This study aims to propose a novel tubular doubly salient stator-permanent magnet (PM) linear oscillating actuator (LOA) with non-uniform mover teeth for oscillatory applications.
The working principle of the proposed LOA is investigated, and the mechanical motion is analyzed based on the co-energy of magnetic components. In addition, finite element analysis (FEA) is used to validate the theoretical analysis and critical structural parameters are determined through FEA to achieve improved oscillatory performance.
The results show that the magnet utilization of the proposed LOA is significantly higher than that of the conventional LOA, which has the same stator dimensions and current excitation. The proposed LOA is manufactured, and the static thrust force is tested. The results from both theoretical simulation and practical experiments prove the superiority of the proposed novel structure.
For most of the moving-magnet or moving-iron-magnet LOAs, the PMs are surface-mounted onto the moving iron or the PM sleeve, and thus multiple faces of the PMs are exposed to air, leading to a great distortion of the air-gap flux density due to the fringing effect of air and hence to the decrease in magnet utilization. However, the mover of the proposed LOA is merely iron with non-uniform teeth and is fabricated as a whole component, and the PMs are mounted in the stator back iron. For these reasons, the mechanical reliability of this topology is much higher than that of the conventional LOAs, and hence, the mechanical air-gap length of the proposed LOA can be smaller, which enhances the coupling between the stator and mover.
