Question

What happens when an inductor saturates?

Answer 1

1. An inductor is a passive component that is used in most power electronic circuits to store energy in the form of magnetic energy when electricity is applied to it.
2. There will be an increase in the ripple current and also the amount of energy stored in an inductor reduces.
3. When the inductor saturates the current the inductor becomes distorted.
4. The inductance drops towards zero when an inductor saturates, so it basically starts behaving as a resistor.
5. When the magnetic core is fully magnetized, the direction of the magnetic domains is compatible with the magnetic field.
6. If an external magnetic field is added, the core has no rotating domains. This will be because the inductor is saturated.