Determination of Complex Permeability of Silicon Steel for Use in High-Frequency Modeling of Power Transformers

Information about frequency dependence of complex permeability of silicon steel is a vital input parameter in calculations of transformer winding inductance used for modeling high-frequency behavior (100 Hz–1 MHz). We present two ways of determining small signal complex permeability spectra in frequency domain and compare and discuss the results. The first method is based on an optimization procedure, in which inductance of a winding is measured and calculated by analytical formulas and finite-element modeling. The second method makes use of a single sheet tester. We show that the magnitude of effective permeability of the silicon steel laminations remains significant up to about 100 kHz. We also report on the effect of magnetic viscosity on complex permeability.