Transformer Circuit Models, Including Magnetic Core Characteristics and Applications

Transformer cores are constructed predominantly of ferromagnetic material. The most common material used is iron, with the addition of small amounts of silicon and other elements which help improve the magnetic properties andlor lower losses. Other materials which find use in electronic transformers are the nickel-iron alloys (permalloys) and the ironsxides (ferrites). The amorphous metals, generally consisting of iron, boron, and other additions, are also finding use as cores for distribution transformers. These materials are all broadly classified as ferromagnetic and, as such, share many properties in common. Among these are saturation magnetization or induction, hysteresis, and a Curie temperature above which they cease to be fernmagnetic.