MoreontheSkinEffect

Chapter3ReactanceandImpedanceInductive

Aspreviouslymentioned,theskineffectiswherealternatingcurrenttends
toavoidtravelthroughthecenterofasolidconductor,limitingitselfto
conductionnearthesurface.Thiseffectivelylimitsthecrosssectional
conductorareaavailabletocarryalternatingelectronflow,increasingthe
resistanceofthatconductorabovewhatitwouldnormallybefordirect
current:(Figurebelow)
Skineffect:skindepthdecreaseswithincreasingfrequency.

Theelectricalresistanceoftheconductorwithallitscrosssectionalarea
inuseisknownastheDCresistance,theACresistanceofthesame
conductorreferringtoahigherfigureresultingfromtheskineffect.Asyou
cansee,athighfrequenciestheACcurrentavoidstravelthroughmostof
theconductorscrosssectionalarea.Forthepurposeofconducting
current,thewiremightaswellbehollow!

Insomeradioapplications(antennas,mostnotably)thiseffectis
exploited.Sinceradiofrequency(RF)ACcurrentswouldnttravel
throughthemiddleofaconductoranyway,whynotjustusehollowmetal
rodsinsteadofsolidmetalwiresandsavebothweightandcost?(Figure
below)MostantennastructuresandRFpowerconductorsaremadeof
hollowmetaltubesforthisreason.

Inthefollowingphotographyoucanseesomelargeinductorsusedina
50kWradiotransmittingcircuit.Theinductorsarehollowcoppertubes
coatedwithsilver,forexcellentconductivityattheskinofthetube:
Highpowerinductorsformedfromhollowtubes.

Thedegreetowhichfrequencyaffectstheeffectiveresistanceofasolid
wireconductorisimpactedbythegaugeofthatwire.Asarule,large
gaugewiresexhibitamorepronouncedskineffect(changeinresistance
fromDC)thansmallgaugewiresatanygivenfrequency.Theequationfor
approximatingskineffectathighfrequencies(greaterthan1MHz)isas
follows:
Tablebelowgivesapproximatevaluesofkfactorforvariousroundwire
sizes.

kfactorforvariousAWGwiresizes.

gagesize kfactor gagesize kfactor

4/0 124.5 8 34.8
2/0 99.0 10 27.6
1/0 88.0 14 17.6
2 69.8 18 10.9
4 55.5 22 6.86
6 47.9

Forexample,alengthofnumber10gaugewirewithaDCendtoend
resistanceof25wouldhaveanAC(effective)resistanceof2.182kat
afrequencyof10MHz:

Pleaserememberthatthisfigureisnotimpedance,anditdoesnot
consideranyreactiveeffects,inductiveorcapacitive.Thisissimplyan
estimatedfigureofpureresistancefortheconductor(thatoppositionto
theACflowofelectronswhichdoesdissipatepowerintheformofheat),
correctedfortheskineffect.Reactance,andthecombinedeffectsof
reactanceandresistance(impedance),areentirelydifferentmatters.
reactanceandresistance(impedance),areentirelydifferentmatters.

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