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Study of the influence of ferromagnetic

material on the characteristics of an actuator
based on ferrofluid and permanent magnets

Conference Paper October 2012

DOI: 10.1109/ICEPE.2012.6463838

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 Study of The Influence of Ferromagnetic Material on
the Characteristics of an Actuator Based on Ferrofluid
and Permanent Magnets
Alexandru Arcire, Radu Olaru and Camelia Petrescu
Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi
Iasi, Romania
e-mail: arcire_alexandru@yahoo.com
Abstract An electromagnetic actuator with a movable
nonmagnetic disc immersed in a ferrofluid that is exposed to a
non-uniform magnetic field generated by permanent magnets is
presented. The position of the levitated disc is stably controlled
by the current in a command coil. Numerical simulations and
experimental tests show that the actuator has linear transfer
characteristics. The effect of utilization of ferromagnetic material
in the magnetic circuit of the actuator is studied. The current to
force and current to displacement characteristics emphasize the
influence of these materials and how these characteristics can be
improved. For example, using a cylindrical case made of
ferromagnetic material, a significant increase of the force is
obtained.
Keywords-electromagnetic actuator; ferrofluid; permanent
magnets
I. INTRODUCTION
A ferrofluid is a colloidal suspension of small (10 nm,
typically) ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic particles in an
appropriate carrier liquid. Combination of fluidic and
magnetic properties of ferrofluid is exploited in many
innovative engineering devices. These devices are either
mechanical (e.g., rotary seals, passive bearings and inertial
dampers) or electromechanical (e.g., loudspeakers, stepper
motors and sensors). Applications of ferrofluids were
studied for various sensing and actuation devices because of
their main characteristics, magnetic proprieties and flow
capability.
In a non-uniform field the whole fluid responds as a
homogeneous magnetic liquid which moves to the region of
highest flux. Some actuators use a non-magnetic body
immersed in the ferrofluid, its motion being controlled by
an exterior applied magnetic field.
The first type of actuator that uses this principle was
described in our papers published in 1999 and 2000 [1, 2].
A non-magnetic disc, immersed in a ferrofluid and placed
near a coil with a magnetic core, can be moved in
horizontal direction when a current passes through the coil,
thus transmitting a force and a displacement by means of a
rod articulated with an elastic thread. The actuator can be
with simple action (one magnetic inductor) or with double
action (differential, with two inductors). A double action
actuator was tested as a current to pressure transducer in an
electro-pneumatic converter [3].
This principle can be used in controlling the vertical motion
of a non-magnetic body. In [4, 5] the position feedback
control of such an actuator is studied. A stable position
control of the cylindrical nonmagnetic body was obtained in
a limited displacement region, inside the two coils supplied
with currents that create magnetic fluxes in opposition. The
principal drawbacks of the actuator are: stable levitation is
obtained for large currents, between 50% and 100% of the
current range and the drive force is very small.
Positioning systems using different actuator configurations
with a nonmagnetic body levitated in a ferrofluid are
described by Uhlmann et al. [6-8]. Several prototypes of
precision positioning systems were developed and
investigated, the influence on velocity and accuracy of
positioning being discussed [8]. Such a large scale
prototype with optimized magnetic field, using a coil with a
ferromagnetic core, a field former (ferromagnetic cylinder)
and a ferrofluid with cobalt particles, was able to position
loads of up to one kilogram, on small distances of 2-3 mm.
An innovating idea applied for the actuator described in [9]
consists in the use of two opposed permanent magnets to
create a powerful magnetic field gradient in a ferofluid that
contains a non-magnetic disc, whose motion is rigorously
and stably controlled by the current in the coil. In this way
larger drive forces can be generated for the same actuator
size, than in the case of ferofluid actuators presented in
literature and described above. At the same time an increase
in actuator efficiency and in the linearity of the transfer
characteristics, current to force and current to displacement,
is obtained.
In this paper the effect of utilization of ferromagnetic
material in the magnetic circuit of an actuator similar to that
mentioned above, based on ferrofluid and permanent
magnets, is studied. The current to force and current to
displacement characteristics emphasize the effect of these
materials and how these characteristics can be improved.
 II. FUNCTIONAL PRINCIPLE OF THE ACTUATOR WITH NON- ferrofluid, d = M H = constant, can be defined, so that
MAGNETIC BODY IN A FERROFLUID PREMAGNETIZED BY
PERMANENT MAGNETS M= d H ;
The attractive magnetic force on ferrofluid per unit volume - the magnetic pressure is constant on the circular disc
is given by equation (1), [10]:
surface of area A so that the force is A p ;
m
G - the magnetic field disturbance caused by the non-
f m = 0 M H (1)
magnetic body can be neglected.

where 0 is the permeability of vacuum, M is the

magnetization of the ferrofluid and H is the magnetic field.
Self-levitation of a permanent magnet or levitation of a
non-magnetic body in a ferrofluid is also attributed to the
magnetic force [10-12]:

G
Fm = -V 0 M H (2)

where V is the volume of body or magnet volume.

The force acting on a non-magnetic body immersed in a Figure 1. Functional principle of the actuator.
ferrofluid in the presence of a magnetic field is formulated as
[11]: In these conditions and in the absence of the coil current, if
the non-magnetic disc is disposed in the middle region of the
G ferrofluid at equal distances from the two magnets, the
G
Fm = [- 0 M H + ( b - Ff ) g ]V (3) magnetic forces acting on the two disc faces are equal and in
opposite directions having the expression:

where b and Ff are body density and ferrofluid density,

HM
respectively. H M2
In the case of levitation F = 0 , in order to move the body
F1 = F2 = 0 0
AM M dH = 0 d A
2
(5)

upwards it is necessary that F < 0 and to move it downwards,

F > 0 . For stable levitation of a buoyant body such that a H
where M is the magnetic field produced by the two magnets
positive restoring force accompanies any small displacement in the ferrofluid near the circular non-magnetic body surfaces
from equilibrium, it is required that H>0 [11]. This is possible
if we ensure two magnetic fields in the ferofluid in opposite and M M = d H M is the corresponding magnetization.
directions produced by coils or permanent magnets.
When the coil is fed with a current I, having the direction
The principle of the double effect actuator that uses a non- HI ,
magnetic body immersed in a ferrofluid differentially pre- given in Fig. 1, the magnetic field produced by the coil,
magnetized by two magnets is illustrated in Fig. 1. In order to adds with the pre-existent field
H M , resulting in new
determine the magnetic force exerted on the non-magnetic expressions of the antagonistic forces:
body immersed in the ferrofluid, the expression of the magnetic
pressure pm, given by the ferrodynamic Bernoulli equation [11]
is used: 0 d A A
( H M + H I ) 2 ; F2 = 0 d (H M H I ) (6)
2
F1 =
2 2
H
pm = 0 M dH (4) Thus, in a first approximation, the magnetic levitation force
0 may be expressed by the relation:

The following simplifying assumptions are made:

Fm = F1 - F2 = 2 0 d AH M H I (7)
- the magnetic field of the two magnets ensures a
magnetization in the linear or quasi-linear zone of the ferrofluid
characteristic M(H), where a differential susceptibility of the Since the magnetic field produced by the coil is of the form
H I = kI , where k [m-1] is a coefficient that depends on the
geometry of the coil and the number of coil windings, the final
expression for the magnetic force on the non-magnetic body
placed at equal distances from the two magnets is: 40

30
Fm = 2 0 kAM M I (8)

Fm (mN)
20
Although eq. (8) does not serve to calculate accurately
the value of the magnetic force, it has the advantage of
simplicity in expression and interpretation, mentioning the 10
main quantities and how they are involved in generating the
force.
0
It may be concluded that, according to (8), the force 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
delta I (A) -plot 1, 2
produced by the actuator in Fig. 1 is directly proportional with I(A) - plot 3
the coil current, with the circular disc area and with the initial plot 1 - differential current variation, disc in central position
ferrofluid polarization or magnetization. plot 2 - differential current variation, disc in position where Fm is max.
plot 3 -currents in opposite directions, disc in position where Fm is max.
III. NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE EFFECT OF
FERROMAGNETIC MATERIAL IN THE ACTUATOR STRUCTURE Figure 3. Effect of ferrofluid pre-magnetization by means of a polarization
An appropriate method for the determination of the current I 0 =0.5A for the characteristic magnetic force versus current.
magnetic force is by means of COMSOL Multiphysics. 3.5a,
using Virtual Work for Perpendicular Currents, a predefined
multiphysics mode that combines the azimuthal induction
currents (emqa), sensitivity analysis (sa) and parameterized
geometry (pg) modes.

(a)

Figure 2. Actuator configuration for the study of the effect of permanent

magnets and feromagnetic core and casing.

The model in Fig. 2 is used for numerical simulations

concerning the effect of introducing ferromagnetic material in
the ferrofluid actuator structure, with or without pre-
magnetizing magnets. In order to obtain a linear transfer
characteristic and a double action effect two solutions can be
used: either a) an initial active ferrofluid magnetization by
means of a current I0 and a differential command current (b)
( I 0 I ) as we demonstrated before in [9], (Fig. 3), or b) a Figure 4. The magnetic force versus current for: (a) active pre-magnetization
of the ferrofluid with a current I = I 0 I , I 0 = 0.5 A (differential
passive ferrofluid magnetization with permanent magnets and a
command current), when the coil core is air (1) or a ferromagnetic cylinder
command current with values in the range (0 I max ) . (2); (b) passive pre-magnetization by permanent magnets without (3) and with
ferromagnetic casing (4).
 The results of the COMSOL simulations are presented in
Fig. 4. The following cases are considered: (1) the two coils are
filled with air; (2) the coils are filled with ferromagnetic
cylinders (r=500); (3) permanent magnets with identical poles
face to face, r=1, Br=1.2 T, are placed inside the coils; (4) a
configuration identical to case (3), but with a 3 mm thick
ferromagnetic shield (casing), having r=500. As may be seen
the actuator generates the highest forces in the case when the
permanent magnets and the ferromagnetic casing are used, the
latter acting as a mechanical protection as well as a magnetic
field former.
IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The actuator with non-magnetic disc levitated in a
ferrofluid pre-magnetized by permanent magnets is illustrated
in Fig. 5. The two ring shaped permanent magnets, with poles
of the same name face to face, are fixed inside the coil casing
(frame). In the space between the two magnets is disposed a
container which houses a ferrofluid and a non-magnetic disc.
The actuator force and the disc displacement are transmitted
outside by means of a rod. The prototype contains a coil with
1750 windings of Copper 0.55 mm. The non-magnetic disc,
made of a polyamidic material, has a diameter of 14 mm and a
height of 10 mm. The top and bottom ring magnets in Fig. 5
are Nd-Fe-B, type R-15-06-06-N magnets
(www.supermagnete.de): with the characteristics 15/6 mm,
H= 6 mm, remanent flux density Br = 1.3 T. The ferrofluid
used (Art. FER-02, P196, www.supermagnete.de) is made with
hydrocarbons similar to those found in motor oil. We measured
an initial magnetic susceptibility, i = 1.2 and an initial
magnetic relative permeability, ri =2.2, respectively.
Figure 5. Actuator with nonmagnetic disc levitated in a ferrofluid subjected
to differential pre-magnetization by two permanent magnets.
Fig. 6 illustrates the dependence of the actuator output
displacement d on the distance between the two magnets and
also on the ferromagnetic rings disposed between magnets and
container. Note that with increasing distance between the
magnets the actuator output displacement increases for the
same current in the coil. Putting ferromagnetic rings in the
space between magnets and container leads to an increase in
the output displacement. With magnets on the container, the
characteristic current versus displacement is practically linear,
but the non-linearity increases with the distance between
magnets. The use of thicker rings, 3 mm instead of 2 mm, does
not produce a significant improvement of the characteristic.
Fig. 7 shows the effect of using a ferromagnetic casing in
the force to current characteristic for the equilibrium position
of the nonmagnetic disc, when the magnets are mounted on the
container. The force increases considerably due to the
improvement in the magnetic field distribution in the device, as
suggests and simulation carried out in chapter III, Fig. 4.
Figure 6. Displacement vs current plot: a-magnets on container; b1-magnets
with spacer of 1 mm thickness; b2-magnets with ferromagnetic rings of 1 mm
thickess;c1-magnets with spacer of 2 mm thickness; c2-magnets with
ferromagnetic rings of 2 mm thickness; d1- magnets with spacers of 3 mm
thickness; d2-magnets with ferromagnetic rings of 3 mm thickness.
Figure7. Force vs. current plot: amagnets on container; b-magnets on
container and ferromagnetic casing of 3 mm thickness.
Fig. 8 shows the effect the ferromagnetic casing on the
force versus current characteristic, when the magnets are
outdistanced 2mm from the recipient, with and without 2mm
thick ferromagnetic discs. It is to note that by entering the
actuator in a ferromagnetic casing, the force increases, in
particular for small and medium values of the current in the its
range of variation.
 In the presence of the 2 mm thick ferromagnetic rings the
force maintains greater values than the force exerted in the case
when the magnets are on the container for high current values.
However, adding the ferromagnetic casing in the case of usage
of 2 mm thick ferromagnetic rings, does not lead to a
significant improvement of the current to force characteristic
(curves b and c).
Figure 8. Force vs. current plot: amagnets on container; b-magnets with
ferromagnetic rings of 2 mm thickness; c magnets with ferromagnetic rings
of 2 mm thickness and ferromagnetic casing of 3mm thickness; d-magnets
with spacer of 2 mm thickness and ferromagnetic casing of 3 mm thickness.
V. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper an actuator with a non-magnetic body levitated in
a ferrofluid pre-magnetized by permanent magnets is
described. In comparaison with conventional devices, the
actuator has the advantage of simplicity in design and
construction, high reliability due to the existence of a
minimum number of moving mechanical parts, and a large
range for the electrical current used to generate a desired
magnetic field.
The prototype was realized using high energy ring
magnets of mass production. The actuator transfer
characteristics, force vs. current and displacement vs. current,
are practically linear. The actuator provided a stroke of 6
mm and a maximum thrust force of 180 mN for a 1.1 A
current passing through the coil.
The effect of the use of certain ferromagnetic materials in
the actuator structure, such as rings arranged in the space
between the container and the magnets or an outer casing, was
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evaluated by simulation and experiment. Thus, the slope of the
current to displacement characteristic increases even more
with the distance between magnets (within a limited range of
distance), when in the space between the magnets and the
recipient ferromagnetic rings are placed. At the same time, the
force generated by actuator increases with the distance
between magnets when ferromagnetic rings are used. The
presence of rings and outer ferromagnetic casing does not lead
to a major increase in the generated force. Instead, having the
magnets on the recipient and using the ferromagnetic casing,
the biggest increase of force (about 40%) is obtained and the
force characteristic remains linear.
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