Delhi Technological University

Term Paper 1
Presentation
On

Eddy Current Brakes

Prepared By
Shubham Singh

Contents
What are brakes ?
Need for a braking system.
What are eddy currents ?
What are eddy current brakes ?
How are eddy current brakes different from electromagnetic

brakes ?
Principle
Construction
Working
Applications
Research

What are brakes ?

An inevitable component of most of the mechanical systems.
It is a way to control and inhibit motion.
Conventional braking system uses mechanical blocking but

has various short comings.

One of the solution is Eddy Current Brakes.

Need for a braking system.

Abrasion Free

The conventional brakes used mechanical blocking which led to

high levels of wear and tear of the system especially in automobiles
reducing the life of those systems.

Eco friendly

Use of brake pad produces debris which are potential hazards to

the environment as

these may interact with DNA of living organisms

Be carcinogenic.
copper in braking pads often enter into the water bodies leading to mass
death of algae and other invertebrates as occurred in San Francisco Bay.

High Braking Force

The ordinary braking system cannot produce high braking forces to

inhibit systems moving in high speed which gave rise to a need for
an effective braking of high speed machines.

What are Eddy Currents ?

Eddy currents are swirling

reverse currents induced on the

surface of metal conductors by a
changing magnetic field.
They can be attractive as well as
repulsive.

What are Eddy Current Brakes ?

Eddy current braking system is
an unseen braking system
which makes use of the
opposing tendency of eddy
currents to inhibit the motion
of a mechanical system.

Simplified circuit diagram showing connections

for an eddy current brake

A demo of eddy current brakes

How are eddy current brakes different from

electromagnetic brakes ?
Electromagnetic brakes
Electromagnetic brakes use
electromagnetic circuit to
implement mechanical
blocking and hence ultimately
use frictional force.
There is a mechanical linkage
to transmit torque.

Eddy Current Brakes

Eddy current brakes use
magnetic force directly for
inhibiting the motion of the
system.
There is an air gap present
to prevent mechanical
transmission of torque.

Principle involved

Principle involved

Faradays law of Electromagnetic Induction

The induced electromotive force in any closed circuit is equal to the
negative of the time rate of change of the magnetic flux through the circuit.

Where
is EMF (Volts)
B is Magnetic Flux (Webers)
is number of turns of wire

Principle involved

Lenzs Law
A induced electromotive force (emf) always gives rise to a
current whose magnetic field opposes the original change in
magnetic flux.

Where
is EMF (Volts)
B is Magnetic Flux (Webers)

Construction
An eddy current brake basically consists of
two members:

A stationary magnetic
field
A solid rotatory disc

Construction
Stator consists of pole core, pole shoe, and field winding.
The field winding is wounded on the pole core.
Pole core and pole shoes are made of east steel laminations

and fixed to the state of frames by means of screw or bolts.

Copper and aluminium is used for winding material in the
arrangement.
Rotor generally composed of mild steel.
sometimes also referred to as the secondary because the
eddy currents are induced in it.
Stator and rotor are separated by a short air gap; there being
no contact between the two for the purpose of torque
transmission.
Consequently there is no wear as in friction brake.

Stator And Rotor

Parameters of Construction

Working

To explain the magnetic function of an electromagnetic

retarder, the Maxwell principles may be applied to the following
physical arrangement:

a ferro-magnetic disc with a permeability, m , and an electric

conductivity, r
rotates at the face of a ring of magnetic poles of alternate
polarity.
Each pole produces a magnetic excitation flux, NO which is
proportional to the excitation current within the coil as long as
the core is not saturated.
The lines of magnetic flux, N, form loops within the disc
through the very small air gap which is arranged between the
discs and the poles

 When the disc rotates, as a first approximation, this flux

varies in a sinusoidal function of time at a given point within

the disc according to the following expression:

Where
p : number of pair of poles
N : revolutions per minute of the disc
t : time variable in seconds

 Alternating

eddy currents are created within the disc with a

strength proportional to the flux, N
These currents wind themselves around the lines of flux.
The electric conductivity, D, of the disc material causes these
eddy currents to produce heat within the disc.
If a magnetic system is rotated about an axis normal to a
conducting sheet, the field of induced eddy currents will set
up a retarding torque on the system which is proportional to
its angular speed.
The braking torque is generally also a function of the flux and
the excitation current.

Applications

Research
In ICE-V test train in the 1980s, it discovered that one of the

biggest obstacles to commercial application would be

electromagnetic compatibility with signalling and train control
systems. This could result in interference or potentially even
irreparable damage to the signalling system by the electro
magnetic forces generated when the eddy-current brake was
activated.
Even when not in use, there is a risk of physical interference
between the brake and signalling equipment when the brake
assembly was in the lowered position.
incorrect solenoid coils or pole sequence errors.
risks associated with having too small an air gap between the
lowered eddy-current brake and the track.

 even with the brake inactive, the magnetic field strength was

only just below the maximum permitted level which could

result in incorrect wheelset detection by the axle-counters.
heating of the rails as a result of repeated brake applications,
and the effect that this might have on the track structure,
turnouts and other critical elements such as bridges.
Till date the use of eddy current brakes for train is being done
in few places of Germany and it is aimed that over the next
seven years it would be spread out more. In Japan, these
brakes are in use since 1980s. Tests are being conducted in
South Korea, Japan and in many countries of Europe to judge
the efficiency of the system to allow eddy current brakes in
respective countries. Present day progress conveys that the
generation to come will see widespread utilization of such
brakes.