Transient Simulation of a Rotating Conducting Cylinder in a Transverse Magnetic Field

: As military projectiles become more sophisticated, equipped with a variety of electronic devices used during flight, the environmental and structural factors that can affect the accuracy of the internal electronic components need to be continuously examined. When a magnetometer is used in a spinning projectile with a metallic envelope, both the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field vector detected within the projectile are affected by the spinning of the projectile. To study this, transient finite element analyses were conducted to simulate the magnetic field inside a rotating solid conducting cylinder immersed in a uniform transverse magnetic field, such as earths magnetic field. The factors that affect the magnetic field inside the cylinder were analyzed by varying the spin rate and the electromagnetic physical properties (conductivity and permeability) of the cylinder. The magnetometer was assumed to be at the center of the cylinders axis of rotation for this analysis. Therefore, the magnitude and direction (phase shift angle) of the magnetic flux density vector at the center of the cylinders axis of rotation were evaluated. The analysis results indicated that the magnetic field inside the cylinder was affected by the spin rate and the electromagnetic properties of the cylinder. The phenomenon due to the eddy current and skin effect on the magnetic field distribution inside the cylinder was demonstrated.