Master's Papers and Projects

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Computer aided design of a magnetostrictive actuator
Shirer, Jeffrey J. (Virginia Tech, 1994)
There is a present need in many industries for miniature actuators that can supply large forces and relatively small linear displacements. Actuators incorporating magnetostrictive materials show promise in filling this need. Magnetostrictive materials expand when exposed to a magnetic field. Currently available commercial magnetostrictive actuators are not capable of meeting the requirements of most applications because they are not optimized for those applications. Optimization of a magnetostrictive actuator is presented using the latest computer aided design tools. Priority is placed on designing the actuator to maximize performance, reliability, and to a lesser degree, minimizing life cycle cost. Further, relationships between all design dependent parameters are derived. The two main investigations deal with optimizing the magnetic field within a magnetostrictive actuator. First, it is shown that making the induction coil the same length as the magnetostrictive element results in a 12% weight savings with only a 5% decrease in a average magnetic field intensity from the baseline design. Second, it is shown that a thin magnetic circuit may be incorporated into the baseline design that increases the average magnetic field intensity by 34% while increasing the weight of the actuator by 0.16 pounds.