Non-invasive local magnetic hysteresis characterization of a ferromagnetic laminated core

An alternative sensing solution is described to measure local magnetic hysteresis cycles through a laminated magnetic core. Due to the reduced space gap separating two successive laminations, it is impossible to interpose the usual oversize magnetic sensors (wound coil, Hall-effect sensor). In this study, the space issue has been solved by printing the needle probe method for the magnetic state monitoring and by using a micrometric Giant Magneto Resistance (GMR) for the magnetic excitation measurement. An instrumented magnetic lamination including the non-invasive monitoring solution has been built and moved successively to every lamination position of the whole laminated ferromagnetic core. A precise cartography of the hysteresis losses has been reconstructed from all these local measurements and the average values compared to the classic measurement methods obtained with a wound coil. The relative agreement between the experimental results observed opened doors to large improvement in the estimation of magnetic losses and in the design of magnetic circuits.