equipment, and to detect cracks and flaws
in metal parts using eddy-current testing instruments.

Origin of term
The term eddy current comes from analogous currents seen in water in fluid
dynamics, causing localised areas of turbulence known as eddies giving rise to
persistent vortices. Somewhat analogously, eddy currents can take time to build up
and can persist for very long times in conductors due to their inductance.

History
The first person to observe eddy currents was François Arago (1786–1853), the
President of the Council of Ministers of the 2nd French Republic during the brief
period 10th May to June 24, 1848 (equivalent to the current position of the French
Prime Minister), who was also a mathematician, physicist and astronomer. In 1824 he
observed what has been called rotatory magnetism, and that most conductive bodies
could be magnetized; these discoveries were completed and explained by Michael
Faraday (1791–1867).

In 1834, Emil Lenz stated Lenz's law, which says that the direction of induced
current flow in an object will be such that its magnetic field will oppose the
change of magnetic flux that caused the current flow. Eddy currents produce a
secondary field that cancels a part of the external field and causes some of the
external flux to avoid the conductor.

French physicist Léon Foucault (1819–1868) 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 a magnet, the disc at the same time becoming heated by the eddy current
induced in the metal. The first use of eddy current for non-destructive testing
occurred in 1879 when David E. Hughes used the principles to conduct metallurgical
sorting tests.

Explanation

Eddy currents (I, red) induced in a conductive metal plate (C) as it moves to the
right under a magnet (N). The magnetic field (B, green) is directed down through
the plate. The Lorentz force of the magnetic field on the electrons in the metal
induces a sideways current under the magnet. The magnetic field, acting on the
sideways moving electrons, creates a Lorentz force opposite to the velocity of the
sheet, which acts as a drag force on the sheet. The blue arrows are counter
magnetic fields generated by the circular motion of the charges.

Forces on an electron in the metal sheet under the magnet, explaining where the
drag force on the sheet comes from. The red dot e1 shows a conduction electron in
the sheet right after it has undergone a collision with an atom, and e2 shows the
same electron after it has been accelerated by the magnetic field. On average at e1
the electron has the same velocity as the sheet (v, black arrow) in the +x
direction. The magnetic field (B, green arrow) of the magnet's North pole N is
directed down in the −y direction. The magnetic field exerts a Lorentz force on the
electron (pink arrow) of F1 = −e(v × B), where e is the electron's charge. Since
the electron has a negative charge, from the right hand rule this is directed in
the +z direction. At e2 this force gives the electron a component of velocity in
the sideways direction (v2, black arrow) The magnetic field acting on this sideways
velocity, then exerts a Lorentz force on the particle of F2 = −e(v2 × B). From the
right hand rule, this is directed in the −x direction, opposite to the velocity v
of the metal sheet. This force accelerates the electron giving it a component of
velocity opposite to the sheet. Collisions of these electrons with the atoms of the
sheet exert a drag force on the sheet.

Eddy current brake. The North magnetic pole piece (top) in this drawing is shown
further away from the disk than the South; this is just to leave room to show the
currents. In an actual eddy current brake the pole pieces are positioned as close
to the disk as possible.
A magnet induces circular electric currents in a metal sheet moving through its
magnetic field. See the diagram at right. It shows a metal sheet (C) moving to the
right with velocity v under a stationary magnet. The magnetic field (B, green
arrows) of the magnet's north pole N passes down through the sheet. Since the metal
is moving, the magnetic flux through a given area of the sheet is changing. In the
part of the sheet moving under the leading edge of the magnet (left side) the
magnetic field through a given point on the sheet is increasing as it gets nearer
the magnet,
dB
/
dt
> 0. From Faraday's law of induction, this creates a circular electric field in
the sheet in a counterclockwise direction around the magnetic field lines. This
field induces a counterclockwise flow of electric current (I, red), in the sheet.
This is the eddy current. In the part of the sheet under the trailing edge of the
magnet (right side) the magnetic field through a given point on the sheet is
decreasing as it is moving further away from the magnet,
dB
/
dt
< 0, inducing a second eddy current in a clockwise direction in the sheet.

Another equivalent way to understand the current is to see that the free charge
carriers (electrons) in the metal sheet are moving with the sheet to the right, so
the magnetic field exerts a sideways force on them due to the Lorentz force. Since
the velocity v of the charges is to the right and the magnetic field B is directed
down, from the right hand rule the Lorentz force on positive charges F = q(v × B)
is toward the rear of the diagram (to the left when facing in the direction of
motion v). This causes a current I toward the rear under the magnet, which circles
around through parts of the sheet outside the magnetic field, clockwise to the
right and counterclockwise to the left, to the front of the magnet again. The
mobile charge carriers in the metal, the electrons, actually have a negative charge
(q < 0) so their motion is opposite in direction to the conventional current shown.

The magnetic field of the magnet, acting on the electrons moving sideways under the
magnet, then exerts a Lorentz force directed to the rear, opposite to the velocity
of the metal sheet. The electrons, in collisions with the metal lattice atoms,
transfer this force to the sheet, exerting a drag force on the sheet proportional
to its velocity. The kinetic energy which is consumed overcoming this drag force is
dissipated as heat by the currents flowing through the resistance of the metal, so
the metal gets warm under the magnet.

Due to Ampère's circuital law each of the circular currents in the sheet creates a
counter magnetic field (blue arrows). Another way to understand the drag force is
to see that due to Lenz's law the counterfields oppose the change in magnetic field
through the sheet. At the leading edge of the magnet (left side) by the right hand
rule the counterclockwise current creates a magnetic field pointed up, opposing the
magnet's field, causing a repulsive force between the sheet and the leading edge of
the magnet. In contrast, at the trailing edge (right side), the clockwise current
causes a magnetic field pointed down, in the same direction as the magnet's field,
creating an attractive force between the sheet and the trailing edge of the magnet.
Both of these forces oppose the motion of the sheet.

Properties
Eddy currents in conductors of non-zero resistivity generate heat as well as
electromagnetic forces. The heat can be used for induction heating. The
electromagnetic forces can be used for levitation, creating movement, or to give a
strong braking effect. Eddy currents can also have undesirable effects, for
instance power loss in transformers. In this application, they are minimized with
thin plates, by lamination of conductors or other details of conductor shape.

Self-induced eddy currents are responsible for the skin effect in conductors.[1]
The latter can be used for non-destructive testing of materials for geometry
features, like micro-cracks.[2] A similar effect is the proximity effect, which is
caused by externally induced eddy currents.[3]

An object or part of an object experiences steady field intensity and direction

where there is still relative motion of the field and the object (for example in
the center of the field in the diagram), or unsteady fields where the currents
cannot circulate due to the geometry of the conductor. In these situations charges
collect on or within the object and these charges then produce static electric
potentials that oppose any further current. Currents may be initially associated
with the creation of static potentials, but these may be transitory and small.

(left) Eddy currents (I, red) within a solid iron transformer core. (right) Making
the core out of thin laminations parallel to the field (B, green) with insulation
(C) between them reduces the eddy currents. Although the field and currents are
shown in one direction, they actually reverse direction with the alternating
current in the transformer winding.
Eddy currents generate resistive losses that transform some forms of energy, such
as kinetic energy, into heat. This Joule heating reduces efficiency of iron-core
transformers and electric motors and other devices that use changing magnetic
fields. Eddy currents are minimized in these devices by selecting magnetic core
materials that have low electrical conductivity (e.g., ferrites or iron powder
mixed with resin) or by using thin sheets of magnetic material, known as
laminations. Electrons cannot cross the insulating gap between the laminations and
so are unable to circulate on wide arcs. Charges gather at the lamination
boundaries, in a process analogous to the Hall effect, producing electric fields
that oppose any further accumulation of charge and hence suppressing the eddy
currents. The shorter the distance between adjacent laminations (i.e., the greater
the number of laminations per unit area, perpendicular to the applied field), the
greater the suppression of eddy currents.

The conversion of input energy to heat is not always undesirable, however, as there
are some practical applications. One is in the brakes of some trains known as eddy
current brakes. During braking, the metal wheels are exposed to a magnetic field
from an electromagnet, generating eddy currents in the wheels. This eddy current is
formed by the movement of the wheels. So, by Lenz's law, the magnetic field formed
by the eddy current will oppose its cause. Thus the wheel will face a force
opposing the initial movement of the wheel. The faster the wheels are spinning, the
stronger the effect, meaning that as the train slows the braking force is reduced,
producing a smooth stopping motion.

Induction heating makes use of eddy currents to provide heating of metal objects.

Power dissipation of eddy currents

Under certain assumptions (uniform material, uniform magnetic field, no skin
effect, etc.) the power lost due to eddy currents per unit mass for a thin sheet or
wire can be calculated from the following equation:[4]

𝑃
=
𝜋
2
𝐵
p
2
𝑑
2
𝑓
2
6
𝑘
𝜌
𝐷
,
{\displaystyle P={\frac {\pi ^{2}{B_{\text{p}}}^{2}d^{2}f^{2}}{6k\rho D}},}
where
P is the power lost per unit mass (W/kg),
Bp is the peak magnetic field (T),
d is the thickness of the sheet or diameter of the wire (m),
f is the frequency (Hz),
k is a constant equal to 1 for a thin sheet and 2 for a thin wire,
ρ is the resistivity of the material (Ω m), and
D is the density of the material (kg/m3).
This equation is valid only under the so-called quasi-static conditions, where the
frequency of magnetisation does not result in the skin effect; that is, the
electromagnetic wave fully penetrates the material.

Skin effect
Main article: Skin effect
In very fast-changing fields, the magnetic field does not penetrate completely into
the interior of the material. This skin effect renders the above equation invalid.
However, in any case increased frequency of the same value of field will always
increase eddy currents, even with non-uniform field penetration.[citation needed]

The penetration depth for a good conductor can be calculated from the following
equation:[5]
𝛿
=
1
𝜋
𝑓
𝜇
𝜎
,
{\displaystyle \delta ={\frac {1}{\sqrt {\pi f\mu \sigma }}},}
where δ is the penetration depth (m), f is the frequency (Hz), μ is the magnetic
permeability of the material (H/m), and σ is the electrical conductivity of the
material (S/m).
Diffusion equation
The derivation of a useful equation for modelling the effect of eddy currents in a
material starts with the differential, magnetostatic form of Ampère's Law,[6]
providing an expression for the magnetizing field H surrounding a current density
J:

∇
×
𝐻
=
𝐽
.
{\displaystyle \nabla \times \mathbf {H} =\mathbf {J} .}
Taking the curl on both sides of this equation and then using a common vector
calculus identity for the curl of the curl results in

∇
(
∇
⋅
𝐻
)
−
∇
2
𝐻
=
∇
×
𝐽
.
{\displaystyle \nabla \left(\nabla \cdot \mathbf {H} \right)-\nabla ^{2}\mathbf {H}
=\nabla \times \mathbf {J} .}
From Gauss's law for magnetism, ∇ ⋅ H = 0, so

−
∇
2
𝐻
=
∇
×
𝐽
.
{\displaystyle -\nabla ^{2}\mathbf {H} =\nabla \times \mathbf {J} .}
Using Ohm's law, J = σE, which relates current density J to electric field E in
terms of a material's conductivity σ, and assuming isotropic homogeneous
conductivity, the equation can be written as

−
∇
2
𝐻
=
𝜎
∇
×
𝐸
.
{\displaystyle -\nabla ^{2}\mathbf {H} =\sigma \nabla \times \mathbf {E} .}
Using the differential form of Faraday's law, ∇ × E = −
∂B
/
∂t
, this gives

∇
2
𝐻
=
𝜎
∂
𝐵
∂
𝑡
.
{\displaystyle \nabla ^{2}\mathbf {H} =\sigma {\frac {\partial \mathbf {B} }{\
partial t}}.}
By definition, B = μ0(H + M), where M is the magnetization of the material and μ0
is the vacuum permeability. The diffusion equation therefore is

∇
2
𝐻
=
𝜇
0
𝜎
(
∂
𝑀
∂
𝑡
+
∂
𝐻
∂
𝑡
)
.
{\displaystyle \nabla ^{2}\mathbf {H} =\mu _{0}\sigma \left({\frac {\partial \
mathbf {M} }{\partial t}}+{\frac {\partial \mathbf {H} }{\partial t}}\right).}
Applications
Electromagnetic braking
Main article: Eddy current brake
Duration: 51 seconds.0:51
Demonstration of Waltenhofen's pendulum, precursor of eddy current brakes. The
formation and suppression of eddy currents is here demonstrated by means of this
pendulum, a metal plate oscillating between the pole pieces of a strong
electromagnet. As soon as a sufficiently strong magnetic field has been switched
on, the pendulum is stopped on entering the field.
Eddy current brakes use the drag force created by eddy currents as a brake to slow
or stop moving objects. Since there is no contact with a brake shoe or drum, there
is no mechanical wear. However, an eddy current brake cannot provide a "holding"
torque and so may be used in combination with mechanical brakes, for example, on
overhead cranes. Another application is on some roller coasters, where heavy copper
plates extending from the car are moved between pairs of very strong permanent
magnets. Electrical resistance within the plates causes a dragging effect analogous
to friction, which dissipates the kinetic energy of the car. The same technique is
used in electromagnetic brakes in railroad cars and to quickly stop the blades in
power tools such as circular saws. Using electromagnets, as opposed to permanent
magnets, the strength of the magnetic field can be adjusted and so the magnitude of
braking effect changed.

Repulsive effects and levitation

Main article: electrodynamic suspension

A cross section through a linear motor placed above a thick aluminium slab. As the
linear induction motor's field pattern sweeps to the left, eddy currents are left
behind in the metal and this causes the field lines to lean.
In a varying magnetic field, the induced currents exhibit diamagnetic-like
repulsion effects. A conductive object will experience a repulsion force. This can
lift objects against gravity, though with continual power input to replace the
energy dissipated by the eddy currents. An example application is separation of
aluminum cans from other metals in an eddy current separator. Ferrous metals cling
to the magnet, and aluminum (and other non-ferrous conductors) are forced away from
the magnet; this can separate a waste stream into ferrous and non-ferrous scrap
metal.

With a very strong handheld magnet, such as those made from neodymium, one can
easily observe a very similar effect by rapidly sweeping the magnet over a coin
with only a small separation. Depending on the strength of the magnet, identity of
the coin, and separation between the magnet and coin, one may induce the coin to be
pushed slightly ahead of the magnet – even if the coin contains no magnetic
elements, such as the US penny. Another example involves dropping a strong magnet
down a tube of copper[7] – the magnet falls at a dramatically slow pace.

In a perfect conductor with no resistance, surface eddy currents exactly cancel the
field inside the conductor, so no magnetic field penetrates the conductor. Since no
energy is lost in resistance, eddy currents created when a magnet is brought near
the conductor persist even after the magnet is stationary, and can exactly balance
the force of gravity, allowing magnetic levitation. Superconductors also exhibit a
separate inherently quantum mechanical phenomenon called the Meissner effect in
which any magnetic field lines present in the material when it becomes
superconducting are expelled, thus the magnetic field in a superconductor is always
zero.

Using electromagnets with electronic switching comparable to electronic speed

control it is possible to generate electromagnetic fields moving in an arbitrary
direction. As described in the section above about eddy current brakes, a non-
ferromagnetic conductor surface tends to rest within this moving field. When
however this field is moving, a vehicle can be levitated and propelled. This is
comparable to a maglev but is not bound to a rail.[8]
Identification of metals
In some coin-operated vending machines, eddy currents are used to detect
counterfeit coins, or slugs. The coin rolls past a stationary magnet, and eddy
currents slow its speed. The strength of the eddy currents, and thus the
retardation, depends on the conductivity of the coin's metal. Slugs are slowed to a
different degree than genuine coins, and this is used to send them into the
rejection slot.

Vibration and position sensing

Eddy currents are used in certain types of proximity sensors to observe the
vibration and position of rotating shafts within their bearings. This technology
was originally pioneered in the 1930s by researchers at General Electric using
vacuum tube circuitry. In the late 1950s, solid-state versions were developed by
Donald E. Bently at Bently Nevada Corporation. These sensors are extremely
sensitive to very small displacements making them well suited to observe the minute
vibrations (on the order of several thousandths of an inch) in modern
turbomachinery. A typical proximity sensor used for vibration monitoring has a
scale factor of 200 mV/mil.[clarification needed] Widespread use of such sensors in
turbomachinery has led to development of industry standards that prescribe their
use and application. Examples of such standards are American Petroleum Institute
(API) Standard 670 and ISO 7919.

A Ferraris acceleration sensor, also called a Ferraris sensor, is a contactless

sensor that uses eddy currents to measure relative acceleration.[9][10][11]

Structural testing
Eddy current techniques are commonly used for the nondestructive examination (NDE)
and condition monitoring of a large variety of metallic structures, including heat
exchanger tubes, aircraft fuselage, and aircraft structural components.

Skin effects
Eddy currents are the root cause of the skin effect in conductors carrying
alternating current.

Lamination of magnetic cores in transformers greatly improves the efficiency by

minimising eddy currents
Similarly, in magnetic materials of finite conductivity, eddy currents cause the
confinement of the majority of the magnetic fields to only a couple skin depths of
the surface of the material. This effect limits the flux linkage in inductors and
transformers having magnetic cores.

E-I transformer laminations showing flux paths. The effect of the gap where the
laminations are butted together can be mitigated by alternating pairs of E
laminations with pairs of I laminations, providing a path for the magnetic flux
around the gap.
Other applications
Rock climbing auto belays[12]
Zip line brakes[13]
Free fall devices[14]
Metal detectors
Conductivity meters for non-magnetic metals[15][16]
Eddy current adjustable-speed drives
Eddy-current testing
Eddy current brake
Electricity meters (electromechanical induction meters)
Induction heating
Cooking (induction stovetops)
Proximity sensor (displacement sensors)
Vending machines (detection of coins)
Coating thickness measurements[17]
Sheet resistance measurement[18]
Eddy current separator for metal separation[19]
Mechanical speedometers
Safety hazard and defect detection applications
Magnetic damping