Multiphysics modeling and experimental verification of ultra-fast electro-mechanical actuators

In this paper, a multi-physics computational tool has been developed to accurately model and build high performance ultra-fast actuators. The research methodology is based on a finite element method model coupled with a circuit model. Electromagnetic, thermal, mechanical, and algebraic equations are implemented in Comsol Multiphysics and verified with laboratory experiments of a built prototype. A simplified model is preferred as long as its underlying assumptions hold. However, in the presence of large current and force densities, nonlinearities such as deformations may occur. Such phenomena can only be captured by the use of the developed comprehensive multi-physics simulation model. Although this model is computationally demanding, it was shown to have an accuracy of at least 95% when compared with experiments.