Chapter 3 - Magnetostrictive Design

Abstract

Publisher Summary The chapter deals with the magnetostrictive design of electrical power engineering. In most design situations, several aspects are to be considered. These include magnetic, mechanical, electrical, and thermal considerations. The starting point in general is a demand specification in terms of currents, voltages, strains, forces, power levels, frequency characteristics, response times, and temperatures. During the design phase, all these data must be transformed to construction data such as principal design choices, material choices, length measures, geometric structures, and tolerances. An appropriate compromise between the different aspects must be found in which the consequences of various designs are considered. The conversion from performance demands to basic design data is done by means of analytical methods, finite element calculations, and dynamic stimulation. When efficiency, limited power supply, temperature rise, and continuous operation are taken into consideration, it is preferable to use permanent magnets in a magnetizing circuit. There is an intrinsic conflict between a low flux path reluctance and a permanent magnet biasing flux. There are two principal approaches to achieve a bias magnetization: series and parallel magnetization. Further research is required in the developement of thermal magnetostrictive actuator design.