5 74

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 24, NO. 4, JULYIAUGUST 1988

Finite-Element Analysis of a Constant-Force Solenoid for Fluid Flow Control

larly for solenoid applications calling for long valve motions. While solenoid force outputs Fmag generally depend on the coil current Z and plunger position x

Abstruct-The shape of a solenoid plunger determines its force-versusposition characteristics. In particular, it is possible to design solenoids having force values that are quasi-independent of position, a desirable feature for valve positioning in fluid flow control schemes. The complicated plunger geometry of these solenoids can be conveniently optimized in the design process using a finite-element model. Moreover, the use of such a numerical approach gives more insights into the respective roles of the various portions of the plunger and facing pole geometry, and provides a better understanding of the working principle of these devices than has been previously presented in the literature. A model for constant-force solenoids based on the finite-element method is presented. The total force exerted by the solenoid is calculated and compared to test results. The force calculation algorithm is also used to determine the force distribution pattern around the plunger surface and to provide a detailed analysis of the solenoid structure. The model was successfully implemented to improve a solenoid design, and the experimentally measured output forces of both the original and improved versions are compared.

Fmag=f(ZI

X)

(1)

the appropriate choice of plunger configuration can remove the position dependency, i.e.:
Fmag

=f(O

(2)

If the solenoid armature works against a spring of stiffness k, equilibrium points, illustrated in Fig. 1, are reached when
Fmag

+ Fspring = f ( O- kx = 0
1

(3)

or

I. INTRODUCTION

x =- f ( Z ) . k

(4)

HE control of fluid flow requires a mechanism that is capable of adapting a valve position to the desired output flow. The use of a position sensor is ruled out in applications where high production volume and low cost are important, and therefore actuating devices that provide a direct relation between the input and the valve position are more desirable. Stepper motors are used when rotary motion and/or discrete positioning is desired. With an appropriate gear, they can be used for linear valve motion as well. However, their construction cost limits their range of application to actuating valves with long travel distances. For shorter strokes, of the order of one inch or less, solenoids producing a force that depends only on the current input, and not on position, represent a superior choice. They are simple devices and are therefore amenable to mass production. The valve position can be varied continuously over the entire range, instead of the discrete positions of stepper motors. Moreover, the valve position at any point in time is independent of previous control history. In addition, with a current sensor in the solenoid drive, the influence of temperature is eliminated. However, their force-per-volume ratio is smaller than that of conventional solenoids, particuPaper IPCSD 8 7 4 , approved by the Electric Machines Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation at the 1987 Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, October 19-23. Manuscript released for publication December 14, 1987. The author is with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, General Motors Research Laboratories, Warren, MI 48090-9055. IEEE Log Number 8820170.

If the functionfis linear, controllability is greatly facilitated since the valve equilibrium positions are then proportional to the coil current. Because of the linearity off, these solenoids are sometimes referred to as linear solenoids. To obtain the desired magnetic force characteristic, with no dependency on armature position, the plunger geometry must be carefully optimized. Because of the complexity of such geometry a closed-form solution must be ruled out. Numerical techniques such as finite elements stand out as inexpensive alternatives to cut and try approaches [ 11 for design optimization. In this paper a finite-element model is used to provide an understanding of the respective roles of the various portions of the plunger and facing pole. An example of design optimization is given, along with relevant test data. 11. SOLENOID MODEL A typical constant-force solenoid is shown in Fig. 2, along with the valve it actuates. The pressure of the fluid on the valve is neutralized by a diaphragm at the bottom of the solenoid housing. This is accomplished by allowing the fluid to flow to the other side of the diaphragm through a hole in the shaft (fluid flow indicated by arrows on figure). The solenoid itself is cylindrical and centered around a shaft supporting the plunger. The axisymmetry allows one to analyze only a radial cross section (represented in Fig. 2@). The magnetic circuit (shaded portions) includes the plunger, which is a truncated cone in its lower part and faces a similarly shaped pole. The plunger rests on a bearing around which the coil is wound.

OO93-9994/88/07OO-0574$01.OO

0 1988 IEEE

LEQUESNE: CONSTANT-FORCE SOLENOID FOR FLUID FLOW CONTROL

575

500 mA

400 mA
a
Y

e
300 mA
200 mA

0 0
Stroke

Fig. 1. Solenoid and spring force-stroke characteristics.

Plunger

Solenoid
Airgap
Return Spring

Plunger

nng Brass Sleeve Rea1

Core
Diaphragm

cor1
Airgap

Return S p r l n g

Valve

Fluid Flow

(a) Fig. 2.

(b)

Solenoid and valve assembly, (a) Valve mechanism. (b) Solenoid radial cross section.

The electromagnetic analysis was conducted using a numerical method, namely, General Motors (GM) finite-element program ANTIC85 [2]-[5]. The calculations are performed in two steps. First, the magnetic flux density is calculated at each point of the solenoid by solving the following static equation

v x (UV x 6)=J
where
u

from a piecewise linear approximation of the magnetic materials B-H curve. In the second step, the field solution is used to calculate electromagnetic forces on the plunger, or on portions thereof. The Maxwell stress tensor method is used, and the force is obtained by computing the following integral [6], [7]:

(5)

Fmag =
where

SS T
S

dS

(6)

$ I
j

material reluctivity, magnetic vector potential (MVP), current density in the coil windings.

stress tensor in dyadic form,

The solution routine is based on Amperes law applied at the

S surface upon which the force is exerted.

The stress tensor is a function of the flux density in the air on the plunger surface. Equation (6) is exact, even if the field is not perpendicular to the airliron bounding surface. Therefore,

nodes of a triangular mesh. Equation (5) is solved iteratively, using successive overrelaxation, to take saturation into account. The reluctivity v is calculated, at each iteration step,

576
0

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 24, NO. 4, JULYIAUGUST 1988

I I
I

I
I
I
I
I

I
Fig. 3.

For the purpose of model verification, the force characteristics as calculated from the finite-element analysis are compared with experimental data in Fig. 5. The force-versusposition curves are shown for three values of ampere-turns (from bottom to top: 300 At, 500 At, 700 At). A very good agreement can be observed. The small discrepancies are well within measurement imprecisions. The model was therefore considered suitable for the analysis and design optimization of the solenoid. Ideally the force characteristics should be flat. However, as Fig. 5 shows, they peak at some position which depends on the level of ampere-turns. The reasons for this will become apparent in the following sections.
111. SOLENOID ANALYSIS

Flux patterns. (a) Position 0 mm. (b) Position 4 mm. (c) Position 7 mrn.

A . Force Patterns A better understanding of the working principle of the device can be achieved by analyzing the force distribution on the plunger. Fig. 6 shows the resulting pattern for 500 At and various positions ranging from 0 mm to 7 mm. The force characteristics on the various plunger parts are shown in the figure; they can be divided into three segments. At small displacements (0-1 mrn), the force on the tapered part predominates. At medium displacements (2-4 mm) the force on the flat part is the dominant one. This shift of force from the tapered part to the flat part of the plunger is crucial in bringing about the desired flat-force characteristics. When the airgap is small, the flux is large but goes mainly through the tapered surface. Because of the sharp angle of the taper only a small portion of the large flux contributes to the axial useful force. When the airgap is larger, the flux is smaller, but a larger portion of it goes through the flat surface, where it contributes in full to the useful force. The third segment of the force characteristics corresponds to displacements beyond 5 mm. The bottom of the plunger is then higher than the top of the pole. The force drops rapidly with the distance x at an approximate rate of 1/x2, which is typical of conventional flat-face solenoids. This part of the curve is undesirable. In fact, with the magnetic force acting against a spring (see Fig. l), such a slope will provide poorly stable operating points. This suggests that, in general, one should avoid operating points where the plunger is higher than the pole. Finally, Fig. 6 also shows the negative force (pull back) applied to the plunger by the flux going through its upper surface. This pull-back is relatively important at low displacements, where it severely reduces the useful force (- 0.9 N at position 0 mm for + 3.8 N of useful force).

125

i i i
i
i

Fig. 4. Flux densities ( T ) . (a) Position 0 mm; 700 At. (b) Position 4 mm; 500 At.

and since flux densities throughout were calculated with actual material reluctivities, it follows that the calculated forces take full account of saturation. Through the proper definition of the surface S, one can obtain the magnetic force, either on the whole plunger or on any particular section of its surface. In that respect, and by selecting S small enough, the actual force distribution pattern on the plunger can be determined. This was found to be a powerful tool for the solenoid analysis process. Flux patterns for various plunger positions (0,4, and 7 mm) B. Influence of Geometric Parameters are shown in Fig. 3. All cases are computed with a current A parametric study was conducted by varying the geometric excitation of 500 At. Only the boundaries of the magnetic parameters, one at a time. Of particular importance is the circuit (shaded portions of Fig. 2(b) are shown in Fig. 3. Fig. geometry of the two airgaps and the areas surrounding them. 4 shows flux densities around the core, in particular for the In the main airgap, these parameters are the shape of the pole worst case, with the smallest displacement (position 0 mm) (its width); the angle of the taper; the shape of the plunger and the largest ampere-turns (700 At). Except for local areas (width of flat part and length of tapered portion); and finally, of saturation (especially the pole), the device is mostly the respective lengths of plunger and pole. The geometry was studied for a total stroke of 7 mm. unsaturated.

LEQUESNE: CONSTANT-FORCE SOLENOID FOR FLUID FLOW CONTROL

577
M Theorettcal 0 0 Experimental

PLUNGER
M Axial (Useful) Net Force

0-- -0

U........U Force on flat part

Force on upper part Upper Pan

Force on Tapered part

Fig. 6. Force distribution on plunger.

I) Pole Width: Fig. 7(a) shows the resulting force characteristic of a solenoid with a narrow pole while Fig. 7(b) corresponds to a wider pole. A narrow pole reduces the force at higher displacements because it saturates. However, this saturation is beneficial at smaller values of displacement because the fringing flux going through the flat part of the plunger also contributes to the force, and fringing flux is favored by saturation. Still wider poles than the case of Fig.

7(b) were found to bring no difference because the iron in the pole is then completely unsaturated. In order for local saturation not to mask any change in force patterns, all subsequent curves are calculated with a widened pole. 2) Taper Angle: The influence of the taper angle is shown in Fig. 8. The largest angle value corresponds to almost no flat part in the plunger. With such a taper, the airgap is rather large

578

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 24, NO. 4, JULYIAUGUSTI988

I
500 A t

Stroke ( m m )

Fig. 7.

Influence of pole width on force. (a) Narrow. (b) Wide.

I ';I8
7.50
15'
1

5
Stroke (rnm)

Fig. 8. Influence of taper angle on force

at large displacements. The consequence is a sharp drop in force with increasing displacement. The smallest angle corresponds to no taper at all, that is, 0" angle and a flat-face plunger. The force configuration is then reversed, and the force is very small at small displacements when most of the flux is radial and does not contribute to the force. The force may even become negative if the pull-back on the upper surface of the plunger is strong enough. These findings further support earlier remarks saying that the dominant force shifts from the flat part of the plunger to the taper as the plunger moves downward. It also illustrates the sharp differences in force characteristics that can be obtained by varying the plunger geometry. The desired flat characteristic will be obtained with an angle balancing the two components of the plunger geometry, the flat and tapered parts. As can be observed in Fig. 5, the force peaks at some position, and this peak shifts towards higher displacements as the number of ampere-turns increases. It seems desirable to choose a taper angle such that the peak of force corresponds to the highest displacement with the highest level of current. This will provide a positive slope of magnetic force versus displacement for most values of ampere-turns, helping stability when this force is opposed by the spring (see Fig. 1). 3) Shape of Plunger: Keeping the angle of the taper

constant (7.5") and varying the width of the narrow flat part, the plunger length is accordingly long or short. As shown in Fig. 9, a narrow flat part favors low displacements. These observations are also in line with earlier remarks about the balance of forces on the flat and tapered portions of the plunger. 4) Lengths of Plunger and Pole: Fig. 10 shows the influence of changing the height of the pole. Varying the length of the plunger was found to have similar effect. The change of length has an effect comparable to a shift in the definition of the zero position of stroke. The peak shifts by approximately as much as the pole is lengthened or shortened. With a short pole at the 7-mm position, the bottom surface of the plunger and the top surface of the pole are at the same level. There is already a significant drop in force because the airgap is rather large. With a long pole the force at position 1 mm is very low because the tapered surfaces of the pole and plunger, which face each other, are very long and leave little fringing flux to apply a force on the flat part. Again these findings concur with earlier remarks suggesting that the best geometry will be such that the top of the pole should be approximately level with the bottom of the plunger at its largest displacement. 5) Secondary Airgap Design: While the secondary airgap

LEQUESNE: CONSTANT-FORCE SOLENOID FOR FLUID FLOW CONTROL

At the Smallest Displacement. the T w at the Plunger IS 1 mm above Top of Pole 0- --O Level with Top of Pole 0-0 1 mm below Top of Pole

579

a 0

--

500 At

z
Y 0

-Wide

g 4 -

Narrow

2t
I
Fig. 9.

500 A I

I
1

,
5
Stroke (mm)

'I'
Stroke (mm) Pull-Back Farce

Influence of plunger shape on force. (a) Narrow. (b) Medium. (c) Wide.

Longer Pole

Fig. 11. Influence of secondary pole position on force.

____-

MediumPo~~t~on(------) ShorlerPole

(-------)

6 -

z
m

4 -

?
2 500At

5
1

Stroke (mm)

The airgap length should be as short as practically possible. Less reluctance can also be obtained by lengthening the pole, which reduces the flux density, and hence the MMF drop, in the airgap. If the secondary pole is too long, however, there will be leakage from one pole to the other. The second problem could be solved by either lengthening the plunger or lowering the pole. However, a long plunger increases the overall solenoid volume, and a lower pole reduces the area available for the coil. The final solution must therefore be a compromise between minimum overall volume and maximum coil area. Fig. 11 shows three curves where the top of plunger at the lowest displacement is either level, 1 mm above, or 1 mm below the top of the pole. The pull-back force, i.e., the negative force exerted on the top surface of the plunger, is also shown. The best choice is when the plunger is level or slightly above the pole at its lowest displacement. If the plunger goes further down, the drop in force becomes significant for very little gain in overall volume. IV. NEWDESIGN The solenoid analysis presented in this paper was used to improve the solenoid described in Fig. 2, and a new design was proposed (Fig. 12). The main differences are a new secondary pole design; the travel of the plunger with respect to the pole-at the largest displacement the bottom of the plunger is about level with the top of the pole, and at small displacements the plunger is lower in the new design; a smaller taper angle;

Fig. 10. Influence of plunger length on force.

(upper airgap on Figs. 2 and 3) is necessary to allow the plunger motion, it is detrimental in two respects. It causes an MMF drop. Depending on its shape, some leakage flux will enter the plunger through its upper part, creating a pull-back on the plunger. This force can be critical at small displacements (see Fig. 6). The first problem can be corrected by reducing the airgap reluctance as much as possible. There are two means to this.

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 24, NO. 4, JULYIAUGUST 1988

i
i

i i i
Solenoid optimization. (a) Original design. (b) New design
M N e w Design
0- - - -0 Orlglnal Dealon

Fig. 12.

I 1

I 2

I 4

Stroke (rnrnl

Fig. 13.

Force level improvement.

a larger main pole; the relationship between equilibrium positions of the plunger a larger main pole base. and ampere-turns. Fig. 14 illustrates the latter point. If both The travel of the plunger is such that plunger and pole designs are fitted with the same spring (a spring with the force always face each other. This provides for a full 7-mmstroke characteristic shown in Fig. 13), one can deduce the equilibwith a flat characteristic. The larger pole base avoids a flux rium positions of the plunger for various levels of amperebottleneck. The larger pole (in the portion of the pole facing turns. Compared with an ideal straight line as in Fig. 14, the plunger) is such as to get the maximum yet constant force. experimentally determined equilibrium positions of the new Both designs were built, and Fig. 13 compares their design show much less dispersion than the ones of the former measured force characteristics. It shows improvements in two design. respects. First, the force is larger for all positions of the V. CONCLUSION plunger. Secondly, the force level is especially improved at higher displacements, resulting in flatter characteristics. This This paper has demonstrated that solenoids can be designed is particularly important because it improves the linearity of to provide a direct, linear, and continuous control of a valve

LEQUESNE: CONSTANT-FORCE SOLENOID FOR FLUID FLOW CONTROL

581

0
0

0 New Design
0 Original Design

200

400

600

800

1000

Ampere-Turns

Fig. 14. Equilibrium positions versus ampere-turns

position. The GM finite-element package was shown to be a powerful design tool, capable of accurate performance prediction. The analysis process showed the importance of the truncated cone shape of the plunger; of balancing the forces produced by the tapered and flat portions of the plunger surface; and of matching the respective positions of the plunger and of the facing pole. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author wishes to thank Paul Reinke and William Albertson of the GM Advanced Engineering Staff for their continued help and for providing test data.

analysis of electromagnetic devices, IEEE Trans. Mug., vol. MAG24, no. 1, Jan. 1988. [5] T. W. Nehl and A. M. Pawlak, Transient finite element modeling of solenoid actuators: The coupled power electronics, mechanical, and magnetic field problem, IEEE Truns. Mug., vol. MAG-24, no. 1, Jan. 1988. [6] D. A. Lowther and P. P. Silvester, Computer Aided Design in Magnetics. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1986. [7] H. H. Woodson and J. R. Melcher, Electromechunical Dynamics. John Wiley, 1968.

REFERENCES
[I]

H. C. Roters, Electromagnetic Devices, 3rd Ed. New York: John

Wiley, 1967. [2] J. A. MacBain, A numerical analysis of time-dependent twodimensional magnetic fields, IEEE Truns. Mug., vol. MAG-17, no. 6, pp. 3259-3261, NOV. 1981. [3] J. A. MacBain, Magnetic field simulation from a voltage source, IEEE Truns. Mug., vol. MAG-19, no. 5, Sept. 1983. [4] T. W. Nehl, A. M. Pawlak, N. Mikhaeil-Boules, ANTIC85: A general purpose finite element package for computer aided design and

Bruno P. Lequesne (M85) graduated from the &ole Superieure dElectricite, France, in 1978, with the certified engineer degree, and received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, in 1984. He is currently a Staff Research Engineer with the General Motors Research Laboratories in Warren, MI, where his research interests are primarily in the area of the design, analysis, and control of electromagnetic devices, and linear actuators in particular. Dr. Lequesne is a 1nember of the IEEE Industry Applications Society, where he serves on the Electric Machines Committee.