Inclusion of a stress-dependent Preisach model in 2D FE calculations

Purpose - Mechanical stress can heavily affect the magnetic behaviour law in ferromagnetic materials. This paper, aims to take into account the effect of mechanical stress into a hystreresis model. This model is implemented in a finite element analysis code and tested in the case of a simple system. Design/methodology/approach - A simple extension of the classical Preisach model is proposed, in which a function linked to the Preisach density is parameterized using the mechanical stress as a supplementary parameter. The methodology is based on experimental measurements for identifying the required function. As a first approach, a linear interpolation is used between the measurements in order to have a continuous evolution of the magneto-mechanical behaviour. This model has been tested in the case of a steel sheet in which width is not constant in order to obtain a non-uniform distribution of stress and magnetic flux density. Findings - The model can predict the magneto-mechanical behaviour with a good accuracy in the case of tensile stress. Implementation of the model in finite element analysis has shown that the model can predict the behaviour of steel sheet subject to a non-uniform stress distribution. Originality/value - This paper shows that a classical hysteresis model can be extended to take into account the magneto-mechanical behaviour. This is useful for the design of electrical machines which are subject to non-negligible mechanical stress.