Optimal design of an electromagnetic coupler to maximize force to a specific direction

This study suggests a concept design for an electromagnetic (EM) coupler, using the topology optimization method. To maximize the force generated by magnetic flux, the magnetic energy generated must be differentiable, at the location where the force is acting, in a prescribed force direction. This study proposes a topology optimization scheme for maximizing the force in a specific direction, using a commercial analysis program, ANSYS, to provide the force value. We use ANSYS for obtaining the resultant force as well as analyzing the magnetic field. We adopt a density calculation method called SIMP (solid isotropic material with penalization), and compute the sensitivity of the objective function according to the density change of each finite element in the design domain. As a result, optimal shapes of the core and the armature of the coupler are obtained and the performance is verified.