Eddy currents in a gradient coil, modeled as circular loops of strips

The z-coil of an MRI-scanner is modeled as a set of circular loops of strips, or rings, placed on one cylinder. The current in this set of thin conducting rings is driven by an external source current. The source, and all excited fields, are time harmonic. The frequency is low enough to allow for a quasi-static approximation. The rings have a thin rectangular cross-section; the thickness is so small that the current can be assumed uniformly distributed in the thickness direction. Due to induction, eddy currents occur, resulting in a so-called edge-effect. Higher frequencies cause stronger edge-effects. As a consequence, the resistance of the system increases and the self-inductance decreases. From the Maxwell equations, an integral equation for the current distribution in the rings is derived. The Galerkin method is applied, using Legendre polynomials as global basis functions, to solve this integral equation. This method shows a fast convergence, so only a very restricted number of basis functions is needed. The general method is worked out for N (N ≥ 1) rings, and explicit results are presented for N = 1, N = 2 and N = 24.