B/H Curves

• B is the Magnetic Flux Density,

measured in teslas (T)

• H is the magnetic field strength

of the solenoid measured in
amps per metre (A m-1)

When considering the magnetic field around and through a solenoid,

what do the measurements B and H represent?
B/H graphs
• A graph can be plotted that will show how a material develops a
magnetic flux density B when it is exposed to an external magnetic
field strength H as follows:

What do you think the relationship

between the two variables is (i.e. as you
Magnetic Flux Density B

increase the externally produced

magnetic field strength, what would
happen to the magnetic flux density
within the metal?)

You might think that the relationship

Magnetic Field Strength H would be directly proportional, but that
isn’t the case.
Permeability
• The reason that the B/H graph is not a straight line is because the
permeability of the material changes with the magnetic field strength
that is applied
• You may have seen this type of relationship before on an I/V graph where the
electrical resistance of a material changes when the current flow changes,
therefore the component does not follow Ohm’s law
• Permeability μ is a measure of how much a material becomes
magnetised B when subject to a magnetic field H
• The units for permeability are henrys per metre (H m-1)
Magnetic flux density (T)
Permeability (H m-1) 𝐵
𝜇=
𝐻
Magnetic field strength (A m-1)
Permeability of free space μ0
• In vacuum there is no material to influence the magnetic field. This
means that the B/H graph in a vacuum would be a straight line and
the gradient of this line is the permeability of free space μ0
• μ0 = 4π x 10-7 H m-1 and is a constant in physics

Relative Permeability μr
• The relative permeability μr of a material is a measure of how its
permeability compares to that of free space μ0 by the following formula:

𝜇 𝐵
𝜇 r= therefore 𝜇0 𝜇r = 𝜇=
𝜇0 𝐻
B/H graphs
• When the B/H graph flattens out, the material is said to have reached
magnetic saturation.

This limit is different for different

materials
Magnetic Flux Density B

Cast steel

Cast Iron

Magnetic Field Strength H

Reversing magnetic fields and B/H loops
Saturation
• In the previous graphs the B/H
characteristics of materials was only

Magnetic Flux Density B

considered for a material that initially
starts at the origin, i.e. it was completed
free of any magnetic flux density when
the magnetic field was applied to it
• If you consider a material that is already
saturated and then has the magnetic field
H reversed, what would happen to the
Magnetic Field Strength H
magnetic flux density B?
• The magnetic flux density will now
increase, but this will be in the negative
direction (it is a vector)
• Finally the entire process reverses again,
and then repeats; this forms the B/H loop
Why does the B/H loop exist?
• You may have noted on the graph previously that
the change in the magnetic flux density B lags

Magnetic Flux Density B

behind the change in magnetic field strength H.
• This effect is called magnetic hysteresis and is
caused by the time taken for the internal
realignment within the material on an atomic
scale
• This continually varying realignment makes the
system lose energy as heat, called hysteresis loss
• In an application with a quickly oscillating Magnetic Field Strength H
magnetic field, e.g. within AC transformers, a
material must be selected with a narrow B/H
loop to ensure that it does not overheat
• The size of the magnetic field H needed to
completely eliminate the retained magnetic flux
density B is called the coercivity
Summary
• When a magnetic field H is applied to a material then a magnetic flux density B
is created within the material
• How easily this flux is created is measured as the relative permeability μr of the
material which can be compared to the permeability of free space μ0 giving the
following formulae: 𝜇 =
𝜇
∧𝜇 𝜇 =𝜇=
𝐵
r 0 r
𝜇0 𝐻

• When the magnetic field H is removed, or reversed, there is a delay in the

consequential reduction in the magnetic flux density B called hysteresis
• This gives rise to a closed loop on a B/H graph for an oscillating system
• This causes energy loss called hysteresis loss, so materials with a low coercivity
need to be used, which have a narrow B/H graph and therefore do not overheat