Sensors and Actuators A 157 (2010) 185197

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Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sna

Design, analysis and simulation of magnetostrictive actuator and its application

to high dynamic servo valve
S. Karunanidhi a, , M. Singaperumal b
a
b

Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad 500069, India

Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai 600036, India

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 28 April 2009
Received in revised form
18 September 2009
Accepted 15 November 2009
Available online 24 November 2009
Keywords:
Flappernozzle servo valve
Magnetostrictive actuator
Permanent magnet bias
Mechatronics

a b s t r a c t
Flappernozzle type Electro Hydraulic Servo Valve (EHSV) operated by conventional torque motor actuators has been used in wide range of industrial applications. As their bandwidths are limited, they are
not suitable for high-speed applications. The work presented in this paper deals with the mechatronic
approach for the design of a magnetostrictive actuator with exure amplier and a magnetically biased
magnetostrictive actuator for application in high frequency appernozzle servo valve. A magnetostrictive actuator has been designed, built and integrated into an existing appernozzle servo valve by
replacing the torque motor. Incorporating the dynamics of the magnetostrictive actuator, the dynamics
of the valve was simulated. Necessary parameters for the actuator have been arrived by nite element
model. No load ow characteristics are analyzed and compared with experimental values. Step response
has been compared with conventional valve. The results show that the valve has satisfactory static and
dynamic characteristics for applications in high-speed actuation systems.
2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Hydraulic actuation systems are used in aerospace and industrial applications where high power density, high dynamic
performance, robustness and over load capability are desired. In
a hydraulic actuation system, the important element is the servo
valve, which is the interface between hydraulic device and electric device. The dynamic performance of hydraulic system depends
on the dynamic characteristics of servo valve. Conventional servo
valves are used in a variety of applications ranging from industrial
to aerospace, wherever accurate positioning requirement exists
within a frequency of 50100 Hz at 100% input signal for ow rate
of 10 l/min.
Typical two stage Electro Hydraulic Servo Valve (EHSV) is basically an electrically operated device, in which output ow is
proportional to input current. This consists of the rst stage electromagnetic torque motor with a appernozzle arrangement and
a bushing with sliding spool as second stage. Torque motor is used
to provide a force on the armature connected to a exure tube
and accordingly results in the movement of a apper between
two nozzles. Due to movement of the apper, there is a pressure
difference between the nozzleapper which is communicated

Correspondence author. Tel.: +91 9848827576; fax: +91 4024306174.

E-mail addresses: chitranidhi@yahoo.com (S. Karunanidhi),
msingam@yahoo.com (M. Singaperumal).
0924-4247/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.sna.2009.11.014

to the spool end chambers, thereby causing proportional spool

movement. The various design congurations of appernozzle
type EHSV and their dynamics have been carried out and are
available in textbooks [13]. These valves are not suitable for
high-speed applications due to limitation of the bandwidth in
the order of 50 Hz. The total performance of servo valve depends
on the performance of torque motor in pilot stage. The limitation of dynamic performance of torque motor limits the servo
valve performance. If the dynamic performance of the apper
moving mechanism is enhanced it leads to an improved dynamic
response of servo valve. With recent advancement in smart materials, bimorph materials can be used to realize special micro
actuators to drive the rst stage of the EHSV by replacing the
torque motor. These technologies can be used to realize servo
valves up to bandwidth of around 1000 Hz [4]. High frequency
servo valves nd applications in high cycle fatigue test system for
aerospace structures, high-speed motion simulators, high-speed
actuation system of aerospace and Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle, etc. are reported in Refs. [5,6]. Material selection for mechanical
design of micro sensors and micro actuators are discussed in Ref.
[7].
A design of apper incorporating an electrostrictive PMN (Lead
Magnesium Niobate) bimorph for the appernozzle arrangement
is discussed in Ref. [4]. The construction of apper has a multimorph
structure in which two PMN thin plates are bonded on both sides
of a phosphor bronze shim. When a high voltage is applied on the
electrodes between the two PMN plates, the structure enhances

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S. Karunanidhi, M. Singaperumal / Sensors and Actuators A 157 (2010) 185197

Nomenclature
an
as
Am
Ar
b
B
Beff
BI
Bm
Br
CH
Cq
Cqn
Cqo
d
dn
do
ds
dt
EH
fr
FB
G1
G2
H
Hr
Hg
Ho
Hc
Hm
i
J
Ja
Keff
Kf
Kfb
Kp
Kr
K3
Kt
lg
lm
lr
M
Meff
Mr
Ms
N
Pa Pb
Ps
Q
r
R
sH
S
T

v
W

area of nozzle (m2 )

area of spool (m2 )
area of magnet (m2 )
area of the Terfenol-D rod (m2 )
distance from the nozzle to the feedback spring end
(m)
ux density (wb/m2 )
effective damping of the magnetostrictive actuator
(N s/m)
ux at Terfenol-D rod (T)
ux at magnet (T)
residual induction (T)
compliance (m/N)
discharge coefcient
discharge coefcient of nozzle
discharge coefcient of xed orice
magnetostrictive cross coupling coefcient (m/A)
diameter of nozzle (m)
diameter of orice (m)
diameter of spool (m)
diameter of the Terfenol-D rod (m)
youngs modulus of the rod (GPa)
resonance frequency (Hz)
effective blocked force (N)
displacement gain
force coefcient
magnetic eld (A/m)
magnetic intensity in the actuator core (A/m)
magnetic eld at air gap (A/m)
magnetic bias (A/m)
coercive force (A/m)
magnetic eld intensity of magnet (A/m)
current applied (A)
current density (A/m2 )
armature rotational mass (Ns-m/rad)
effective stiffness of the system (N/m)
stiffness of apperexure assembly (N/m)
feedback spring stiffness (N/m)
stiffness of prestress spring (N/m)
stiffness of Terfenol-D rod (N/m)
spool valve gain (l/min/m)
torque motor constant (Nm/A)
length of the air gap (m)
length of magnet (m)
length of the Terfenol-D rod (m)
magnetization intensity (A/m)
effective mass of the system (kg)
mass of the magnetostrictive actuator (kg)
saturation magnetization intensity (A/m)
number of coil turns
differential pressure across the spool (MPa)
supply pressure (MPa)
ow rate (l/min)
distance from the apperexure point to the center
of nozzle (m)
resistance of coil ()
compliance coefcient at applied magnetic eld
(m2 /N)
mechanical strain (ppm)
mechanical prestress (MPa)
applied voltage (V)
width of control port (m)

Xnm
Xs
Z

s


r
T

maximum apper movement (m)

spool displacement (m)
servo valve parameter
magnetostriction (ppm)
saturation magnetostriction coefcient (ppm)
density of the Terfenol-D rod (kg/m3 )
permeability of medium (H/m)
relative permeability
permeability at constant stress (H/m)

tip displacement, generative force and response speed, causing it

to deect on either side of the appernozzle rst stage. Several
designs of servo valve with Piezo actuator technology have also
been reported [810].
Magnetostriction is the property that causes certain ferromagnetic materials to change shape in a magnetic eld. When
a magnetic eld is applied, magnetic domains in the crystal
rotate, providing proportional, positive and repeatable expansion
in microseconds. Magnetostrictive actuator can be used to directly
drive the spool valve is reported [11].
As seen from the above literature survey, it can be seen that
no attempt has been made to use magnetostrictive actuators to
directly drive the rst stage. Such a design will result in a higher
bandwidth for the Servo valve.
The advantage of this type of construction is that the number of
components is less and the actuator is not exposed to oil like valve
with bimorph actuator [4]. In addition, magnetostrictive actuators
have no moving parts and are therefore, mechanically less complex
than conventional torque motor. Hence reliability is higher than
conventional servo valve.
The main objective of the present work is the development of a
methodology for the design and validation of two types of magnetostrictive actuator congurations such as mechanically amplied
and permanent magnet biased construction. They have been integrated into the EHSV by replacing the torque motor as shown in
Fig. 1. No detailed design approaches and simulation of servo valves
with magnetostrictive actuators have been reported so far. Detailed
designs considering several parameters are presented. Further simulation and experimental results are also included.
2. Magnetostrictive actuator
Magnetostriction is the process by which a ferromagnetic material transforms from one shape to another in the presence of a

Fig. 1. Magnetostrictive actuator integrated into servo valve.

S. Karunanidhi, M. Singaperumal / Sensors and Actuators A 157 (2010) 185197

187

Table 1
Properties of Terfenol-D [1214].
Sl. No.

Terfenol-D property

Value range

1
2

Nominal composition
Density 

Tb0.3 D0.7 Fe1.92

9250 kg/m3

Mechanical properties
Compressive strength
Tensile strength
Youngs modulus EH
Youngs modulus EB
Sound speed

305880 MPa
2840 MPa
1075 GPa
3080 GPa
16401940 m/s

Thermal properties
Coefcient of thermal expansion
Specic heat coefcient
Thermal conductivity

12 ppm/ C
0.35 kJ/kg K @ 25 C
13.5 W/m K @ 25 C

Electrical properties
Resistivity

58 108 m

Magneto mechanical properties

Relative permeability T /0
Relative permeability S /0
Saturation magnetization
MS coupling coefcient K33
MS strain coefcient d33
MS quality factor QH

912
3.05.0
1.0 T
0.75
820 nm/A
3.020.0

5
6

Fig. 2. Actuator conguration.

magnetic eld. The solid-state phenomenon is a result of the rotation of small magnetic domains. Causing internal strain in the
material, these strains result in a positive expansion of the material in the direction of the magnetic eld. As the eld is increased,
more domains rotate and become aligned until magnetic saturation
is achieved. If the eld is reversed, the direction of the domains is
also reversed by the strain, still resulting in a positive expansion
in the eld direction. Since the magnetostrictive forces are molecular in origin, the mechanical response is very fast in a matter of
microseconds.
Terfenol-D, the highest strain room temperature magnetostrictive material known, is an alloy of Terbium, Dysprosium and Iron
Tbx Dy1x Fey stoichiometry is Tb0.3 Dy0.7 Fe1.95 and the composition
can be adjusted to meet device requirements such as temperature range [12]. In a Terfenol-D rod, a magnetic eld causes giant
magnetostriction, which is of the order of 10002000 ppm and is
large enough to apply the rod as an actuator. This movement at
the crystal structure provides proportional, positive and repeatable
expansions within microseconds.
Terfenol-D has the highest energy density. The continuous
cycling of Terfenol-D through temperature range has no residual
effect on its magnetostrictive performance, even if its curie temperature is exceeded. Typical strain amounts from Terfenol-D rods
are 0.001 per inch of exposed length in 500 Oe magnetic eld and
the properties of Terfenol-D are listed in Table 1.
High energy density allows Terfenol-D actuators to produce
higher forces than any other compact actuator. For high frequency
applications, Terfenol-D actuator possesses higher power density
than electromagnetic actuator [14].

assembled inside a protective housing to form the basic magneto

active induced-strain actuator. Though the Terfenol-D material has
been shown to be capable of up to 2000 ppm, its behavior is highly
nonlinear in both magnetic eld response and due to the effect
of compressive prestress. Manufacturers of magnetostrictive actuators optimize the internal prestress and magnetic bias to get a
quasi-linear behavior in the range of 7501000 ppm as shown in
Fig. 3 [1417].
2.2. Parameters of magnetostrictive actuator
The parameter of the magnetostrictive actuator for its force and
strain depends on the parameters prestress to the Terfenol-D rod
and magnetization. For bi-directional applications, the Terfenol-D
rod needs to be biased by using permanent magnet.
2.2.1. Prestress
The need for the prestress is two fold. First, because of the
nature of magneto-elastic coupling, the material can achieve better
performance when a prestress is applied. The magnetic domain orientation can be manipulated by changing the state of stress in the
material. As shown in Fig. 3, larger magnetostrictive strain can be
obtained with same magnetic eld, when the prestress is increased.
Second, the material can support little tensile or shear load. It is
quite strong in compression. Thus to avoid a risk of tensile loading,
a prestress housing is normally required.
2.2.2. Bias magnetization
The magnetostrictive transducer comprises of the magnetoelastic material and a surrounding coil. A current in the coil will
produce a magnetic eld in the magneto-elastic material. The

2.1. Conguration of magnetostrictive actuator

Magnetostrictive materials can also be used to produce an effective actuator. Fig. 2 [13] shows the layout of a magnetostrictive
actuator. It consists of a Terfenol-D bar surrounded by an electric
coil and enclosed into an annular magnetic armature. The magnetic circuit is closed through pole pieces. In this arrangement,
the magnetic eld is strongest in the cylindrical inner region lled
by the Terfenol-D bar. When the coil is activated, the Terfenol-D
expands and produces output displacement. The Terfenol-D bar,
the coil, and the magnetic armature are assembled with Belleville
spring washers within the actuator to prestress the Terfenol-D and

Fig. 3. Prestress characteristic curves of magnetostrictive actuator.

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S. Karunanidhi, M. Singaperumal / Sensors and Actuators A 157 (2010) 185197

where, m = Br /Hc Actuators with ux are designed to minimize the

volume of permanent magnet. Hence to reduce the volume the
product Bm Hm should be maximized. Hence, substituting in Eq. (7),
Bm Hm =

2
Br Hm
+ Br Hm
Hc

(8)

The energy product is maximum, when,

d(Bm Hm )
=0
dHm

(9)

By differentiating and solving,

Hm =
Fig. 4. Magnetostriction (a) without and (b) with a bias magnetic eld.

(1)

Using the relationship

H dl =
c

J n da

(2)

Results in
Hm lm + Hr lr = Ni

(3)

And using the constitutive relationship,

B=H

(4)

Eq. (3) can be rewritten as,

0

B 
m

m

lm + 0

B 
I

r

lr = 0 Ni

(5)

Also, ux in the air gaps will be equal to the ux through the permanent magnet wafers,
BI Ar = Bm Am

(6)

BI = 0 Hm

, Bm =

B 
r

lm
lr

(7)

(10)

For permanent magnets

0
1,
m
According to our construction, no air gap is present and lr = lm ,
 = o r . Thus rearranging and substituting Hm from Eq. (8) in Eq.
(10) and substituting the above values, Eq. (10) becomes,
BI =

0 r (Ni + (Br lm /0 ))

lr (1 + (0 r /m )(Ar /Am ))

(11)

Substituting in Eq. (4) and rearranging we get,

H=

 

Br
r
+
0 (1 + r )(Ar /Am )
1 + r (Ar /Am )

H = H0 +

r
1 + r (Ar /Am )

  Ni 
lr

  Ni 
lr

(12)
(13)

2.3. Design of magnetostrictive actuator

The behavior of magnetostrictive materials is described with
nonlinear relations [17,20]
S = f (T, H)
B = g(T, H)
Relating S and T, the tensors of strain and stress, to B and H, the
vectors of induction and magnetic eld. The functions f and g may
be obtained by measuring the magnetostriction and magnetization
against the applied eld and the external stress.
Basic conditions are dened by the magnetic bias (H0 ) and
mechanical prestress (T) along the magnetostrictive axis, which is
referred to as 3rd axis. The material follows the piezomagnetic laws
in a quasi-linear manner as shown in Fig. 3 [17,20].
Si = sijH Tj + dni Hn

(14)

Bm = dmj Tj + Tmn Hn

(15)

where i, j = 1 . . . 6; m, n = 1 . . . 3.
SH , d and T are the tensors of constant H, compliance, piezomagnetic constants and constant-T permeabilities, respectively.
They are called magneto-elastic coefcients.
Terfenol-D is used as a long rod, subjected to an excitation eld
parallel to rod axis. In this case simple theory of longitudinal mode
can be applied. Using this theory preliminary system is developed
and numerical modes are used to rene it.
S = sH T + dH

Therefore the ux in the magnet can be written as,

Bm = m Hm + Br

and from Eqs. (4) and (7) we get,

magneto-elastic energy is then transformed to mechanical work.

The strain of the magnetostrictive material is independent of the
sign of the applied longitudinal magnetization eld. An input current of alternating sign will therefore result in a strain with a
doubled frequency compared to the input current frequency. This
can be avoided by applying a bias magnetization, H0 , such that a
more linear relation is established between the applied coil current
and the strain, see Fig. 4(b). The bias is created by using a permanent
magnet and actuator is operated in the region where the slope of
the curve is maximum as shown in Fig. 3. There are two congurations of bias magnetization using permanent magnet in series and
in parallel [18]. Magnetostrictive actuators, magnetically biased in
parallel and unbiased, have been developed in the present work.
The theoretical and experimental force-displacement and forcecurrent data for the conguration of a simple magnetostrictive rod,
or magnetic actuator is analytically derived as below. This conguration utilizes permanent magnet cover to provide a bias ux. The
theoretical data is obtained from the analytical model of the conguration. It is an ideal analytical model which is developed under
the following assumptions: (1) zero fringing and leakage ux, (2)
zero actuator coil mmf loss, and (3) Zero air gap. The ideal models
for each conguration are developed using the approach detailed
in reference [19].
Taking the line integral around the contour of the actuator
shown in Fig. 2 results in,
H dl = Hm lm + Hr lr

H 

B = dT +  H

(16)
(17)

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189

Summary: The estimated net blocked force generated by the

magnetostrictive actuator is 226 N and the displacement obtained
is 28 m. These values are used as inputs for FE analysis of the
exure amplier frame of the magnetostrictive actuator.
3.2. Magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator

3. Types of magnetostrictive actuators

Magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator is a bidirectional actuator and it consists of the basic components
such as magnetostrictive rod, eld coil, prestress housing and
the samarium cobalt permanent magnet as cover for magnetic
biasing as shown in Fig. 2. The prestress housing provides prestress
by the compression of Belleville spring; the springs deect to
apply a load on the magnetostrictive rod. The pole piece holds the
Belleville spring in place to apply the counter force. The designed
dimensions of the magnetostrictive actuator with Terfenol-D rod
are diameter of 6 mm and length of 75 mm. The magnetic eld to
be applied for expected performance from the permanent magnet
bias is estimated as 30 kA/m. It derives to number of coil turns of
3300, resistance of 37  and current of 0.8 A.

In this section the design, construction and specications of

two types of actuators, which are magnetostrictive actuator with
mechanical amplier and magnetically biased are described. The
theoretical estimation of force developed and displacement is also
given.

3.2.1. Resonance frequency

Resonance frequency is one of the important parameter to be
measured for predicting the performance in high frequency applications. A magnetostrictive actuator, as a second order system, is
characterized by 1st resonance frequency [17] at

3.1. Magnetostrictive actuator with mechanical amplier

fr =

The magnetostrictive actuator with mechanical amplier frame

is a uni-directional actuator. The design and construction of the
magnetostrictive actuator with exural mechanism is shown in
Fig. 5. The actuator consists of drive rod (Terfenol-D), bobbin and
excitation coil, soft magnet poles and frame functions as a prestressed spring. The cover of the actuator assembly is made of
nickel steel. The exural mechanism is incorporated to amplify the
displacement of the actuator by two to four times to meet the application requirement. Analysis was carried out for required force,
displacement and frequency [21]. The designed dimensions of the
magnetostrictive actuator with Terfenol-D rod are a diameter of
6 mm and length of 35 mm. The magnetic eld to be applied for
generating the required strain is estimated at about 50 kA/m. This
translates to number of coil turns as 2200, resistance of 33  and a
current of 0.8 A.

where, Keff = Kr + Kp

Fig. 5. Construction of mechanically amplied magnetostrictive actuator.

1
2

FB = E H Ar 

(18)

By substituting the above values, gives

FB = 424 N
With a prestress (T) of 7 MPa the compressive force is
Fc = TA = 198 N and is opposing the force generated by Terfenol-D
rod.Hence, net blocked force, Fnet = FB Fc = 226 N.
Initial strain calculated at 7 MPa prestress by substituting compliance coefcient at applied magnetic eld (sH ) as 4 1011 m2 /N,
magnetostrictive cross coupling coefcient (d) as 10 109 m/A in
Eq. (16) [18] is S = 790 ppm, displacement = Slr = 28 m.

1
Keff
=
Meff
2

1
C H Meff

(19)
(20)

for prestressing mechanism placed in parallel and

1
1
1
=
+
Keff
Kr
Kp

(21)

for prestressing mechanism placed in series. Where,

Kr =

E H Ar
lr

(22)

The resonance frequency of the magnetically biased actuator is

calculated using the empirical relations given in Ref. [18] and using
parameter mass of Terfenol-D is 0.02 kg, mass of frame attached to
rod = 0.034 kg and compliance coefcient at applied magnetic eld
(sH ) = 4 1011 m2 /N.
Meff =

3.1.1. Theoretical estimation of force and displacement

Theoretical estimation of force and displacement has been found
using following empirical relation and parameters. Various actuator parameters used for numerical calculation are as follows [22].
Magnetic eld (H) is 51 kA/m, youngs modulus of Terfenol-D rod
(E) is 30 GPa [14], magnetostriction () is 500 ppm and area of
Terfenol-D rod (Ar ) is 2.83 105 m2 .
The clamped force generated by a Terfenol-D rod is given by

CH =

 Mass of Terfenol-D rod 

3

+ Mass attached to the rod (23)

sH lr
Ar

(24)

Substituting in Eq. (19), fr = 2.41 kHz.

3.2.2. Theoretical estimation of force
Theoretical estimation of force has been done for magnetically
biased actuator using the following empirical relation and parameters from the plot [23]. The stiffness of the prestress spring (Kp ) is
1.3 106 N/m. Strain () is found from the plot and half of the value
obtained is used for estimation, since the actuator is magnetically
biased and it is assumed that the bias corresponds to the middle of
the linear region of the strain,At a prestress of 6.9 MPa
E H = (1.16 104 H 2 + 40 106 H + 109 )Pa
Effective blocked force,

FB = Kr Lr 1

Kr
Kr + Kp

Sample calculation

(25)

(26)

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S. Karunanidhi, M. Singaperumal / Sensors and Actuators A 157 (2010) 185197

Applied voltage = 30 V
Applied eld = 450 Oe
Strain at 6.9 MPa and 450 Oe,
 = 900/2 = 450 ppm [23].
EH = 16.5 GPa (from Eq. (25))
Kr = 6.2 106 N/m
FB = 36 N
The blocked force of magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator for different voltages is calculated. This blocked force values is
plotted against input voltage and shown in Fig. 15.
3.3. Modeling and simulation of magnetostrictive actuator
In this section, FE structural analysis of Flexure amplier used
for mechanically amplied magnetostrictive actuator has been
done. Electromagnetic analysis of permanent magnet biased magnetostrictive actuator is done using FEA package. The mathematical
modeling of the two magnetostrictive actuator congurations has
been done.
3.3.1. FE analysis of exure amplier frame
The theoretical estimation of displacement and force from Section 3.1.1 has been used as input for the analysis of the exure of
material aluminium alloy. This has been done by xing the frame at
one end and applying initial strain on the inner faces of the frame
where the actuator is placed. The initial strain of 14 m on each
inner face and force of 113 N each is applied. The element type used
for the analysis is 10 noded SOLID 187. From the analysis, displacement at free end of the frame is 76.7 m, blocked force at free end
is 36.8 N and natural frequency is 615 Hz. For mechanically amplied magnetostrictive actuator displacement gain (G1 ) is calculated
by the ratio of output to input displacement and a force coefcient
(G2 ) as the ratio of output to input force. From this analysis G1 ,
2.7 and G2 , 0.17 have been obtained. These values are used for the
simulation as an input.
3.3.2. Electromagnetic analysis
Magnetostrictive actuator assembly mainly consists of a
Terfenol-D rod, two pole pieces and a cover made of permanent
magnet (samarium cobalt for biasing). Electromagnetic analysis of
magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator has been done using
ANSYS.
A cylindrical volume is created over the assembly indicating
the medium-air. The whole assembly looks like a magnetostrictive
actuator embedded in a volume of free space as shown in Fig. 6.
SOLID 96 (3-D Magnetic scalar Solid) represents all interior
regions of the model: saturable regions, permanent magnet regions,
and air (free space). SOURC36 is a primitive (consisting of predened geometries) used to supply current source data to magnetic
eld problems. The element represents a distribution of current in
a model employing a scalar potential formulation. The magnetic
eld intensity is calculated using the BiotSavart law with current
as input.
The model will have all of the following material regions: air
(free space), permeable materials, current-conducting regions, and

Fig. 6. Magnetostrictive actuator model embedded in the volume of air (free space).

permanent magnets. Each type of material region has certain specied material properties listed Table 2.
A coil is created around the Terfenol-D rod with number of turns
is 3300 and is excited by a current of 0.8 A. It is forward biased
and reverse biased by giving the current in positive and negative
polarity respectively.
The type of analysis performed is static magnetic analysis and
the method used in particular is the Difference Scalar Potential
(DSP) method. The DSP method is recommended only if the model
has singly connected iron regions.
Result: The bias magnetic eld strength by permanent magnet
is around 48 kA/m. With a forward current of 0.65 A it is around
68 kA/m as shown in Fig. 7 and with reverse current of 0.65 A it is
around 28 kA/m.
3.3.3. Mathematical modeling of magnetostrictive actuator
The Structure of the giant magnetostrictive micro-displacement
actuator shown in Fig. 2 has solenoid producing magnetic eld
which drives the giant magnetostrictive rod. A bolt supplies a preload for the system, while a permanent magnet supplies the bias
magnetic eld. A exible hinge changes the strain of giant magnetostrictive rod into output displacement.
The hysteretic nonlinearity is inherent to the magnetostrictive materials, thus required to be suitably modeled. The present
dynamic model accounts for the eddy current losses, stress and the
working frequency. It can be summarized as the following [24,25].

=

1
Meff s2 + Beff s + Kr

where, M = (r 1)H =

3Ar Es M 2

(27)

2Ms 2 lr

T
1
0

(28)

The block diagram model of the actuator is shown in Fig. 8. The

parameters used for simulation, youngs modulus of the rod (EH ) is
calculated using the relation given in Eq. (25), values of saturation
magnetostriction coefcient (s ), saturation magnetization intensity (Ms ) is taken from the reference work for Terfenol-D [25] and

Table 2
Magnetic properties of actuator materials.
Component

Material

Relative permeability (r )

Coercive force
(A/m)

Rod (permeable material)

Pole piece (current-conducting region)
Permanent magnet
Free space

Terfenol-D
48% Nickel steel
Samarium cobalt
Air

12
10000
1.03
1

650000

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191

Table 3
Simulation parameters of magnetostrictive actuator.

Fig. 7. Magnetic eld strength on Terfenol-D rod for forward current.

displacement gain (G1 ) is 0.5 for magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator.

Substituting the values from Table 3 in the Eq. (27), and simulating using MATLAB, the step response of magnetostrictive actuators
are obtained and shown in Fig. 9.
Result: The steady state displacement of 76.9 m and time
response of 0.48 ms is obtained for mechanically amplied actuator. For magnetically biased actuator, the values obtained are 34 m
and 0.22 ms respectively. From the plot, it can infer that mechanically amplied magnetostrictive actuator is having higher time
response due to mechanical amplier compliance.

Parameter (units)

Mechanically amplied

Magnetically biased

i (A)
Af (m2 )
lr (m)
EH (GPa)
s (ppm)
r
M (A/m)
Ms (A/m)
R ()
V (V)
 (kg/m3 )
Meff (kg)
Beff (N s/m)
Kr (N/m)
G1

0.82
28.27 106
0.035
22
1005
12
5.6 105
7.65 105
33
27
9250
25 103
5200
1.77 107
2.7

0.65
28.27 106
0.075
21
503
12
7 105
7.65 105
37
24
9250
10 103
561
5.3 106
0.5

When voltage is applied to the magnetostrictive actuator coil,

a force is developed on the apperexure assembly causing it to
rotate about the exure sleeve pivot. The resulting motion at the
apper increases the ow area of one nozzle and decreases the
area of the other. This unbalance between the nozzle ow areas
produces a differential pressure across the spool, which causes the
spool displacement. This positions the spool such that it opens supply pressure to one control port and return line to the other control
port. As the spool moves, a force proportional to spool displacement is applied by the feedback spring to the armature. This force
opposes the force developed by the actuator and a condition of
force equilibrium will exist when the feedback spring force equals
the magnetostrictive actuator force. The spool stops at this position.
Therefore, the spool position is proportional to input current
to the actuator. With constant supply pressure, ow to the load
is proportional to position of the spool. Hence, effectively, output
ow is obtained proportional to input current.
A characterization setup has been realized and the integrated
testing of the servo valve with magnetostrictive actuators has been
carried out for no load ow rate and compared with simulated
value.
Magnetostrictive actuator shown in Fig. 10(a) when mechanically amplied using exure the deformation is contraction, so
it can be used only for pulling and uni-directional applications.
Here in the valve application it has to be made bi-directional by
incorporating a bias current.
The magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator shown in
Fig. 10(b) has no input voltage bias since it is a bi-directional actuator.

4. Integration of magnetostrictive actuator with

appernozzle servo valve
The magnetostrictive actuator has been integrated with the
exureapper assembly of the appernozzle servo valve, by
replacing the conventional torque motor.

Fig. 8. Block diagram of magnetostrictive actuator.

Fig. 9. Step response of magnetostrictive actuators.

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Fig. 11. FE model of armature exure assembly with spool.

Fig. 10. Schematic diagram of servo valve with magnetostrictive actuator (a)
mechanically amplied (b) magnetically biased.

The FEA of apperexure assembly which interfaces the magnetostrictive actuator and servo valve is required to be carried out
initially. Flapper with different stiffness has been used for two types
of magnetostrictive actuator since its resonance frequencies are different. The stiffness of apperexure assembly obtained from the
FE analysis is used as input parameter for the dynamic simulation
of servo valve with actuator. No load ow curve and time response
has been obtained for conventional servo valve and servo valve with
magnetostrictive actuator by simulation.
4.1. Finite element analysis of apper and exure sleeve assembly
Fig. 11 shows the solid and FE model of the apper and exure
sleeve assembly. The assembly consists of a apper, exure sleeve,
feedback wire and spool and its material properties are given in
Table 4.
A tetrahedral structural solid element is used for FE analysis. The
model is meshed freely with 50,853 meshed elements and 85,938
nodes. Static analysis is performed on the model to nd the stiffness
of the apper. The base of the exure sleeve is constrained in all
degrees of freedom as shown in Fig. 11. Force of 5 N is applied on
the apper face at a distance 9.9 mm from pivot point, where the

actuator to be attached. The displacement is measured at a distance

of 9.35 mm below the pivot point, where the nozzle hole axis is
aligned. Modal analysis is performed to nd the natural frequency
of the assembly by constraining the exure base in all degrees of
freedom.
From the analysis, for mechanically amplied magnetostrictive
actuator the displacement measured at 9.35 mm distance from
pivot point is 37.7 m and the displacement measured at the
apper face is 35.3 m. The calculated stiffness of the apper is
1.41 105 N/m. The natural frequency of modal is found to be
2502 Hz. For magnetically biased magnetostrictive the displacement measured at 9.35 mm distance from pivot point is 22.7 m
and the displacement measured at the apper face is 21.3 m, the
calculated stiffness of the apper is 2.34 105 N/m. The natural
frequency of modal is found to be 3017 Hz.
4.2. Dynamic model of appernozzle servo valve with
magnetostrictive actuator
The magnetostrictive actuator with servo valve assembly is
shown in Fig. 16(a) and (b). When current is applied to the magnetostrictive actuator coil, with force balance achieved, the spool will
displace to a position proportional to input current. Assuming that
the force at the end of the feedback is proportional to its displacement and equating the applied force with all the opposing forces
[3,26], it derives,
3Ar E H s M 2 R
2Ms2 v

+ Kfb X(S)

where (Pa Pb ) =


Table 4
Flexure sleeve assembly material properties.

and Z =

Component/properties

Flapper, feedback wire and spool

Flexure sleeve

Material
Density (kg/m3 )
Youngs modulus (GPa)
Poissons ratio

Stainless steel
7800
210
0.27

Beryllium copper
8250
128
0.30

i = Meff S 2 X(S) + Beff X(S) + Kf X(S) + (Pa Pb )as

=

Cqn
Cqo

3s M 2
2Ms2

2 

(29)

4ZPs
Xnm (1 + Z)2
dn
do

2  X

nm

do

(30)

2
(31)

(32)

As the major feedback element is the feedback spring in conjunction with spool displacement, a block diagram is constructed

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193

Fig. 12. Block diagram of servo valve with magnetostrictive actuator.

Table 5
Simulation parameters for magnetostrictive actuator with servo valve and conventional servo valve.
Parameter (units)

Mechanically amplied actuator with servo valve

Magnetically biased actuator with servo valve

Conventional servo valve

i (A)
EH (GPa)
M (A/m)
Ms (A/m)
Meff (kg)
Beff (N s/m)
Kf (N/m)
Cqn , Cqo
Cqo
do (m)
dn (m)
Xnm (m)
Z
Ps (MPa)
ds (m)
W (m)
K3 (l/min/m)
Kfb (N/m)
G1
G2
Kt (Nm/A)
Ja (Ns-m/rad)

0.27
10
2.82 105
7.65 105
28 103
12294
1.43 105
0.65
0.8
0.18 103
0.25 103
30 106
0.566
21
4.5 103
4 103
30 103
5000
2.7
0.17

0.5
12
6.45 105
7.65 105
10 103
12328
2.4 105
0.65
0.8
0.18 103
0.25 103
30 106
0.566
21
4.5 103
4 103
30 103
10000
0.5
0.5

0.01

0.35
1.43 105
0.65
0.8
0.18 103
0.25 103
30 106
0.566
21
4.5 103
4 103
30 103
5000

2
4.18 107

as shown in Fig. 12. The parameters used for simulation, magnetization intensity (M) is calculated using Eq. (32). Force coefcient
(G2 ) for mechanically amplied actuator is obtained from Section
3.3.1 and for magnetically biased actuator is 0.5.
For a step input to the servo valve with magnetostrictive actuators the response ow rate is obtained by time domain simulation
carried out using MATLAB with the parameters given in Table 5. The
simulation for conventional servo valve with torque motor is also
carried out by using the parameters listed in Table 5 [3,27]. These
plots are as shown in Fig. 13.
Result: For the servo valve integrated with mechanically amplied actuator, ow of 8 l/min and time response of 0.68 ms are
obtained at 0.27 A input. Flow of 7.04 l/min and time response
0.45 ms are obtained at 0.5 A input to magnetically biased actuator

in simulation, as against the time response of 3.1 ms for conventional servo valve.
5. Experimental characterizations
In this section the characterization of both types of magnetostrictive actuators has been done for blocked force and
displacement. Resonance frequency of magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator has been done using impedance analyzer. The
characterization of servo valve with magnetostrictive actuator has
been done for ow and time response to reach the nal value.
5.1. Force measurement
The test setup used for measuring the blocked force developed
by magnetostrictive actuator is shown in Fig. 14. The force was
measured in stalled condition using load cell of range 0980 N by
varying the input current to the magnetostrictive actuator coil by

Fig. 13. Step response of servo valve with magnetostrictive actuators and conventional servo valve.

Fig. 14. Test setup for measuring the blocked force (1. Magnetostrictive actuator,
2. Load cell (0980 N), 3. Fixture for blocking the actuator, 4. Force display unit, 5.
Power supply for input to actuator (5 A/30 V)).

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Fig. 15. Characteristic plot of force versus current of magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator.

using 5 A30 V Power supply. The measured values for magnetically

biased actuator is plotted as shown in Fig. 15 and for mechanically
amplied actuator it is found that the force is 37.4 N at 0.82 A.
From the plot shown in Fig. 15, the theoretically calculated
values in Section 3.2.2 is compared with experimentation and
found that in low current region there is a non-linearity in theoretical calculation. This may be due to the strain value taken for
calculation based on the unbiased magnetostrictive actuator plot
[23] and the experimental plot is linear since it is magnetically
biased.
5.2. Displacement measurement
A test setup similar to that shown in Fig. 14 is used to measure
the magnetostrictive actuator displacement, where the force transducer is replaced with an inductive type probe (range 300 m).
Displacement of the Terfenol-D drive element was measured by
varying the input current. The displacement measurement of magnetostrictive actuator without bias has been done with and without
mechanical amplier, shown in Fig. 16. From the plot it is evident
that nal values of displacement for both the cases and displacement amplifying factor are closely matching with the estimated
value.
The displacement measurement of magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator has been done, shown in Fig. 17 and is closely
matching with simulated value. From the plot it is found that there
is a small dead band at negative current side. This may be due to

Fig. 16. Characteristic plot of displacement versus current of magnetostrictive actuator without bias.

Fig. 17. Characteristic plot of displacement versus current of magnetically biased

magnetostrictive actuator.

existence of a bias on the actuator which has to be overcome by the

applied current.
5.3. Impedance measurement of magnetically biased
magnetostrictive actuator
The resonance frequency of the system can be adapted to the
application by careful selection of the rods geometry and the prestressing mechanism.
One means of ascertaining the effect of the bias condition and
drive level on transducer performance is to analyze the input
electrical impedance or conductance versus frequency. This is
accomplished using a swept sine excitation over the bandwidth
of operation using Agilent precision impedance analyzer, as shown
in Fig. 18. The resonant frequency is measured at the point of minimum impedance or maximum conductance and the anti-resonant
frequency at the point of maximum impedance or minimum conductance. The resonance plot of conductance versus frequency for
magnetostrictive actuator at blocked condition resonance is shown
in Fig. 19 [20,22,28].
From the plot, the resonance frequency of servo valve integrated
with magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator is obtained
from the peak of conductance as 2678 Hz as against the theoretical
value of 2410 Hz.
From this result, it is evident that magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator can be used in high frequency servo valve. Thus
the bandwidth of such servo valve is around 900 Hz (1/3rd of the
natural frequency).

Fig. 18. Setup for impedance measurement in blocked condition.

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195

Fig. 19. Conductance plot in blocked condition.

5.4. Flow measurement

In order to characterize the appernozzle servo valve with
magnetostrictive actuator, an experimental setup has been made
and shown in Fig. 20(a) and (b). The main parameters being measured in these tests are Flow rate versus input current to actuator.
The no load ow rate characteristic of the valve with magnetostrictive actuator was evaluated on the ow test bench by using gear
type ow meter. Flow meter sensor is two differential magneto
resistor non-contact pickups for measuring ow rate and direction.
5.4.1. No load ow test result of magnetostrictive actuator with
mechanical amplier
As shown in Fig. 20(a), the servo valve was mounted on a
standard valve test bench. The input hydraulic supply was set at
21 MPa. The null of the valve was adjusted to be at 0.36 A supply to magnetostrictive actuator. The valve was supplied with a
current of amplitude varying from 0.09 A to 0.64 A. The ow char-

Fig. 21. No load ow curve for servo valve with mechanically amplied magnetostrictive actuator.

acteristics were then recorded with a sampling time of 1 ms using

data recorder and analyzed in a computer and the characteristic
obtained is shown in Fig. 21.
Result: Flow of 8 l/min was obtained at 0.27 A input to magnetostrictive actuator as against a simulation value of 7.9 l/min.
5.4.2. No load ow test result of magnetically biased
magnetostrictive actuator
The servo valve was mounted in the valve test bench shown in
Fig. 20(b); the valve was supplied with a current of amplitude varying gradually from 0.5 A to +0.5 A. The Flow characteristics were
then recorded with a sampling time of 1 ms using data recorder and
analyzed in a computer and the characteristic obtained is shown in
Fig. 22.
Result: Flow of 7 l/min was obtained at 0.5 A input to magnetostrictive actuator as against simulation value of 7.04 l/min.
5.4.3. Step response
The time response of servo valve with conventional torque
motor and two types of magnetostrictive actuator were carried
out with step input. This has been done only to compare the
time response from input to output time response (lag). The time

Fig. 20. (a) Photograph and (b) schematic diagram of testing of servo valve with
magnetostrictive actuator (1-Hydraulic source with instrumentation and control
for ow measurement using gear type ow meter, 2-Servo valve with magnetostrictive actuator, 3-Power supply for the actuator, 4-Signal amplier for input, 5-Data
recorder, 6-Computer for data acquisition and analysis, 7-Function generator).

Fig. 22. No load ow curve of servo valve with magnetically biased magnetostrictive
actuator.

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Fig. 23. Step response plot for conventional servo valve.

response was evaluated using the same setup as shown in Fig. 20(a).
The ow characteristics were then recorded using data recorder
and analyzed in a computer and the curves were plotted. The valves
were commanded by a step voltage and then the ow was recorded
using data recorder. The recorded data was then analyzed in a
computer and the curves were plotted as shown in Figs. 2325
for conventional valve and valve with magnetostrictive actuator
respectively. The time required to reach the steady-state ow output by the ow meter for a step input signal for conventional
valve is 11.2 ms and for valve with magnetostrictive actuator with
mechanical amplier and magnetically biased are 7.8 ms and 9 ms
respectively. The time lag is due to the limitations of the ow meter
response used for measurement and the test setup. The measured
values are qualitative in nature to show the comparison of conventional and magnetostrictive servo valve. From the experimental
time delay response test it is found that the actuator with mechanical amplier is faster than the magnetically biased actuator. This
is due to the faster response of the mechanically amplied actuator at the region of the appernozzle distance of 30 m as shown
in Fig. 9. From this study, the valve with magnetostrictive actuator is marginally high response than conventional servo valve for
given design parameter. From this it can be inferred that by using

Fig. 24. Step response plot for valve with mechanically amplied magnetostrictive
actuator.

Fig. 25. Step response plot for valve with magnetically biased magnetostrictive
actuator.

Table 6
Comparison of two types of magnetostrictive actuator.
Parameters

Mechanically amplied magnetostrictive actuator

Magnetically biased magnetostrictive actuator

Size (mm)
Mass (g)
Application
Input current (A)
Theoretical force (N)
Theoretical displacement (m)
Simulated time response of actuator (ms)
Experimental force (N)
Experimental force displacement (m)

75 43 24
150
Uni-directional
0.82
36.8
76.9
0.48
37.4
76.5

34 112
480
Bi-directional
0.65
30.4
30
0.22
32.6
31.1

Table 7
Comparison of conventional servo valve and servo valve with magnetostrictive actuator characteristics.
Parameters

Time response of actuator with valve (ms)

Valve ow rate simulation (l/min)
Valve ow rate experiment (l/min)
Valve time to reach nal value (ms)
Hysteresis (%)

Servo valve with

Conventional torque motor

Mechanically amplied
magnetostrictive actuator

Mechanically biased
magnetostrictive actuator

3.1
7.4 at 0.01 A
7.6 at 0.01 A
11.2
5

0.68
8.0 at 0.27 A
8.0 at 0.27 A
7.8
23.2

0.45
7.04 at 0.5 A
7.0 at 0.5 A
9
28.5

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proper design parameter the actuator with valve frequency can be

increased.
6. Summary and conclusion
The summary of the two types of magnetostrictive actuator
simulation and test results are given in Table 6. The comparative
simulation and test results of conventional servo valve and servo
valve with magnetostrictive actuator are summarized in Table 7.
The magnetostrictive actuator with mechanical amplier and
permanent magnet biasing has been designed and realized. The
theoretical estimation and experimental characterization has been
done for the displacement and force developed and natural frequency; good matching is observed in these values and hence the
design parameters are validated.
The magnetic eld strength analysis has been done using FEA
package. The result obtained through analysis has been compared
with the analytical value and it is found closely matching.
The time response and displacement has been obtained through
MATLAB model for both the actuators and it is found that the magnetically biased actuator is much faster.
A detailed FE analysis has been carried out to determine the stiffness and natural frequency of apperexure assembly and these
parameters has been used for simulation of servo valve with magnetostrictive actuator. From these simulation studies, it is found
that the valve with magnetostrictive actuators has much faster time
response than the conventional servo valve.
Magnetostrictive actuators are integrated with servo valve by
replacing the torque motor. Experiments have been carried out
for ow rate versus input current to the actuator and good agreement is observed between the simulation and experimental results.
Hence, the parameters for simulations have been validated. From
the experimental results, it is observed that the hysteresis of the
servo valve with mechanically amplied actuator was found less
than magnetically biased actuator. This can be attributed to the
additional magnetic hysteresis.
From the experiment results also it is evident that the valve with
magnetostrictive actuator is faster than conventional servo valve.
Studies have indicated that the overall response can be
improved by selection of suitable parameters for the actuator. The
method discussed in this work provides a basis for such analysis.
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Biographies
S. Karunanidhi received his B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1985 and
M.Tech degree in Precision Engineering and Instrumentation from Indian Institute of
Technology Madras in 1995. Currently he is a Scientist working in Actuation systems
for Aerospace Applications at Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad, India. He is a
Ph.D. Research Scholar at Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology Madras, Chennai, India. His current research interest includes Micro
actuators, Mechatronics, MEMS, Precision Machining and Oil Hydraulics.
M. Singaperumal received his B.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1966,
M.Tech degree in Machine Design in 1969 and Ph.D. in Fluid Power from Indian
Institute of Technology Madras in 1986. Currently he is a Professor in Precision Engineering and Instrumentation Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineer- ing,
and Dean Administration, at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
He has published more than one hundred papers in International Journals and Conferences and guided 12 Ph.D. and 15 MS scholars in the eld of Fluid Power, Oil
Hydraulics, Robotics and Mechatronics. His current research interest includes Networked Robotics, Robot Calibration, Mechatronics, MEMS,Micro Machining, and Oil
Hydraulics.