Multi-Material Topology Optimization of Magnetic Actuator With Segmented Permanent Magnets

This paper proposes the multi-material topology optimization for the simultaneous design of segmented permanent magnet (PM) arrays, coil, and iron materials in magnetic actuators. Specifically, the proposed approach can find the optimal layout and shape of PM, coil, and iron materials, as well as the optimal border and magnetization direction of segmented PM arrays. For designing the layout and shape of actuator components, the discrete material optimization-type material interpolation scheme is employed in this paper. To attain the design of segmented PM arrays, an orientation design variable in Cartesian coordinate is utilized with the penalization scheme for the discrete PM magnetization directions. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed actuator design approach, two numerical examples are presented. In the examples, the actuator components (i.e., segmented PM arrays, coil winding, and back iron) are designed aiming for maximizing the magnetic force magnitude acting on the actuator plunger.