Design and analysis of magnetically-drive actuator applied for linear compressor

Nan-Chyuan Tsai
*
, Chao-Wen Chiang
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 70101, Taiwan
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 1 March 2010
Accepted 3 June 2010
Keywords:
Magnetic actuator
Magnetic levitation
Linear compressor
a b s t r a c t
A novel Magnetically Levitated Linear Actuator (MLLA), mainly consisting of a Halbach magnetized mov-
ing-magnet armature, a cylindrical frame, a rod and electromagnetic (EM) poles, is presented and ana-
lyzed for linear compressors applications. The Halbach magnetized armature naturally generates a
periodically distributed magnetic eld which is interacted with that induced by the EM poles. Therefore,
an axially reciprocating thrust force is induced that is inherently suitable for high frequency drive for lin-
ear compressors. A lateral magnetic repulsive force, due to the eddy current induced at the cylindrical
frame, to exert upon the rod is generated as long as the rod is deviated in the radial direction. Once
the position of the rod is laterally deviated from the central position, the rod is automatically brought
back by this magnetic repulsive force. The magnetic eld distributions, axial thrust force and lateral mag-
netic repulsive force are numerically obtained by Governing Equations Analysis (GEA) under cylindrical
coordinate. The Finite Element Method (FEM), by the commercial software ANSOFT Maxwell with Tran-
sient Solver, is employed to be compared with and validate the solutions obtained by GEA. It is shown that
the GEA is extremely agreed with the results by FEM. At last, the efcacy of the proposed MLLA is exam-
ined and veried by intensive computer simulations and experiments.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
A linear compressor in which a free piston is embedded can be
driven by a linear actuator. By taking the advantage of higher ef-
cient energy transformation for the refrigerator system, the con-
sensus on linear actuator to replace rotational mechanism is
gradually fostered [1]. Conventionally, the reciprocating compres-
sor is driven by a rotary electric motor. However, the overall ef-
ciency of the reciprocating compressors is relatively low owing
to low efciency of rotary motor, and the mechanical friction
caused by the crank unit conducting rotary-to-linear motion.
Therefore, a linear actuator is increasingly employed to directly
drive the linear compressor. Besides, not only the frictional loss
is signicantly reduced, but also the long-term operation without
need of lubrication and regular maintenance becomes feasible.
The linear actuator, which is the heart of the linear compressor,
can be classied into three types: moving-coil, moving-magnet and
moving-iron. The moving-iron type is rarely employed due to need
of a heavy moving mass and the drawback of low force density. The
impact by uttering is the major source of unreliability for the type
of moving-coil actuators. On the contrary, because of the copper
coils directly wound around the yoke for the type of moving-mag-
net actuators, superior thermal dissipation capability and high reli-
ability can be both expected. Therefore, the moving-magnet
conguration for linear actuators is more suitable to be applied
for the linear compressors [24]. On the other hand, the linear ser-
vo-controlled actuators, with short rise time, high precision and
wide-bandwidth, can directly provide the required thrust force to
the payload so that they are popularly applied in many occasions
such as public transportations [5], manufacturing systems [6], stir-
ring cycles [7] and articial heart devices [8]. The major merits of
the linear compressor are: considerable linearity for thrust force
with respect to position and waiver of any mechanical motion-con-
version mechanisms, such as screws, gears and chains. Because of
the absence of these conversion mechanisms, the linear compres-
sor possesses the nature of higher reliability, more stable dynamic
performance, more outstanding servo characteristics and less
power loss.
Magnetic levitation is the state-of-the-art technology for non-
contact manipulation mechanisms by applying magnetic elds.
Not only the mechanical wear, regular maintenance and the side-
effects caused by mechanical friction can be eliminated, but also
it can be applied to high rotational speed and high precision ma-
chines. The modules of active magnetic bearings [914], machine
tools [15,16] and micro-gyroscopes [17,18] are some examples.
In addition, the magnetic eld constructed by eddy current can
also be used for magnetic levitation. Eddy current is induced at a
conductor under a time-varying magnetic eld, which can be
constituted either by the movement of the conductor in static mag-
netic eld or change of the magnetic eld in time. The electromo-
tive force (emf) generated by the eddy current, which is caused by
0957-4158/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mechatronics.2010.06.001
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 6 2757575x62137; fax: +886 6 2369567.
E-mail address: nortren@mail.ncku.edu.tw (N.-C. Tsai).
Mechatronics 20 (2010) 596603
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the movement of the conductor in static magnetic eld, is dened
as the motional emf [19]. On the other hand, the induced electro-
motive force, due to change of the magnetic eld in time, is dened
as the transformer emf [19]. A few applications of eddy currents
have been reported, such as magnetic braking systems [20], vibra-
tion control of spindles [21], structural vibration suppression [22]
and vibration isolation in levitation systems [23]. Nevertheless,
the application of eddy current for passive magnetic levitation in
linear actuators has not been addressed so far.
In this paper, a novel Magnetically Levitated Linear Actuator
(MLLA) for linear compressor is proposed. The Halbach magnetized
Permanent Magnets (PMs) are attached around the rod to consti-
tute a magnetic eld which is to interact with that by the Electro-
magnetic (EM) poles which encloses the cylindrical frame made of
aluminum. The copper wire is wound on the seven EM poles clock-
wisely and counter-clockwisely alternately so that the magnetic
eld is alternating even if the applied current is of DC type. The ax-
ial reciprocating thrust force is generated by the interaction be-
tween the magnetic eld constituted by PMs and the magnetic
eld constituted by EM poles. Because of the periodic magnetic
eld induced on the cylindrical frame, a magnetic repulsive force
in radial direction is generated against the rod once the rod is devi-
ated from the lateral central position. The analytical solutions for
the magnetic elds by PMs and EM poles are obtained by Govern-
ing Equations Analysis (GEA). On the other hand, Finite Element
Method (FEM) is employed to be compared with and validate the
GEA solutions. Finally, the proposed MLLA is examined and veried
by intensive computer simulations and experiments.
2. Mechanical structure and operation principle
The schematic diagram of the proposed Magnetically Levitated
Linear Compressor (MLLC) with Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs)
is depicted in Fig. 1. The MLLC mainly consists of a piston/cylinder
unit, a linear actuator and an AMB pair. The piston is directly ex-
erted by the linear actuator which is equipped with an AMB pair,
instead of conventional mechanical bearings, to prevent from con-
siderable power consumption between the reciprocally-moving
rod and mechanical bearings. The linear actuator, shown in
Fig. 2, consists of a single-phase Electromagnetic (EM) module, a
cylindrical frame and the tubular magnets in Halbach array which
is popularly adopted for reciprocating machines or motors. Copper
wires are wound on the EM poles enclosing the cylindrical frame
made of aluminum, by direction in clockwisely and counter-clock-
wisely alternately for any two adjacent EM poles. The rod which is
made of aluminum is encircled by Permanent Magnets (PMs) mag-
netized in Halbach array. The set of Halbach magnetized armatures
generates a periodically distributed magnetic eld to interact with
the other magnetic eld induced by the EM poles such that an axial
magnetic thrust force is produced and exerted on the rod forwards
and backwards alternatively. That is, the rod is driven to move axi-
ally in sine-wave fashion as long as the EM poles (totally 7 EM
poles in our work) are energized by a direct current. The outer
cylindrical frame, made of aluminum, is designed, not only to facil-
itate EM stators assembly, but also play the role of conductor for
induced eddy current. In the radial direction, a magnetic repulsive
force exerted on the rod can therefore be generated by the interac-
tion between the magnetic eld induced by this eddy current and
the magnetic elds induced by the PMs. That is, once the radial po-
sition of the rod is deviated from the neutral point, the rod is auto-
matically brought back by this magnetic repulsive force. In other
words, the proposed MLLC inherently possesses the self-centering
capability without any additionally applied current on the EM
poles. Hence, the AMB pair is energized only for two cases: (a) at
the moment when the linear actuator is just started up to levitate
the rod against gravity, and (b) under the condition if the rod posi-
tion is laterally deviated due to unexpected disturbance. It is noted
that the major advantage of the Halbach array is that the rod, to be
thrust and pulled axially, is not necessarily laminated by steel
strips. Therefore, the choice of the rod material becomes versatile
and can be as light as possible. The reason is stated as follows. In
order to make the magnetic ux path closed, the permanent mag-
net, whose ux distribution is in radial direction (see kth PM in
Fig. 3), is sandwiched by two adjacent PMs whose ux distribu-
tions are in axial direction (see (k 1)th and (k + 1)th PMs in
Fig. 3). That is, the Halbach array possesses its own continuous
and closure of magnetic ux path so that it is not necessary at all
to laminate any steal strip on the rod.
To sum up, the rod is driven by the EM poles and move in axial
direction forwards and backwards. The stroke of the rod is deter-
mined by the Halbach array of PMs but the cycle frequency is con-
trolled by the applied current at EM poles. In order to ensure the
rod to move axially along the center-line, a pair of AMBs is
equipped to regulate the radial position deviation (e.g., offset and
tilt) of rod.
3. Magnetic eld distribution and magnetic force
The schematic diagram of the geometric model for the Magnet-
ically Levitated Linear Actuator (MLLA) is shown in Fig. 3. In order
to simplify the analytical description for the magnetic eld distri- Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of linear compressor.
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of MLLA.
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of analytical model for MLLA.
N.-C. Tsai, C.-W. Chiang / Mechatronics 20 (2010) 596603 597
butions, the axial length of the MLLA is assumed as innite and the
current ow at the EM poles is assumed to be within an extremely
thin inner layer at the EM poles, i.e., the brim outside Zone III, as
shown in Fig. 3.
3.1. Magnetic eld distribution
There are three zones, shown in Fig. 3, to be considered for the-
oretical analysis on the induced magnetic elds, i.e., the permanent
magnet layer (Zone I) where the permeability is l
0
l
1
, the air layer
(Zone II) where the permeability is l
0
and the outer cylindrical
frame (Zone III) where the permeability and conductivity are
l
0
l
2
and q, respectively. Assume any free current is absent in
the interested Zone I such that r B = l
0
r M holds, where M
is the magnetization and B the ux density, respectively. It is con-
venient to formulate the magnetic eld distributions by magnetic
potential A, which can be dened as r A = B. Therefore, the gov-
erning equations for the magnetic eld distributions of the MLLA
can be described as follows:
r
2
A
I
l
0
r M; in Zone I 1a
r
2
A
II
0; in Zone II 1b
r
2
A
III
l
0
l
2
q
@A
III
@t
; in Zone III 1c
where l
0
, l
1
and l
2
are the permeability in vacuum, the relative
permeability of the PMs and the relative permeability of the outer
cylindrical frame, respectively. The associated superscripts denote
the zones numbers. Since the geometry of the MLLA is axially sym-
metric, the magnetic potential is solely dependent of the circular
angle from the cross-section view, h, so that Eq. (1) can be rewritten
in cylindrical coordinate as follows [24,25]:
@
@z
1
r
@
@z
rA
I
_ _
_ _

@
@r
1
r
@
@r
rA
I
_ _
_ _
l
0
r M; Zone I 2a
@
@z
1
r
@
@z
rA
II
_ _
_ _

@
@r
1
r
@
@r
rA
II
_ _
_ _
0; Zone II 2b
@
@z
1
r
@
@z
rA
III
_ _
_ _

@
@r
1
r
@
@r
rA
III
_ _
_ _
l
0
l
2
q
@A
III
h
@t
; Zone III 2c
On the other hand, the orthogonal magnetization M can be ex-
pressed by components:
M M
r
e
r
M
z
e
z
3
where M
r
and M
z
are the components of M in the radial and axial
directions, respectively. e
r
and e
z
represent the unit vectors in the
r and z directions, respectively. The magnetized ux distributions,
shown in Fig. 4, can be further expressed by Fourier series:
M
r
z

1
n1;3;5;...
M
rn
sinx
n
z 4a
M
z
z

1
n1;3;5;...
M
zn
cosx
n
z 4b
where
M
rn

4B
res
npl
0
sin
np
2
_ _
sin
np
4
_ _
; 5a
M
zn

4B
res
npl
0
sin
np
4
_ _
; 5b
B
res
is hereby named as the residual ux density. x
n
= np/s is the
spatial wave number with respect to the nth harmonic component
and s the pole pitch of the MLLA. Therefore, the solutions of Pois-
sons equation, Laplaces equation and diffusion equation in Eq.
(2) can be obtained as follows:
A
I
r; z

1
n1;3;5;...
a
I
n
I
0
x
n
r b
I
n
K
0
x
n
r
2c
2
M
rn
x
2
n
_ _
c
I
n
cosx
n
z d
I
n
sinx
n
z
_ _
6a
A
II
r; z

1
n1;3;5;...
a
II
n
I
0
x
n
r b
II
n
K
0
x
n
r
_ _
c
II
n
cosx
n
z d
II
n
sinx
n
z
_ _
6b
A
III
r; z

1
n1;3;5;...
a
III
n
I
0
x
c
n
r b
III
n
K
0
x
c
n
r
_ _
c
III
n
cosx
n
z d
III
n
sinx
n
z
_ _
e
jxt
6c
where x
c
n

x
2
n
k
2
_
, k
2
= jxl
0
l
2
r and x is the oscillating fre-
quency of the rod. The coefcients, c
1
(at Eq. (8b)) and c
2
, can be
chosen to make an appropriate correction on the radial component
M
r
[26]. I
0
and K
0
are the modied Bessel functions of the rst and
second kinds of zero order, respectively. The parameters
a
q
n
; b
q
n
; c
q
n
and d
q
n
, where q = I, II, III, are determined by the boundary
conditions. The following boundary conditions hold so that a univ-
ocal solution can be obtained:
H
I
z
r
S
; z M
zn
7a
H
II
z
r
P
; z H
I
z
r
P
; z 7b
B
II
r
r
P
; z B
I
r
r
P
; z 7c
H
II
z
r
E
; z 0 7d
H
III
z
r
C
; z H
II
z
r
C
; z 7e
B
III
r
r
C
; z B
II
r
r
C
; z 7f
where H
q
z
and B
q
r
are the axial components of magnetic eld inten-
sity and radial components of ux density at Zone q, respectively. r
S
,
r
P
, r
C
and r
E
are the radius of the rod, the outer radius of each
embedded PM, the inner radius of the outer cylindrical frame and
the inner radius of each EM pole, respectively (see Fig. 3). Conse-
quently, the axial components of magnetic eld intensity and radial
components of ux density in the three zones can be obtained as
follows:
H
I
z
r; z

1
n1;3;5;...
x
n
A
I
n
I
0
x
n
r B
I
n
K
0
x
n
r
2c
2
M
rn
x
2
n
_ _
cosx
n
z
8a
B
I
r
r; z l
0
l
1

1
n1;3;5;...
x
n
A
I
n
I
1
x
n
r B
I
n
K
1
x
n
r
c
1
r
c
2
r
_ _
M
rn
x
n
_ _
sinx
n
z
8b
Fig. 4. Magnetization distributions.
598 N.-C. Tsai, C.-W. Chiang / Mechatronics 20 (2010) 596603
H
II
z
r; z

1
n1;3;5;...
x
n
A
II
n
I
0
x
n
r B
II
n
K
0
x
n
r
_ _
cosx
n
z 8c
B
II
r
r; z l
0

1
n1;3;5;...
x
n
A
II
n
I
1
x
n
r B
II
n
K
1
x
n
r
_ _
sinx
n
z 8d
H
III
z
r; z

1
n1;3;5;...
x
n
A
III
n
I
0
x
c
n
r B
II
n
K
0
x
c
n
r
_ _
cosx
n
ze
jxt
8e
B
III
r
r; z l
0
l
2

1
n1;3;5;...
x
c
n
A
III
n
I
1
x
c
n
r B
III
n
K
1
x
c
n
r
_ _
sinx
n
ze
jxt
8f
where I
1
and K
1
are the modied Bessel functions of the rst and
second kinds of order 1, respectively. The coefcients, A
I
n
; B
I
n
;
A
II
n
; B
II
n
; A
III
n
and B
III
n
, are dened in Appendix A for further details.
On the other hand, the electric current at EM poles is assumed
to be on the innitesimally-thin circular surface i.e., at r = r
E
. The
current density J can be thus characterized by the azimuthal com-
ponent solely such that it can be also expressed by Fourier series:
J
h
z

1
n1;3;5;...
J
n
sinx
n
z 9
where J
n
= 4N
s
i/nps, N
s
is the number of conductors per pole and i
the current at EM pole. At EM pole, the magnetic eld can be de-
scribed by Laplaces equation such that its general solution is noth-
ing but Eq. (6b). On the other hand, the associated boundary
conditions hold as follows:
H
z
r
S
; z 0 10a
H
z
r
E
; z J
h
z 10b
Therefore, the resultant axial and radial components of the
magnetic eld induced by EM poles can be obtained as follows:
H
z
r; z

1
n1;3;5;...
x
n
I
0
x
n
r a
E
K
0
x
n
rb
E
J
h
sinx
n
z 11a
B
r
r; z l
0

1
n1;3;5;...
x
n
I
0
x
n
r a
E
K
0
x
n
rb
E
J
h
cosx
n
z 11b
where
a
E

I
0
x
n
r
S

K
0
x
n
r
S

12a
b
E

1
x
n
I
0
x
n
r
E
a
E
K
0
x
n
r
E

12b
To sum up, the resultant magnetic elds by the MLLA can be
evaluated by Eq. (11). There are three magnetic elds generated
within the MLLA. A periodically distributed magnetic eld (Eqs.
(8a)(8d)) is generated by PMs, which are magnetized in the fash-
ion of Halbach array. Besides, a periodically distributed time-
variant magnetic eld, whose magnitude is proportional to the ap-
plied current, is induced by EM poles. Because the rod moves axi-
ally and reciprocally in the magnetic eld constructed by the PM
array, an eddy current is induced at cylindrical frame. The axial
thrust force and radial magnetic repulsive force are thus generated
by interaction among these three magnetic elds described by Eq.
(8) once the rod is at operation mode.
3.2. Analysis of magnetic force
According to Lorentz law, the magnetic force, due to the inter-
action between the magnetic ux density by the PM array and
the current density at EM poles, can be given by:
F
_
V
J BdV
_
V
J
h
e
h
B
r
e
r
B
z
e
z
dV F
t
F
r
13
where J denotes the current density at EM poles and V the volume of
EM poles. F
t
and F
r
are the magnetic force components in axial and
radial directions, respectively. It is noted that if the position of the
rod is at the laterally central position, the resultant magnetic force
in r-direction, F
r
, becomes vanished. On the other hand, at general
axial position, z, the thrust force in terms of an innitesimal length
dz can be obtained as follows:
dF
t
z 2pr
E
J
h
zB
III
r
r
E
; zdz 14
From Eqs. (8f) and (9), the force per EM pole exerting on the rod
can be rewritten as follows [27]:
F
t
z

1
n1;3;5;...

8pr
E
N
S
l
0
l
2
s
A
III
n
I
1
x
c
n
r
E
_ _
B
III
n
K
1
x
c
n
r
E
_ _
_ _
cosx
n
zi
15
On the other hand, for the MLLA system studied in this work,
the eddy current induced at the cylindrical frame is resulted from
the alternation of magnetic eld. The procedure to evaluate the lat-
erally magnetic force by the eddy current is summarized in Fig. 5.
By Faradays Law, the electromotive force (emf) induced at the
cylindrical frame can be written as follows [28]:
emf
_
C
E d
_
S
@B
@t
dS 16
where E is the electric eld at the cylindrical frame. The current
density at the cylindrical frame can be dened as follows [28]:
J
c
rE r
@A
c
@t
17
where A
c
is the magnetic potential generated by the eddy current
induced at the cylindrical frame. Therefore, the induced magnetic
force by the eddy current at the cylindrical frame can be obtained
as follows:
F
c

_
Vc
J
c
BdV
c

_
Vc
r
@A
c
@t
B
II
z
r; zdV
c
18
where V
c
is the volume of the cylindrical frame. The overall lateral
magnetic repulsive force in terms of an innitesimal length dz
can be obtained by inclusion of the component by eddy current to
the radial force by EM poles as follows:
Fig. 5. Procedure to evaluate the magnetic force by eddy current.
N.-C. Tsai, C.-W. Chiang / Mechatronics 20 (2010) 596603 599
dF
m
dF
c
dF
r
2pr
C
r
@A
III
r; z
@t
B
II
z
r; zdz 2pr
E
J
h
B
II
z
r; zdz 19
It is noted that the magnitude of the radial magnetic repulsive
force is dependant of the laterally deviated position of the rod. Ow-
ing to the tubular structure of the Halbach array, once the rod is at
the laterally central position, the radial magnetic force exerted on
the rod is perfectly counterbalanced.
4. Comparison between GEA and FEM
The parameters of the MLLA and their physical values are listed
in Table 1. The permanent magnets are the type of NdFeB. The ana-
lytical eld distributions have been validated by Finite Element
Method (FEM), by employing the commercial software package
ANSOFT Maxwell with Transient Solver. The ux density distribu-
tions for the MLLA by FEM are shown in Fig. 6. Because of the Hal-
bach array structure, the magnetic ux distribution at the rod is
relatively weak (if compared with that by EM poles). The ux den-
sity in radial and axial directions at a constant radius position,
r = r
S
, by Governing Equations Analysis (GEA) and FEM is compared
in Fig. 7. Similarly, the ux density at radius positions, r = r
P
and
r = r
C
, are presented in Figs. 8 and 9, respectively. It is evident to
notice that the GEA solutions quite well agree with that by FEM.
It can also be observed that the ux density at Zone II or Zone III
are periodical with respect to the axial position. This phenomenon
is also veried by the ANSOFT simulation shown in Fig. 6.
As to the radial direction, from Fig. 6 it can be observed that
during the half-period, s, the magnetic ux is changed in direction
from Right, then Upwards and nally Left. From the simula-
tion results, it can be found that the magnetic ux at r
S
is accord-
ingly increased to the maximum (A and A
0
) in the inward radial
direction in Fig. 7 but its direction is reversed to the outward radial
direction between A and A
0
because of the magnetic ux in this
interval uniformly pointing outward (see Fig. 6). Similarly, from
Fig. 8, the ux density is changed in the same manner as Fig. 7.
The only difference is the inuence by the additional magnetic ux
contributed by Zone II and Zone III so that the maximum ux den-
sity at r
P
can reach 1.4 T (increased by 75%, in comparison with that
at r
S
) and the shape of ux density during the interval, (A, A
0
), is al-
tered to become circular, instead of at in Fig. 7. The ux density in
the radial direction becomes more smooth at r
C
, as shown in Fig. 9,
since the interested ux density is within the cylindrical frame (be-
yond the air gap whose magnetic permeability is the lowest in the
3 zones).
On the other hand, the axial ux density is changed as the
location of cylindrical layer is changed along the outward radial
Table 1
Parameters of the TLA.
Parameters (symbol) Value
Radius of rod (r
S
) 10 mm
Outer radius of PMs (r
P
) 20 mm
Inner radius of cylindrical frame (r
C
) 21 mm
Inner radius of EM pole (r
E
) 23 mm
Pole pitch (s) 20 mm
PM pole pitch (s
m
) 10 mm
Residual ux density of PMs (B
res
) 1.2 T
Permeability in vacuum (l
0
) 4p 10
7
H m
1
Relative permeability of PMs (l
1
) 1.05
Relative permeability of cylindrical frame (l
2
) 1
Conductivity of cylindrical frame (r) 3.57 10
7
X
1
m
1
Fig. 6. Flux density distribution.
Fig. 7. Flux density distribution at outer radius of rod (r
S
).
Fig. 8. Flux density distribution at outer radius of PM (r
P
).
600 N.-C. Tsai, C.-W. Chiang / Mechatronics 20 (2010) 596603
direction, as shown in Figs. 79. Obviously, the magnetic ux direc-
tion is changed from Right, then Upward and nally Left dur-
ing the interval, (B, B
0
), as shown in Fig. 6. In other words, the
prole of magnetic ux density in the axial direction is accordingly
changed, as shown in Figs. 79, as the interested radial position is
changed from r
S
, then r
P
and nally r
C
. Briey speaking, the maxi-
mum of magnetic ux density in axial direction, in Fig. 7, is corre-
sponding to B and B
0
, which is 90 in phase shift, with respect to the
ux component in radial direction. Unlike Fig. 7, where the layer
location is at r
S
, the ux density shape in Fig. 8 is, to some extent,
altered by the additional magnetic ux contributed by Zone II and
Zone III since the layer location is moved to r
P
. At radial position r
C
,
the axial ux direction is reversed (see B and B
0
in Fig. 6, which are
180 in phase shift, with respect to B and B
0
, respectively). It implies
that in Fig. 9, the extremum of the magnetic ux density are with
opposite sign, in comparison with those in Fig. 8. For example, at
the axial location B, the ux density in Fig. 8 is 0.5T (the radial
location is r
P
) but the ux density becomes +0.8T in Fig. 9 (the ra-
dial location is r
C
).
On the other hand, the axial thrust force and lateral magnetic
force by GEA and FEM are shown in Fig. 10. It is noted that the
sinusoidal wave of thrust force can be expected such that it is fairly
benecial to facilitate high-frequency reciprocating motion of the
MLLC. Assume the radial position of the rod is deviated 0.5 mm
from the central position, a magnetic repulsive force, about 25 N
in radial direction, is automatically induced and pushes the rod
back to the neutral position. The historical trajectory of the Center
of Mass (COM) of the rod is shown is Fig. 11. Let initial position of
COM be at (0.5, 0.5, 0). Once the MLLA is at operation mode, the in-
duced magnetic repulsive force automatically restores the rod back
to the neutral position in 0.6 s. From Fig. 11, it can be observed that
the expected motion of the MLLA is reciprocal linear translation
between the two dead ends. If the initial condition of the rod
was deviated by 0.5 mm both in X and Y directions (i.e., in radial
direction), then the cooperation of EM and PM poles would regu-
late the radial position to the equilibrium position and maintain
the linear motion in axial direction (i.e., in Z-direction), exactly like
a linear compressor. That is, the proposed MLLA possesses the
self-centering capability, without need of any additionally applied
current for radial position regulation.
Though the commercial software, ANSOFT, is convenient for
magnetic ux analysis (so called FEM), the transient motions of
the MLLA, especially subjected to the cross-axis coupling effect,
in multiple axes cannot be accurately obtained. For example, the
desired linear motion of the rod in MLLA is potentially deteriorated
by the radial magnetic ux contributed by the three zones in Eq.
(2) together so that the rod will tilt in the radial direction period-
ically. Once the cross-axis coupling effect is in multiple-axes sense,
unfortunately ANSOFT has to be executed in single-axis fashion
individually for each SDOF motion but GEA can still work pretty
ne. In comparison, the GEA (mainly by Eq. Eq. (8)) is capable to
unveil the motion of MLLA in the Z-direction and concurrently ra-
dial position deviation in X/Y directions so that it is more suitable
to analyze MLLA.
5. Experimental results
The test rig of the MLLA is shown in Fig. 12. A Linear Variable
Differential Transformer (LVDT), equipped at the left side of the
MLLA, is used to measure the axial displacement of the rod. The ax-
ial thrust force is measured by a load cell at the right side of the
MLLA. The experiments are undertaken under the interface module
DS1104 by dSPACE and the environment by Matlab/Simulink. For
linear compressors, the linear actuator has to mainly present the
properties of retaining a constant stroke and superior servo capa-
bility. The goal of the experiment is to verify the dual function of
MLLA: high-frequency linear motion with constant stroke each cy-
cle (recorded by LVDT), and the automatic radial position regula-
tion (recorded by DS1104). In order to achieve high-frequency
Fig. 9. Flux density distribution at inner radius of cylindrical frame (r
C
). Fig. 10. Thrust force and magnetically levitated force.
Fig. 11. Trajectory of center of mass of rod.
N.-C. Tsai, C.-W. Chiang / Mechatronics 20 (2010) 596603 601
(e.g., 20 Hz in Fig. 13), the required magnetic force (recorded by the
load cell) has to be adequate and the alternation of ux direction
has to be sufciently fast. In other words, the design of the EM
and PM poles in our work has to be proven by the real experiments.
The axial position of the rod and the corresponding applied con-
trol current at EM poles are shown in Fig. 13. The root mean square
of applied current is about 1.53 A. The rod stroke is 2 cm. The ap-
plied current is composed of a constant current command, 2 A,
and the incremental (control) current to account for the back elec-
tromotive force such that the preset rod stroke can be retained. On
the other hand, the proposed MLLA does not need any inverter to
generate sinusoidal current. A constant stroke can be easily
achieved because of the cooperation of the PM Halbach array and
EM poles around the cylindrical frame. In other words, the stroke
can be xed once the number of PMs (i.e., the length of Halbach ar-
ray) and the number of EM poles are both xed. The axial thrust
forces under different applied currents are shown in Fig. 14. The er-
ror of axial thrust force by theory, with respect to the actual mea-
surement, is less than 5%. The axial thrust force is almost linearly
proportional to the applied current. The axial thrust force versus
the axial positions of rod as the applied current is retained at 1 A
is shown in Fig. 15. The actual measured thrust force quite agrees
with the estimation by theory, either by FEM or GEA.
From Figs. 14 and 15, it is observed that the GEA simulation re-
sults meet the experimental analysis better than FEM. Though the
commercial software, ANSOFT, is convenient for magnetic ux
analysis, the transient motions of the MLLA, especially subjected
to the cross-axis coupling effect, in multiple axes cannot be accu-
rately obtained. On the other hand, in our work (i.e., by GEA) the
magnetized ux distributions by the PMs (Eq. (4)) and the current
density at EMs (Eq. (9)) are approximated by Fourier series. Owing
to nite number of the harmonic components in the GEA simula-
tions, the magnetized ux distributions and current density cannot
be exactly evaluated. Therefore, there still exists minor difference
between GEA and measured axial thrust forces by experiments.
6. Conclusions
A novel Magnetically Levitated Linear Actuator (MLLA) with a
Halbach magnetized moving-magnet armature for linear compres-
sors applications is proposed. Governing Equations Analysis (GEA)
to estimate the magnetic eld distributions, the axial thrust force
and the lateral magnetic repulsive force is undertaken. The accu-
racy of the GEA has been veried by comparison with Finite Ele-
ment Method (FEM). It has been shown that the estimation error
by GEA, with respect to FEM, is less than 5%. The estimation of axial
Fig. 12. Test rig of MLLA.
Fig. 13. Axial displacement of rod and applied control current.
Fig. 14. Axial thrust forces versus applied current.
Fig. 15. Axial thrust forces versus axial positions of rod.
602 N.-C. Tsai, C.-W. Chiang / Mechatronics 20 (2010) 596603
thrust force by GEA has also been validated by experimental
measurements. Because of the inherent limit of ANSOFT, the GEA
simulation results meet the experimental analysis better. The pro-
posed GEA is more suitable for analysis and design of the MLLA.
Owing to the Halbach magnetized armature and the EM poles de-
sign, the sinusoidal thrust force can be generated without need of
any inverters. The radial magnetic repulsive force, due to the eddy
currents induced at the cylindrical frame, exerting on the rod is
investigated. Once the position of the rod is laterally deviated from
the central position, the rod is automatically pushed back by the
magnetic repulsive force. That is, the proposed MLLA possesses
the self-centering capability, without need of any additional cur-
rent for radial position regulation. Finally, the efcacy of the pro-
posed MLLA is examined and veried by intensive computer
simulations and experiments. The proposed MLLA has been veri-
ed by experiments to retain constant stroke and superior servo
capability at various frequencies.
Acknowledgment
This research was partially supported by National Science
Council (Taiwan) with Grant 98-2221-E-006-184-MY3. The
authors would like to express their appreciation.
Appendix A
Dene the following coefcients:
a
II
n

K
0
x
n
r
E

I
0
x
n
r
E

A1
b
I
n

K
0
x
n
r
S

I
0
x
n
r
S

A2
P a
II
n
I
0
x
n
r
P
K
0
x
n
r
P
A3
Q
1
l
1
a
II
n
I
1
x
n
r
P
K
1
x
n
r
P

_
A4
R a
II
n
I
0
x
n
r
C
K
0
x
n
r
C

_
e
jxt
A5
S
x
n
l
2
x
c
n
a
II
n
I
1
x
n
r
C
K
1
x
n
r
C

_
e
jxt
A6
N
1

2c
2
M
rn
I
0
x
n
r
S
x
2
n

M
zn
I
0
x
n
r
S
x
n
A7
N
2

2c
2
M
rn
x
2
n
A8
N
3

c
1
r
c
2
r
_ _
M
rn
x
n
A9
A
I
n
, B
I
n
, B
II
n
, A
III
n
and B
III
n
are the solutions of the following linear
equations:
I b
I
n
0 0 0
I
0
x
n
r
P
K
0
x
n
r
P
P 0 0
I
1
x
n
r
P
K
1
x
n
r
P
Q 0 0
0 0 R I
0
x
c
n
r
C
K
0
x
c
n
r
C

I
1
x
c
n
r
C
K
1
x
c
n
r
C

_
_

_
A
I
n
B
I
n
B
II
n
A
III
n
B
III
n
_

_
_

N
1
N
2
N
3
0
0
_

_
_

_
A10
and
A
II
n
a
II
n
B
II
n
A11
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