A magnetic force control device with laminate composite of giant magnetostrictive material (GMM) and piezo-electric material (PZT) is proposed. This magnetic force control is based on inverse magnetostrictive effect of a magnetic material, whereby the variation of stress applied on the material is converted to that of magnetic force via magnetic circuits. For the purpose of realizing the method in practical applications, disks of GMM and PZT are laminated to control the stress of GMM by electric field on PZT. Due to the capacitive properties of PZT, the device requires little electric energy hence generates no heat to maintain constant force. Furthermore compared with conventional electromagnetics, the device can be fabricated easily and in small size to be suitable for microactuators. This paper presents the principle of the magnetic force control by the lamination of GMM and PZT and investigates the static and dynamic characteristics of several devices to demonstrate their capabilities of the magnetic force control.

Date Published: 13 August 2003
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 5053, Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Active Materials: Behavior and Mechanics, (13 August 2003); doi: 10.1117/12.484710

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5053:
Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Active Materials: Behavior and Mechanics
Dimitris C. Lagoudas, Editor(s)