AUTOMATED DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF ELECTROMECHANICAL ACTUATORS

The paper investigates various optimization techniques and their suita bility for the magnetic design of electromechanical actuators. Selecte d algorithms, including Gauss-Newton, Levenberg-Marquardt and Trust re gion, are examined and compared using 18 test functions. The Levenberg -Marquardt method is chosen for its robustness and fast convergence, a nd incorporated into an automated CAD optimization system (EAMON), whi ch interfaces an external optimizer to a general purpose finite elemen t package;The EAMON program, which is user friendly with pull-down men us, searches for constrained shape design variables that fulfil prescr ibed performance criteria. The electromagnetic field analysis forms pa rt of the optimization iterative cycle. Finally, two application examp les are described. First, a DC solenoid actuator with truncated cone p ole face is optimized to produce a user specified force-displacement c haracteristic. Secondly, an actuator solenoid is optimized to produce maximum energy per stroke.