Torodial inductors are commonly used in many types of electronic circuits today. They basically consist of a wire wound coil in the shape of a ring or donut. The core is usually made from iron or powdered iron. When the need for a large amount of inductance is required at lower frequencies, the torodial inductor offers many benefits.
What is a Toroid?
The word toroid or torodial comes from the term torus. A torus is a three dimensional circle. Perfect examples of this shape are donuts, bagels and swimming rings. In fact, anything circular in design with a hole in the middle could be considered a torus.
Torodial inductors are wired to create electrical inductance. Inductance is all about the properties of a conductor and its ability to create EMF (voltage) by changing the flow of current (around a magnetic coil). This is possible due to magnetism theory, and is the reason why a toroid inductor has a distinctive “O” shape.
Better Than Solenoids
A solenoid is an iron core with wire wrapped around it, and it creates a magnetic field when current is applied to the circuit. However, solenoids can also be used as inductors but they are not as efficient as torodial inductors. The toroid is capable of delivering more electric current than a solenoid of equal construction and size.
Typical Torodial Inductor Applications
This kind of inductor is seeing a wide variety of applications today. For example, you will notice them in:
* Ballasts
* Aerospace industry
* Amplification equipment
* Medical devices
* Music instruments
* Industrial control panels
* Air conditioning applications
* Electronic brakes and clutches
* Noise filters
* Power supplies
* Many other sources
Selecting an Inductor
When you choose inductors you need to consider the circuit design. For example, if you have a constant DC current need, here are four important factors to check:
* Full load inductance needed
* Maximum loss
* Peak full load current variation
* DC current average
Core Selection
It is important to select a core made with the right materials and proper amount of windings. In addition, your core must:
* Keep loss to a specific amount
* Have the proper inductance needed
* Smallest possible inductor without achieving core saturation
* Keep flux density below the maximum
Copper loss and core loss must be considered. If you have small variations in AC current, your core loss may be minimal, but you should always double check to be sure. When you need help choosing torodial inductors, go with a trusted supplier with years of experience.
