Electromagnetic Plunger with

Dynamics

k D

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 Introduction
Linear plunger/actuator is use for many applications such as voice coil,
electromagnetic relays, electromagnetic valves etc.
It consists of coil, magnetic core, spring and moving magnetic
plunger/armature.
The plunger is guided by the nonmagnetic guider.
Magnetic core and plunger are modeled with both linear and nonlinear
BH Curves separately.
The transient current is passed through the coil to actuate the plunger
and the dynamics is modeled.
The electromagnetic force on the plunger is computed and coupled with
the dynamic equation of motion.
The equation of motion of the plunger and the spring and damping
attached to its bottom are modeled using the Global ODEs and DAEs.
The model is parameterized so that the model can be simulated for
variation of one or many of these parameters using parametric sweep
study.
Construction: A 3D View

Magnetic core

Multi-turn coil

Air region

Guider

Plunger/armature

Plunger motion direction

k D

Figure: 3D view of electromagnetic plunger depicting various parts.

Construction: A 2D Axi-symmetry View

Figure: 2D axi-symmetry geometry depicting various parts of the linear plunger model.
 Modeling Approach
Geometry dimension: 2D-axisymmetry
Geometry finalized: using Form Assembly
Physics used:
1. Magnetic Fields
2. Moving Mesh
3. Global ODEs and DAEs
Study type: Time Dependent
Results:
Electromagnetic force on the plunger vs time
Dynamic position of the plunger vs time
Dynamic velocity of the plunger vs time
Model Parameters
 Model Variables

A Rectangular waveform is used to model the current

in the coil
 Magnetic Fields Modeling
Plunger and Magnetic Core settings when using linear material

The Magnetic Core and Plunger are modeled using separate Amperes Law
nodes. A linear relationship between B and H is defined using Magnetic
Permeability.
The relative permeability for linear material are: mur_plunger = 4000, and
mur_core = 1200.
Above figures show the setup for plunger and similar settings are applied for
Magnetic Core as well.
 Magnetic Fields Modeling
Plunger and Magnetic Core settings when using nonlinear material

The non-linearity of Magnetic Core and Plunger is modeled using

separate Amperes Law nodes.
Above figures show the setup for plunger and similar settings are
applied for Magnetic Core as well.
 Magnetic Fields Modeling
Multi-Turn Coil settings

The coil is defined using a Multi-Turn Coil feature. The current in the
coil is defined using a rectangular waveform defined in the variables
tab. The number of turns, coil conductivity and coil cross-sections are
defined as shown in the above figure.
 Magnetic Fields Modeling

Force
Calculation Since magnetic materials are used
in the model, the Lorentz method
for force calculation cannot be used
as it only support the conductive
but nonmagnetic materials.

Maxwells Stress Tensor is used to

compute the forces on the plunger.

When using Stress Tensor to

compute forces, the mesh around
the boundaries should be very fine
to get accurate results.
 Magnetic Fields Modeling

A continuity boundary condition is added to ensure a

continuity between the stationary and moving
domains.

The Identity pair is created using Form Assembly

feature in the Geometry node.
 Modeling Plunger Dynamics
Global ODEs and DAEs interface is used to solve the
equation of motion
d2p dp
M 2 D k . p Fz ( p, v, t ) 0
dt dt

The above
dv equation can be rewritten into two separate
Where,
M
equations D.v k . p F ( p , v , t ) 0
dt as
z p = z-position
v = velocity
dp
v 0 M = mass
D = damping coefficient
dt k = stiffness
Fz = electromagnetic force
 Moving Mesh Settings Fixed boundary

Moving boundaries as prescribed by variable p.

Moving Mesh physics is only
solved in the moving domains.

Fixed boundary

Guiding boundaries: contract/expand boundaries.

Moving Mesh interface is used to model the Translational Motion of the plunger.
The Fixed Mesh and Prescribed Mesh Deformation are defined as shown in the figure.
The displacement of Plunger is given by position variable p obtained from Global ODEs
and DAEs interface.
Same method as in example:
https://www.comsol.com/model/voltage-induced-in-a-coil-by-a-moving-magnet-14163
Moving Mesh Settings: Different Approach

The images above shows the

alternative approach to setting up
the moving mesh.
Caution: since the moving domain
is sliding, it is important to have a
sufficient air region below or above
the plunger to correctly solve the
fields.
This approach is not implemented
in the model file:
electromagnetic_plunger.mph
The simulation time for this
approach will be less as the mesh
is just sliding instead of contracting
or expanding as in the previous
 Mesh Settings
The Destination boundary from the Identity
pair should be finer than the Source
boundary to properly map resolve the
continuity between moving and stationary
parts.

Mapped mesh is used in the moving domains

(excluding Plunger).
 Mesh Settings
A very fine mesh is generated along the boundaries of the Plunger in
order to accurately measure the forces using Maxwells Stress Tensor.

Boundary layers are defined on Plunger and Magnetic Core to

properly resolve the induced eddy currents.
 Computational Time Comparison
Based on the Material Property
and
The Element Order Element
(Discretization) Order
used for meshing and depending
upon the material being Linear or Non-Linear, the time taken for
simulation will vary considerably. Discretization
Linear Quadratic
Linear 3.5 min 19 min
Material
Property Non-Linear 12 min 33 min
Degrees of Freedom 12668 49330

Table above shows the comparison of Computational Time, in

minutes, for different Element orders and Material Properties (Linear
and Non-Linear).
The solver settings for this example is similar to the suggestion in
the following Knowledge Based Entry:
https://www.comsol.com/support/knowledgebase/1127/
 Changing Discretization

2 3

For faster computation (usually in the

initial design stage), you can choose
the linear mesh elements by changing
the Discretization to Linear as shown 4
in these images.
 Results: Magnetic Flux Density

Figure: Magnetic flux density in the plunger at t=0.2011 s.

 Results: Electromagnetic Force

Figure: The electromagnetic force acting on the plunger depending

on the current in the coil for different Damping Coefficients.
 Results: Plunger Position

Figure: The change in the position of the plunger as the current

varies in the coil for different Damping Coefficients.
 Results: Plunger Position

Figure: The change in the position of the plunger as the current

varies in the coil for linear and quadratic mesh.
 Results: Plunger Velocity

Figure: The velocity profile of the plunger w.r.t time as the current
varies in the coil for different Damping Coefficients.
 Induced Current

NOTE: You need to click on Slide Show mode to visualize the animation.
 Plunger Dynamics

NOTE: You need to click on Slide Show mode to visualize the animation.