Active vs Passive Conductors

In addition, the conductors in an eddy current model can be divided into two groups:

• “Active” conductors. These conductors are connected to an external current source. Their total current is constrained to the value you specify.
• “Passive” conductors. These conductors are not connected to an external source, but current may be induced in them. Treat any conductor in which the current is constrained to zero (an open circuit) as being connected to a zero-amp current source.

Active and passive conductors are shown in the figure below. In this simple transformer model, the coil on the left is an active conductor carrying 1500 amps of current. The coil on the right is a passive conductor in which current is induced by the oscillating magnetic field. The total current is plotted.