Optimization of the force characteristic of rotary motion type of electromagnetic actuator based on finite element analysis

This paper addresses a rotary motion type of electromagnetic actuator that compares two types of electromagnetic actuators; i.e the permanent magnet switching flux (pmsf) and the switching reluctance (sr) actuator. the permanent magnet switching flux (pmsf) actuator is the combination of permanent magnets (pm) and the switching reluctance (sr) actuator. the force optimizations are accomplished by manipulating the actuator parameters; i.e. (i) the poles ratio of the stator and rotor; (ii) the actuator’s size; (iii) the number of winding turns; and (iv) the air gap thickness between the stator and rotor through finite element analysis method (fem) using the ansys maxwell 3d software. the materials implemented in the actuator’s parameters optimizations are readily available materials,especially in malaysia. the excitation current used in fem analysis for both actuators was between 0a and 2a with interval of 0.25a. based on the fem analyses,the best result was achieved by the permanent magnet switching flux (pmsf) actuator. the pmsf actuator produced the largest magnetostatic thrust force (4.36kn) once the size is scaled up to 100% with the input current,2a respectively. the maximum thrust force generated by the switching reluctance (sr) actuator was 168.85μn,which is significantly lower in compared to the results of the pmsf actuator. © 2016 penerbit utm press. all rights reserved.