ACTUATORS AND SENSORS FOR

MECHATRONICS
Magnetic Actuators and Sensors
Ramon Bargalló Perpiñà
ramon.bargallo@upc.edu
Room UR1- BA17 (street level plant)
 Objective: Electromagnetism theory applied to
actuators and sensors design.

- Electromagnetism principles.

- Magnetic materials, Permanent magnets, Conductors.

- Magnetic circuit approach.

- Finite elements approach.

- Electromechanical conversion principles.

- Permanent magnet actuators. Characteristics. Applications.

- Losses and Cooling of electromagnetic devices.

- Actuators design. Restrictions. Limits. Initial sizing. Optimization.

- Sensors design. Restrictions. Limits. Initial sizing. Optimization.

Theory sessions to show fundamental principles,

Problem sessions to show how apply theory concepts to basic and advanced calculation,

Practical sessions to train the student to use and post-processing FE software to design
electromechanical actuators and sensors.

Every student must solve a set of homework exercises and design a sensor or actuator using
these FE tools.

Grade report:
Homework exercises: 20 %
Project Design: 40%
Laboratory sessions: 20%
Final test: 20%
TOOLS:

-FEMM: a Finite Element Software. You can found it in this address:

-http://www.femm.info/wiki/HomePage
-LUA editor:
-http://www.femm.info/Archives/contrib/femmed-bin.zip

-OCTAVE: a clon of MATLAB (but it’s freeware):

-http://forja.rediris.es/frs/download.php/781/QtOctave-0.7.2.exe

Some knowledge of:

•physical concepts: electromagnetism, mechanics....

•Electrical circuits: DC, AC and transient analysis

•Matlab (not compulsory, but recommended)

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brauer. Magnetic Actuators and Sensors. John Wiley&Sons. 2005

A.J. Pawlak. Sensors and Actuators in Mechatronics. CRC Press.2006

D. Mecker. FEMM user’s Manual.

Hi-Dong Chai. Electromechanical Motion Devices. Prentice Hall. 1998.

R. Bargalló. Finite elements for electrical engineering. EUETIB-UPC- 2008

(DIGITAL CAMPUS)

http://atenea.upc.edu
 Magnetic Actuators and Sensors use magnetic fields to
produce and sense motion.

What is an actuator?

it’s a device that allow an

electrical signal to move small
or large objects.:
- valves, fuel injectors,
biomedical prosthesis, head
positioners, loudspeakers,
contactors, relays, etc.
What is a sensor?

it’s a device that converts

some mechanical parameter
(position, speed, etc) on
electrical signal:
- Proximity sensors,
microphones, speed sensors,
hall effect sensors, etc.
 ACTUATORS AND SENSORS IN MOTION CONTROL
DEVICES

Electrical signal indicates POSITION of data; the controller

moves the ACTUATOR, the SENSOR sense the real position
and indicate it to the controller.

When the head is in position the system READ data on disk.

 INTRODUCTION to ELECTROMAGNETISM
The electrical aspects of these applications are described by Maxwell’s equations
(1831-1879)
The theory of Electromagnetics (EM) took a long time to be established.

It can be understood by the fact that the EM quantities can not be “seen” or
“touched” (contrarily to others, such as mechanical and thermal quantities).

Actually, the majority of the EM phenomena were established by other scientists

before Maxwell (1831 – 1879):

• Ampere (1775 -1836)

• Gauss (1777 -1855)
• Faraday (1791 – 1867)
• Lenz (1804 – 1865)
among others (Coulomb, Lorentz, Laplace)
Maxwell, introducing an additional term (in 1862) to Ampere’s law, could synthesize
the EM in four equations. The physical possibility of this group of equations (along
with constitutive relations) is so high that very different phenomena (e.g.
microwaves and permanent magnet fields) can be precisely described by it.
Additionally, these equations survived the formulation of relativity and were
instrumental in shaping it; thus they also survived the introduction of quantum
theory!

While the formalism and the basic concepts of the EM are relatively simple, realistic
problems can be very complicated and difficult to solve. Some examples of these
complications are:

• Complicated geometry.
• Materials non-linearity.
• Non-static field sources.
It is impossible to find analytical solutions for many problems and that is the main
reason why numerical methods have become widely used tools in Electrical
Engineering today.
Maxwell equations

Faraday introduced a new concept in which he envisioned the space between

interacting charges to be filled with fields.
From Faraday’s point of view, electric and magnetic fields are defined at a point
r even when there is no charge present there.
The fields are defined in terms of the force that would be exerted on a test
charge q if it were introduced at r moving at a speed v at the time of interest.

The force is summarized in terms of the electric field intensity E and magnetic
flux density B by the Lorentz (1853-1928) force law:

f  q  E  v  B
Gauss’s law

Gauss’s law describes how the electric field intensity is related to its source. The net
charge within an arbitrary volume V that is enclosed by a surface S is related to the
net electric flux through that surface by

   E  dS     dV  D    E
S V

 D  dS     dV
S V

D is the electric displacement flux density and  s is the charge density. If different
materials are present, Gauss’s integral law requires that

n   a  Ea   b  Eb    s

in the interface of different materials.  sis the surface charge density and n
denotes the normal component of E.
Ampere’s integral law (1775-1836)

The law relating the magnetic field intensity H to its source, the current density J, is:

d
C H  dl  S J  dS  dt S D  dS
A surface current density in a surface S causes a discontinuity of the magnetic field
intensity. Ampere’s law requires that

n  H a  H b   K
in the interface of a surface. K is the surface current density and n denotes the
normal component of H.
Charge conservation law
Apply Ampere’s law to a closed surface, If the contour C is regarded as the“drawstring”
and S as the “bag,” then this limit is one in which the “string” is drawn tight so that the
contour shrinks to zero.thus the contour integral vanishes:

d
C H  dl  0  S J  dS  dt S D  dS

After, the surface integral of the electric displacement can be replaced by the total
charge enclosed:

d
S J  dS  dt 
V
  dV  0
Charge conservation law

This is the law of charge conservation. This equation shows that the net current
out of the volume requires that the net charge enclosed be decreasing with time.
The continuity condition associated with charge conservation is

d s
n  J a  J b   0
dt

Implicit in this condition is the assumption that J is finite. Thus, the condition does
not include the possibility of a surface current.
Faraday’s integral law (1791-1867)

The laws of Gauss and Ampere relate fields to sources. The statement of charge
conservation implied by these two laws relates these sources. New integral laws are
introduced that do not involve the charge and current densities.
Faraday’s integral law states that the circulation of E around a contour C is
determined by the time rate of change of the magnetic flux linking the surface
enclosed by that contour:

d
C E  dl   dt S B  dS
The continuity condition associated with Faraday’s law is

n  E a  E b   0
Gauss’s integral law of magnetic flux

The net magnetic flux out of any region enclosed by a surface S must be zero:

 B  dS  0
S
The continuity condition associated with Gauss’s integral law of magnetic flux is:

n  Ba  Bb   0
differential forms of Maxwell’s equations:

Gauss’s law
   E  dS     dV 
     E   dV     dV      E   
S V

   E  dS       E   dV 
S V
V V

d 
Ampere’s law
 H  dl   J  dS  dt 
D  dS 
C S S

C H  dl  S   H  dS 
d dD
S   H  dS  S J  dS 
dt 
S
D  dS    H  J 
dt
Faraday’s law
d 
 E  dl   dt 
B  dS  d dB
C S
   E  dS    B  dS    E  
C E  dl  S   E  dS  S dt S dt
differential forms of Maxwell’s equations:

Magnetic flux continuity


 B  dS  0 
   B   dV  0    B  0
S

 B  dS     B   dV 
S V
V

Charge conservation d 
S J  dS 
dt 
  dV  0 
V

S J  dS     J   dV 
V 
d
  J   dV     dV  0    J  
d

V
dt V dt
0
Differential forms are better than integral forms.

Integrals forms are dependents on volume and the surface of integration.

Differential forms are independent of these.

Constitutive relations

The field vectors D and E and also B and H are related by the properties of the
materials at any point in the field region. These are often referred to as the
constitutive properties of the material and are given by:

  0 r
  0  r

• Electrostatics and
• Magnetostatics.
These can be treated independently!
Maxwell’s equations do not
make a distinction between
low and high frequency
applications, but for practical
applications it is possible to
adapt them to these two
situations.
We will be interested in low-
frequency phenomena.
When describing low
frequency problems the
Maxwell’s equations can be
divided into two groups:
 Maxwell’s equations

High frequency (Waves)

Low frequency

Electostatics Magnetics

Magnetostatics Magnetodynamics
 Electric E
static
Magnetic B

Current flow J
Electromagnetic Electric E
fields
Slow varying
Magnetic B
(quasi-static)
Non- Current flow J
static
Quasi- Current flow J
fast varying stationary

Electromagnetic waves
 Electrostatic fields

electric (scalar) potential V E  V V    E  dl

Poisson’s equation   V   


 2V  


Laplace’s equation
 0
 V 0
2
Laplace’s equation of the Electric field for conductive media
Ohm’s law.

E  V   J      V   0

 V 0
2
 Magnetostatic fields

magnetic (vector) potential A B   A

    F    F    2 F

 A  0  A    J
2

 A0
2
The electric vector potential
In analogy to the magnetic vector potential A, we can define the electric vector
potential T which is related to the current density J by

J   T
 E  0
1 
    T   0
 
 T 0
2
Magnetodynamic fields (low frequency quasi-stationary fields)
The basic laws of magnetodynamic fields are Ampere’s law, without consideration
of time variation of electric displacement flux density D D 0
t
B   A

dB 
 E      A
dt t

A
eddy currents Je J e    E   
t
1  A
quasi-stationary magnetic field in the time       A     J
domain   t

    F    F    2 F
A
 A  0  A    
2
   J
t
Assuming sinusoidal excitation currents with an angular frequency  and thus
substituting

A
 j   A
t
A-formulation in the frequency domain to solve eddy current problems:

 A  j        A    J
2

diffusion equations
 Thermal problems
Thermal conduction
Conduction is a process where the heat is transmitted inside a body or between
different bodies having physical contact. The basic equation describing thermal
conduction is (Fourier’s equation)

T
c       T   Q
t

c T Q
 T 
2

 t 

J2 A
Q 2 A        J
 t
 Some simple exercises
•Given the magnetic field intensity expression in space ( A/m)

H  8 x 4  6  ( y 2  2)  u x  9 x  10 y  11z )  u y   4  x  u z

Find the expression for current density J at point (2,4,6)

 H  J
 ux uy uz 
 
     H z H y   H x H z   H y H x 
 H      ux     uy     uz
 x y z  y z   z x   x y 
  
H Hy H z 
 x

  H  J   11 u x   4 u y  9  12 y  u z
J (2, 4, 6)   11 u x   4 u y  39 u z
 Given a region of four conductors, each carrying current I = 5 A outward. In the
figure, two closed paths are defined l1 and l2. Find the integral of H along each of
the closed paths.

 H  dl   J  dS   N  I  4  5  20 A
C S

Since both closed paths enclose ALL conductors, the integral of H along each of the
closed paths equals 20 A.
 Another example: field created by a infinite length conductor carrying I (A)

I

C
H  dl  2 rH  I  H 
2 r
In free space:

I
B  0  H  0 
2 r

If the material surrounding the wire is steel of relative permeability of 2000,

then the flux density magnitude is increased to:

I
B  2000  0  H  2000  0 
2 r
Infinite conductor carrying current I: revisited using Biot-Savart formulation
Expanding cross products we can write:

The same result!

A loop of wire of radius r carries a current i. Find the magnetic intensity
along the axis of the loop

By symmetry only z component needs to be

calculated:
An infinitely long solenoid with n turns/meter carries a current i. Find the
magnetic intensity at center-line.

First, consider the contribution from a ring located

by an angle  on the z-axis. The differential length of
the solenoid at this location can be specified by

This differential element is equivalent to a ring

carrying a current
Thus, since R2 = r 2 + z2 the contribution to the magnetic intensity from this
differential ring is

For an infinite solenoid the limits of integration span from 0 to , in which case:

This is quite a simple relationship. In most solenoids, which have a 3:1 or 4:1 aspect
ratio of length to diameter, the magnetic intensity is pretty constant in the center,
both radially and axially.
A coil called the primary coil establishes the magnetic flux density

B  1.1sin(2 ft )  u z (T )
A secondary coil is of thin uniform copper (conductivity: 5.8e7 S/m) wire and has
resistance R = 2. Assume I=V/R and that the magnetic field is not changed by the
secondary current. The secondary coil is square in shape, connecting the points (x,y,z)=
(0,0,0); (0.05,0,0); (0.05,0.06,0); (0,0.06,0) and back to the origin, with a total of 50 turns.
Find the voltage and the current induced in the secondary. Also find both E and J in the
wire. The frequency is 60 Hz.

The coil has turns N = 50 and area A = 0.05x0.06=0.003 m2

Faraday’s law gives:
B  (1.1sin(2 60t ))
V  N  A  50  0.003   62.21 cos(2 60t )
t t

Secondary current is:

V 62.21
I   cos(2 60t )  31.11 cos(2 60t )
R 2
-Electric field and current density:

V 62.21 cos(2 60t )

V   E  dl  E  L  E  E  5.65  cos(2 60t ) V / m
L 11
L  N  lturn  50   0.05  0.05  0.06  0.06   11m

J    E  5.8e7   5.65   3.28e8 A / m 2

 The parallel-plate capacitor has the following
electric field E between its plates:

E  2500sin(2 60t )  u z (V / m)
Where z is directed between the plates, which
are separated by 50 mm of air. Find the
displacement current density and the total
current in the capacitor.

D    0  E E
J disp     0   (8.854 E  12)  2 60  2500  cos(2 60  t )
t t t
J disp  (8.34 E  6)  cos(2 60  t ) A / m 2

I C   J disp  dS J disp  S  (8.34 E  6)  cos(2 60  t )  0.04  0.03  (1.0 E  8)  cos(2 60  t ) A

What is the Capacitance of this capacitor?

   E  dS    E  dS  S
C S
 S

 E  dl
L
E l l

(8.854e  12)  2500  0.04  0.03

C  2.12 E  13 F  0.212 pF
2500  0.05

1 1 1
U   D  E  dVol     E  dVol     E 2  S  l
2

2 Vol 2 Vol 2
1
2    E2  S l
2 U  S
C 2  2 
 
2
V E l l
Field created by a infinite conductor or radius a.

 2 A   0  J
1   A  1 A  2 A
 r  2   2   0  J
r r  r  r  z
1   A 
  r     0  J
r r  r 

1   A  I
  r     0  2 inside
r r  r  a
1   A 
  r    0 outside
r r  r 
Field created by a infinite conductor or radius a. Field inside the conductor

1   A  I
  r     0  2
r r  r  a
  A  I
 r     0  2  r
r  r  a
A I r2
r   0  2   C1
r a 2
I r2
A   0  2   C1  ln r  C2
a 4
r  0  A  0  C1  C2  0
2
I r
A   0  2 
a 4
A I r
B   0  2 
r a 2
Field created by a infinite conductor or radius a. Field outside the conductor

1   A  A C1 r
  r    0;  A  C1  ln
r r  r  r r R0
A  C1  ln r  C2 A 1
B  C1
r  R0  A  0  C2  C1  ln R0 r r

Flux continuity :
Binside (r  a )  Boutside (r  a )
I a 1
 0    C
 a2 2 1
a
I
C1   0 
2
I r
A   0   ln
2 R0
I 1
B   0  
2 r
Field created by a infinite conductor or radius a.

I r
B   0  2  inside
a 2
I 1
B   0   outside
2 r