Loss Calculation in Laminated Steel Utilizing Antisotropic Magnetic Permeability

The prediction of fields and stray loss levels in laminated magnetic steel parts poses a difficult problem for the field analyst. A method is proposed by which the effect of the laminations on the flux paths is simulated by a solid block with anisotropic magnetic permeability. This method is validated by a comparison of calculated flux patterns for the two cases and is applied to the prediction of stray loss in the laminated clamping rings of a power transformer by a high-order, anisotropic, finite element field computation. An example is cited to show that the reaction field due to the eddy currents in the laminated ring need not be calculated.