Thin Coil Research Articles

Research on FPC coils with limited turns in planar electromagnetic tomography

Electromagnetic tomography (EMT) is a non-destructive testing method that reconstructs electrical parameter distribution based on boundary electromagnetic measurement data along electromagnetic rotation projection. The coil is a critical component of the EMT system, used to excite and detect changing magnetic fields. The performance of excitation-detection with specific coils directly affects the quality of the reconstructed image. The traditional EMT coils are wound coils. The excitation-detection performance of the coils is enhanced by increasing the number of turns to obtain better imaging quality. A larger coil volume has better sensitivity, but it cannot meet the space constraints of many applications. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a method using extremely thin FPC coil arrays as EMT sensors. To verify the feasibility of FPC coil imaging with a limited number of turns, firstly, this article analyses the excitation-detection capabilities of FPC coil with 1 to 12 turns through a combination of simulation and experiment. Secondly, the impact of excitation-detection capability on the EMT sensitivity matrix was studied. Finally, a 4×4 8-Turns FPC coil sensor was designed for image reconstruction experiments. The experimental results show that FPC coils with limited turns can be used for image reconstruction and to solve the problem of planar nondestructive testing in a small space.

The effect of thickness of the hot-rolled sheet on the magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steel

Non-oriented (NO) electrical steel sheets with a thin thickness are drawing interest as potential materials for electric vehicle drive motor cores due to their ability to reduce high-frequency core loss. To produce electrical steel sheets with a thickness of 0.25 mm or less, it is beneficial to minimize the thickness of the hot-rolled sheets. However, it is well known that it is difficult to achieve hot-rolled coils with a thickness of 1.4 mm or less with a conventional hot rolling process. Therefore, the thin slab casting and rolling (TSCR) process is now used to produce thin hot-rolled coils that cannot be produced by conventional methods.In this study, we investigated the effects of hot-rolled sheet thickness produced by the TSCR process and cold-rolling reduction ratio on the crystallographic texture, microstructure, and magnetic characteristics of 3% Si NO steel. The results showed that the textures of the hot-rolled sheet and the annealed hot-rolled sheet are virtually unaffected by the hot-rolling reduction ratio. However, the cold-rolling reduction ratio substantially affects many aspects of NO electrical steels. The recrystallized grain size after the final annealing process decreases as the cold reduction ratio increases, while the magnetic flux density decreases with increasing cold reduction ratio, especially for reductions exceeding 82.8 %.In conclusion, the thickness of hot-rolled steel sheets manufactured by the TSCR process has little effect on the microstructure and texture of hot-rolled sheet. Therefore, reducing the cold rolling reduction ratio, which can be achieved by using thin hot-rolled sheets manufactured by the TSCR process, is a promising method for enhancing the magnetic characteristics of thin-gauge NO electrical steel sheets.

Miniaturized Variable Stiffness Gripper Locally Actuated by Magnetic Fields

In minimally invasive surgery, grippers are essential for tissue manipulation. However, in commercial tendon‐driven systems, challenges remain, including tendon fatigue and bulkiness. Promising alternatives are magnetically actuated systems, offering contactless steering but limited forces. To overcome this, a miniaturized, locally actuated magnetic gripper with variable stiffness is presented. The gripper employs thin planar coils (75 μm) and a radially magnetized plunger, enabling local actuation and enhanced orientation control. The variable stiffness compliant mechanism made from shape‐memory polymer facilitates different gripping strategies. In its rigid state, pulsed pulling forces of 340 mN and continuous forces of 90 mN are achieved, exceeding the gripper weight by factors of 70 and 18, respectively. The soft state, with a fast response time of 20 ms, enables soft gripping of various targets, including moving ones and rat tissue samples. Demonstrating the applicability, contactless steering and target retrieval within a stomach phantom is showcased. This study introduces promising improvements to magnetically actuated grippers for surgical procedures, addressing key challenges in current designs.

Calculations of Self- and Mutual Inductances for Racetrack Coils Using Equivalent Models

This paper presents the calculations of self and mutual inductances for thin racetrack coils using a novel approach. Approximate rectangular and diamond shape models for racetrack coils are used for the analysis with the same cross-sectional area and circumference as the racetrack coils. A 3D analytical method using separation of variables method and Fourier series is developed for the magnetic fields analysis and calculation of self and mutual inductances for thin racetrack coils. The analytical method utilizes magnetic vector potential with two components to solve Maxwell differential equations. Different racetrack coils with different dimensions are considered for the validation of analytical modeling for the inductance calculations. The inductance calculations of circular coils are also presented as special cases for racetrack coils. The approaches for the mutual inductance calculation of racetrack and circular coils could be utilized for wireless power transfer and charging applications.

Crack Growth Monitoring with Structure-Bonded Thin and Flexible Coils.

Structural health monitoring with thin and flexible eddy-current coils is proposed for in situ detection and monitoring of fatigue cracks in metallic aircraft structures, providing a promising means of crack sizing. This approach is seen as an efficient replacement to periodic inspections, as it brings economic and safety benefits. As such, printed-circuit-board eddy-current coils are viable for in situ crack monitoring for multi-layer, electrically conductive structures. They are minimally invasive and could be attached to or embedded into the evaluated structure. This work focuses on the monitoring of fatigue crack growth from a fastener hole with structure-bonded, thin, and flexible spiral coils. Numerical simulations were used for optimization of the driving frequency and selection of crack-sensitive coil parameters. The article also demonstrates the fatigue crack detection capabilities using spiral coils attached to a 7075-T6 aluminum coupon.

Magnetic Adhesion in Wall Climbing Robots using varied Electromagnet Arrangements

The improvements and innovations in the field of robotics have given a great opportunity to perform tasks that are hazardous for humans to perform. For example, robots can be used for working on high-storied buildings, inspection on ferromagnetic surfaces, painting and maintenance of buildings, surveillance purposes, etc., at the outset, to carry out any operation on vertical surfaces, which may be quite hazardous and time-consuming as well, wall climbing robots (WCRs) can be deployed. The method of adhesion determines the stability of the robot on the wall, be it smooth or coarse. Using magnets to bring about magnetic adhesion would be advantageous when the robot is maneuvered over iron or steel surfaces, typically, to clean boilers, etc., This paper presents the different ways of placements of the magnets, both permanent and electromagnets, in order to introduce adequate magnetic adhesion that would cease the robot from toppling down while encountering an obstacle. This work proposes two methods of arrangement of magnets: square and diamond. Four electromagnets when arranged in array formation with 5000 windings of thin copper coil, generated a magnetic field force of approximately 150 N when 50 A of current is passed. By and large, around 35 N to 40 N is the suction force that would be sufficient to stick the WCR of 2kg on the wall, while using a suction chamber instead of electromagnets. Other methods of placing the magnets such as square and diamond are studied and compared as well using FEMM. Hence arranging the 4 electromagnets in array formation gives an adhesion pressure sufficient to hold and move the WCR, over the vertical wall against gravity.

2-D Thin Coil Designs of IPT for Wireless Charging of Automated Guided Vehicles

As the automated guided vehicles (AGVs) play an important role in automated logistics systems, the wireless power transfer (WPT) technologies become a viable solution to provide the AGV with the automatic power charging service. In order to install the WPT systems to the small confined space in the AGV, a 2-D thin coil design is necessary for the receiver (Rx) system installed in the AGV. To greatly reduce the thickness of the Rx coil, including resonant capacitors, an ac/dc rectifier, and dc-link capacitors, an 2-D coil design for a minimum core loss is newly proposed in this article. Based on a finite-element-method (FEM) 3-D simulation analysis, various coil structures have been comparatively evaluated to find the most appropriate core structure. Furthermore, to obtain the highest coil efficiency at nominal operating condition, the appropriate number of turns design is established. Thus, according to the coil design guideline of the proposed inductive power transfer (IPT) system, the appropriate number of turns for transmitter (Tx) and Rx coils <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N_{\mathrm {1,op}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N_{\mathrm {2,op}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> can be appropriately selected for the high efficient operation of the IPT coils. The 2.5-kW prototypes of the IPT systems for wireless charging of AGV were fabricated and verified by simulations and experiments. The results showed that the total thickness of the coil sets including all the components is 32.0 mm for the Rx coil. The measured maximum coil efficiency for <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$P_{L} =2.5$ </tex-math></inline-formula> kW at 40-mm coil distance was 98.9% by the proposed IPT coil design procedure. The measured temperatures at the ferrite core and coil for the Rx coil were managed below 53.3 °C and 59.3 °C during 2.5-kW wireless charging, respectively, under a 10-min charging and 20-min AGV operation cycle, which provides the thermal-stable operation of the proposed IPT systems.

Superconducting thin film spiral coils as low-noise cryogenic actuators

We present results on actuator development for a cryogenic superconducting inertial sensor with a displacement sensitivity of a few at 0.5 Hz. The first version will use niobium as sensor mechanics material. Niobium is sufficiently superconducting below 5 K allowing superconducting coils to form low-noise actuators as part of a force feedback sensing scheme. Future improvements include the use of silicon in combination with high temperature superconductors for even lower frequency fm/ performance. This device will be the world’s most sensitive low-frequency inertial sensor. Here, we focus on its actuator, which ensures low-noise performance below 5 Hz by decreasing the mechanical loss and therefore thermal noise.

Magnetic Force Calculation of Movable YBCO Superconducting Helical Coils Applicable to Electric Vehicles Wireless Power Transfer

Background and Objectives: Today, replacing gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) and connecting them to an electric power source have made the optimal usage of energy-saving resources. Therefore, wireless Power Transfer (WPT) outstands as an alternative technology to improve the user perception about the charging process of the EVs. Superconducting coils (SCs) with high-temperature have an applied feature in decreasing losses of wireless power transmission (WPT). The Magnetic force has effects of overall deformation modes between two current carrier superconducting coils, i.e. axial extension, torsion, and bending. Coil misalignment is a fundamental problem and its impact on wireless power transmission efficiency is very complex. The analysis of a magnetic force which is presented in this paper are beneficially for the design and application of the WPT systems. Here, a fast analytical solution is presented to obtain the magnetic force between the transmitter and receiver helical superconducting coils in different positions.Methods: In this paper, a new method applied to solve the numerically magnetic force solutions in different superconducting coils mismatch states for WPT. Finally, for improvement of efficiency, the WPT system has been designed on the basis of mutual inductance changes which receiving helical coil was moved inside the transmitting helical coil. Hence, the magnetic force calculation of movable YBCO superconducting helical coils inside each other is presented. These models have been compared with the FEM.Results: Results show that the presented equations are reliable as well. According to the comparing the analysis and FEM data, the obtained results indicated the errors with less than 0.0064%. Also, results show an excellent agreement with respect to the finite element method.Conclusion: In this paper, the numerical solutions of magnetic force in different superconducting coils mismatch states were solved by a new method. The magnetic force analysis basics introduced in this paper are useful to develop and apply for wireless power transmission system. The simulation results show that only by applying some constraints, the efficiency of the transmitted wireless power will be optimized. Then, analytical models have been presented which make it possible to calculate the axial force which was exerted between two axially Helical magnetized and two thin coils in air. Also, the analytical stiffness calculation applied between these distributions of magnetic source has been presented. These models have been compared with the FEM to show an appropriate consistency.

On the possibility of creating a magnetic field with a given degree of spatial inhomogeneity

Proposed here is a method for constructing systems of circular thin Helmholtz coils (conic coils), which makes it possible to obtain a magnetic field with any degree of inhomogeneity by doubling the number of coils. A functional relationship is obtained between the currents of the coils and their distances to the center, which allows zeroing all derivatives in the expansion of the magnetic field in a series in spatial variables in the center of the system to a derivative of arbitrary order. An analytical expression is obtained for the magnitude of the magnetic field of the systems along the axis of symmetry. All the systems considered here have the same parity (oddness) of the projections of the magnetic field with respect to spatial variables and equal inhomogeneity in all directions in the center of symmetry.

Analytical and Semi-Analytical Formulas for the Self and Mutual Inductances of Concentric Coplanar Ordinary and Bitter Disk Coils

In this paper, analytical and semi-analytical formulas are presented for the self- and mutual inductance of thin ordinary disk coils and thin Bitter disk coils. The coils lie concentrically in a plane. The ordinary coils are coils with constant current density. The current density of a current carrying Bitter disc is not uniform across its cross-sectional area, but it is a function of the ratio of the inner diameter of the disk to an arbitrary radius within the disk. In this paper, we show the possibility to calculate the mutual and self-inductance of thin disk coils from the real coils of the cross-sections using some valuable conditions. The formulas for the mutual inductance and the self-inductance were obtained in the semi-analytic form as the combination of the elliptic integral of the second kind and a simple integral for the ordinary disk coils. The mutual inductance and self-inductance were obtained in the analytical form as the elliptic integral of the second kind for the Bitter disk coils. The formula for the self-inductance of the ordinary full disk was obtained in the close form. All formulas are given in remarkably simple form and give perfectly accurate results with a significantly small computational time. All cases of either regular or singular (disks in contact or overlapping) are covered. Many presented examples show the excellent numerical agreement with previously published methods.

THE MAGNETIC FIELD PRODUCED FROM A CONICAL CURRENT SHEET AND FROM A THIN AND TIGHTLY-WOUND CONICAL COIL

THE MAGNETIC FIELD PRODUCED FROM A CONICAL CURRENT SHEET AND FROM A THIN AND TIGHTLY-WOUND CONICAL COIL

Low-Profile Induced-Voltage Distance Ranger for Smart Contact Lenses.

In this paper, we present a novel, low-profile, scleral-coil based, distance ranging system which is suitable for smart, accommodating contact lenses. We measure the induced emf between a set of four thin semi-circular coils patterned on flexible Kapton substrates that conform to the eyes' sclera. This induced emf is a function of eye gaze angles. The system then determines the distance from the eyes to the desired object via the triangulation of these eye gaze angles Results: Experiments on eyeball simulated tissue gels indicate an accurate prediction of object distance in the 0.1-15 D range with a 0.15 D RMS error and object direction in the -15 to 15-degree arc with 0.4-degree RMS error, respectively. The energy required was determined to be as low as 20 μJ per range reading. Experimental data shows that our proposed new method of eye-tracking and distance ranging system can accurately predict eye-gaze angles and object-distance, whilst using only 20 μJ per range reading. The high-accuracy, low-profile and reduced energy requirements of the proposed eye-tracking technique, make it suitable for applications in the vast field of adaptive optics such as smart contact lenses and other low-power vision corrective applications.

Helmholtz spacing of thin rectangular magnetic field coils.

In this Note, we discuss the Helmholtz spacing for a pair of thin rectangular coils of arbitrary aspect ratio and consider how best to use such coils to compensate for Earth's magnetic field along the coils' Cartesian symmetry axes. Such coils are frequently used in conjunction with charged-particle beam machines. The Helmholtz spacing varies non-monotonically between that for square coils and that for four optimally spaced infinite wires. We consider other coil spacings that extend the length over which the field varies by less than some tolerance along the Cartesian symmetry axes. The calculations also provide a convenient means to evaluate when the length of the coils is sufficiently long to be considered infinite at the center point within a fixed tolerance.

How thin can you go? Performance of thin copper and aluminum RF coil conductors

To evaluate the impact of emerging conductor technology on RF coils. Performance and resulting image quality of thin or alternate conductors (eg, aluminum instead of copper) and thicknesses (9-600 μm) are compared in terms of SNR. Eight prototype RF coils (15 cm × 15 cm square loops) were constructed and bench-tested to measure quality factor. The coils used 6-mm-wide conducting strips of either copper or aluminum of a few different thicknesses (copper: 17, 32, 35, 127, 600 μm; aluminum: 9, 13, 20, 127μm) on acetate projector sheets for backing. Corresponding image SNR was measured at 0.48 tesla (20.56MHz). The coils spanned a range of unloaded quality factors from 89 to 390 and a fivefold range of losses. The image SNRs were consistent with the coils' bench-measured efficiencies (0.33-0.73). Thin aluminum conductors (9μm) led to the highest reduction in SNR (65% that of 127 μm copper). Thin copper (<32 μm) conductors lead to a much smaller decrease in SNR (approximately 10%) compared to 127 μm copper. No performance difference was observed between 127 μm thick copper and aluminum. The much thicker 600 μm copper bars only yield a 5% improvement in SNR. Even at 0.48 tesla, copper RF coil conductors much thinner than those in conventional construction can be used while maintaining SNR greater than 50% that of thick copper. These emerging coil conductor technologies enable RF coil functionality that cannot be achieved otherwise.

High sensitivity flexible double square winding eddy current array for surface micro-defects inspection

High sensitivity surface micro-defects nondestructive testing on the complex geometric sample is a critical filed for the scientific and industrial community. This paper proposes a novel flexible eddy current sensing system that incorporates double square winding excitation with a multi detection flexible array for cracks inspection. The new structure consists of two square drive traces located in the separated layers while the pick-up traces are sandwiched between the drive traces. In particular, two excitation coils are in parallel and multi-turns thin spiral rectangular coils are detectors while the whole probe constitutes a transmitting-receiving-transmitting structure. The new structure offers capability and sensitivity for micro defects as well as directional defects inspection. The theoretical derivation based on magnetic circuit principles has been developed for analysis and interpretation of the results. Both numerical simulation and experiments on defects detection with different defect sizes and orientations have been supplemented to validate the reliability and efficiency of the proposed system.

Continuum Robotic Caterpillar with Wirelessly Powered Shape Memory Alloy Actuators.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) has the significant potential for soft-bodied continuum robots to extend the operational time limitlessly and reduce weight. However, rigid power receiver coils, widely used in WPT, hinder the continuum deformation of the robot, and as a result, the function realization using the continuum deformation (e.g., locomotion) is impaired. Therefore, this article introduces that a soft-bodied continuum robot can be designed by using thin film receiver coils and an inductively coupled wireless powering solution without sacrificing the continuum deformation and locomotion ability. A system is described for powering and controlling a soft robotic caterpillar consisting of nothing more than its continuum structure, actuators, and thin/flexible power receiving coils.

Optimal Design of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Thin Core Coil With Trade-Off Between Stimulation Effect and Heat Energy

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been proven to be effective in treating many psychiatric disorders. The stimulus intensity and focality of the TMS coil are normally used to measure the effect of biological stimulation. In order to improve the performance of the coil, the magnetic core can be added to the existing coils to enhance the stimulus intensity and focality of the local space. However, the core loss caused by the high frequency alternating magnetic field in the core should not be neglected. In this paper, the optimal design of transcranial magnetic stimulation thin core coil with the trade-off between stimulation effect and heat energy is proposed. By building multi-objective optimization model and using exhaustive search, the dimensions of the magnetic core is reasonably designed, the stimulation effect of the coil can be significantly improved, the heat energy generated by the core can be reduced compared to other core coils. The finite element method is used to analyze and compare the stimulation effect before and after adding the magnetic core. The simulation results verify the superiority of the proposed design.

Reliability in Microjoining Processes for Instrumented Nuclear Fuel Element Fabrication

The paper presents the assembling flux of thermocouple-instrumented nuclear fuel element for research reactor, from the point of view of the welding / brazing engineer, considering nuclear quality and safety requirements: fuel element structural reliability (no radioactive leaks through joints) and temperature signal reliability (thermocouple sheath integrity), this signal being an essential parameter for reactor normal operation and emergency shut-down. The paper is a real case study for an experimental instrumented element recently developed at INR-Pitesti describing technology choices as balance between fabrication complexity and risk of failure in joining processes, especially in later stages when added value increases. All joints (welded or brazed) fall into microjoining category, and it is shown how some special provisions may influence reliability. Focus is put on brazing thin-walled Inconel sheathed thermocouples, where erosion and local loss of ductility are known issues, leading to sheath rupture. Choosing as filler the less aggressive BNi-9 helped too little. A simple but efficient technique has been developed to address this matter adequate to narrow spaces inside a nuclear fuel element, where no room is available for solutions described in literature e.g. distal preplacing of filler. The solution prevents sheath from having prolonged contact with large volume of molten filler by using locally a miniature barrier (thin stainless-steel coil or sleeve) which only allows capillary wetting, being also a perfect real-time visual indicator of brazing progress and completion. As proved in the present paper, this method along with using filler formulation with lower Carbon content (without organic binder) enhances significantly, 8 times at least, resistance to bending fatigue. A particular vacuum brazing chamber design is employed: narrow quartz tube with external induction coil and top fitting letting outside the long thermocouples attached, reducing much the chamber volume and degassing. Careful impedance match is therefore required to overcome induction power loss due to the larger coil-to-workpiece gap. Additional joining problems are discussed e.g. inherent differential expansion of long parts during induction heating which afterwards may put tension upon braze during solidification and determine delayed cracking, this being avoided through wise order of operations. Another concern is the final precision weld between instrumentation segment having attached the hard-to-handle long thermocouples bunch and nuclear segment with the heavy Uranium pellets. The result of this research is successful assembling of first Romanian prototype with joints exhibiting He leak rate bellow 1E-09 std.cc/sec and overall reliability proved during reactor irradiation testing.

Modeling and Numerical Simulation for a Spherical Vector-Potential Coil

We proposed a model for a spherical vector-potential coil and investigated the properties of the coil, including the uniform distribution of the vector potential. We modeled a structure in which thin toroidal coils are superposed along a spherical surface. Rather than arranging the toroidal coils in close contact with each other along the surface of the sphere, the layer spacing of the toroidal coils should be constant so that the projection onto the axis of the sphere is equally spaced. When a current was applied to a toroidal coil, no magnetic field was created outside the toroidal coils; instead, a vector potential was present. When the same current was passed through each toroidal coil, the vector potential in the sphere achieved a uniform distribution by superposition. We presented the results of our numerical simulation of the distribution of the vector potential and the induced voltage when a secondary conductor was passed through the coil.