A nonlinearity in permanent-magnet systems used in watt balances

Published

June 25, 2014

Author(s)

Shisong Li, Stephan Schlamminger, Jon R. Pratt

Abstract

In watt balances that employ permanent magnet systems to generate the magnetic flux the effects of the weighing current on the magnet systems can generate a systematic bias that can lead to an error in the result if not accounted for. In this article a simple model explaining the effect of the weighing current on the yoke of the magnet is developed. This model leads to a dependence of the magnetic flux density in the gap that is proportional to the squared value of the coil current. The effect arises from changing the reluctance of the yoke by the additional field produced by the coil. Our analysis shows that the effect depends on the width of the air gap, the magnetic flux density in the air gap, and the BH curve of the yoke material. Suggestions to reduce the nonlinear effect are discussed.

Citation

Metrologia

Volume

51

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

watt balance, electronic kilogram, permanent magnet systems, nonlinearity

Citation

Li, S. , Schlamminger, S. and Pratt, J. (2014), A nonlinearity in permanent-magnet systems used in watt balances, Metrologia, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=915643 (Accessed October 10, 2025)