Comparison of adjustable permanent magnetic field sources

A permanent magnet assembly in which the flux density can be altered by a mechanical operation is often significantly smaller than comparable electromagnets and also requires no electrical power to operate. In this paper five permanent magnet designs in which the magnetic flux density can be altered are analyzed using numerical simulations, and compared based on the generated magnetic flux density in a sample volume and the amount of magnet material used. The designs are the concentric Halbach cylinder, the two half Halbach cylinders, the two linear Halbach arrays and the four and six rod mangle. The concentric Halbach cylinder design is found to be the best performing design, i.e. the design that provides the most magnetic flux density using the least amount of magnet material. A concentric Halbach cylinder has been constructed and the magnetic flux density, the homogeneity and the direction of the magnetic field are measured and compared with numerical simulation and a good agrement is found.     

Modeling of magnetic bandages for drug targeting: Button vs. Halbach arrays

Magnetic targeting of drugs to diseased tissues, such as non-healing wounds or skin tumors, is a promising clinical use of magnetic microspheres. For successful magnetic targeting, a magnet must be placed in close proximity to the target tissue. In this work the forces exerted on magnetic microspheres by different arrangements of magnets including a simple square magnet, a number of button magnet arrays, and a Halbach array were simulated and compared. Magnetic bandages utilizing a Halbach array configuration were found to yield the best trapping characteristics (large and uniform force distributions) for magnetic targeting applications close to a surface.     

Optimal Halbach permanent magnet designs for maximally pulling and pushing nanoparticles

Optimization methods are presented to design Halbach arrays to maximize the forces applied on magnetic nanoparticles at deep tissue locations. In magnetic drug targeting, where magnets are used to focus therapeutic nanoparticles to disease locations, the sharp fall off of magnetic fields and forces with distances from magnets has limited the depth of targeting. Creating stronger forces at a depth by optimally designed Halbach arrays would allow treatment of a wider class of patients, e.g. patients with deeper tumors. The presented optimization methods are based on semi-definite quadratic programming, yield provably globally optimal Halbach designs in 2 and 3-dimensions, for maximal pull or push magnetic forces (stronger pull forces can collect nanoparticles against blood forces in deeper vessels; push forces can be used to inject particles into precise locations, e.g. into the inner ear). These Halbach designs, here tested in simulations of Maxwell's equations, significantly outperform benchmark magnets of the same size and strength. For example, a 3-dimensional 36 element 2000 cm³ volume optimal Halbach design yields a 5× greater force at a 10 cm depth compared to a uniformly magnetized magnet of the same size and strength. The designed arrays should be feasible to construct, as they have a similar strength (≤1 T), size (≤2000 cm³), and number of elements (≤36) as previously demonstrated arrays, and retain good performance for reasonable manufacturing errors (element magnetization direction errors ≤5°), thus yielding practical designs to improve magnetic drug targeting treatment depths.     

An optimized magnet for magnetic refrigeration

A magnet designed for use in a magnetic refrigeration device is presented. The magnet is designed by applying two general schemes for improving a magnet design to a concentric Halbach cylinder magnet design and dimensioning and segmenting this design in an optimum way followed by the construction of the actual magnet. The final design generates a peak value of 1.24 T, an average flux density of 0.9 T in a volume of 2 L using only 7.3 L of magnet, and has an average low flux density of 0.08 T also in a 2 L volume. The working point of all the permanent magnet blocks in the design is very close to the maximum energy density. The final design is characterized in terms of a performance parameter, and it is shown that it is one of the best performing magnet designs published for magnetic refrigeration.     

Characterization of non-contact torque transfer and switching system for superconducting flywheel

Superconducting flywheel energy storage system can store the energy for a long duration, in that the main body of a flywheel is placed in a vacuum chamber to minimize rotational loss, and is separated from a generation motor. The superconducting flywheel device need a non-contact system which can transfer the rotational torque without contact. A combination of two permanent magnets can transmit the power without contact. We calculated the torque forces and the field distributions of two types of magnetic arrays; repulsive type and Halbach type. Both magnetic circuits have respective inner and outer diameters of 61.5 and 144 mm and consist of eight poles of Fe–Nd–B permanent magnets 30 mm in thickness. We also studied the effects of the number of poles and the size on the transferable torque forces and found that a practical torque transfer and switching systems can be constructed with a combination of permanent magnetic circuits.     

Evaluation of magnetic force distribution on a pair of superconducting bulk magnets

We study the construction of superconducting permanent magnets by RE123 bulk materials and the investigation of these industrial applications such as a magnetic separation. A bulk magnet can generate strong magnetic fields exceeding 2 T, which is the limit of ordinary iron-cored electromagnets, in a compact device with a low running cost. A magnetic field distribution of the bulk magnet is a cone shape, and it contributes to an increase of magnetic force which is proportional to the product of a magnetic field and its gradient. It is important to evaluate magnetic force when the application of the bulk magnet is discussed. In this paper, two Gd123 bulk materials of 65 mm in diameter were magnetized using a pair of superconducting bulk magnet system and three-axis components of magnetic flux density (B_x,⋅B_y, and B_z) in an open space between the magnetic poles were scanned with pitch of 2 mm in each direction. From these measured data, the axial and radial components of magnetic force factor, B_z⋅dB_z/dz and B_r⋅dB_r/dr, were calculated. At 10 mm gap, the B_z⋅dB_z/dz value reached 180.6 T²/m for a field of 2.33 T, which is comparable to B_z = 6.76 T for a common 10 T–100 mm∅ superconducting magnet.     

The use of a linear Halbach array combined with a step-SPLITT channel for continuous sorting of magnetic species

The Quadrupole Magnetic Sorter (QMS), employing an annular flow channel concentric with the aperture of a quadrupole magnet, is well established for cell and particle separations. Here we propose a magnetic particle separator comprising a linear array of cylindrical magnets, analogous to the array proposed by Klaus Halbach, mated to a substantially improved form of a parallel plate SPLITT channel, known as the step-SPLITT channel. While the magnetic force and throughput are generally lower than for the QMS, the new separator has advantages in ease of fabrication and the ability to vary the magnetic force to suit the separands. Preliminary experiments yield results consistent with prediction and show promise regarding future separations of cells of biomedical interest.     

Ultrasound velocimetry of ferrofluid spin-up flow measurements using a spherical coil assembly to impose a uniform rotating magnetic field

Ferrofluid spin-up flow is studied within a sphere subjected to a uniform rotating magnetic field from two surrounding spherical coils carrying sinusoidally varying currents at right angles and 90° phase difference. Ultrasound velocimetry measurements in a full sphere of ferrofluid shows no measureable flow. There is significant bulk flow in a partially filled sphere (1-14 mm/s) of ferrofluid or a finite height cylinder of ferrofluid with no cover (1-4 mm/s) placed in the spherical coil apparatus. The flow is due to free surface effects and the non-uniform magnetic field associated with the shape demagnetizing effects. Flow is also observed in the fully filled ferrofluid sphere (1-20 mm/s) when the field is made non-uniform by adding a permanent magnet or a DC or AC excited small solenoidal coil. This confirms that a non-uniform magnetic field or a non-uniform distribution of magnetization due to a non-uniform magnetic field are causes of spin-up flow in ferrofluids with no free surface, while tangential magnetic surface stress contributes to flow in the presence of a free surface.Recent work has fitted velocity flow measurements of ferrofluid filled finite height cylinders with no free surface, subjected to uniform rotating magnetic fields, neglecting the container shape effects which cause non-uniform demagnetizing fields, and resulting in much larger non-physical effective values of spin viscosity η′∼10⁻⁸−10⁻¹² N s than those obtained from theoretical spin diffusion analysis where η′≤10⁻¹⁸ N s. COMSOL Multiphysics finite element computer simulations of spherical geometry in a uniform rotating magnetic field using non-physically large experimental fit values of spin viscosity η′∼10⁻⁸−10⁻¹² N s with a zero spin-velocity boundary condition at the outer wall predicts measureable flow, while simulations setting spin viscosity to zero (η′=0) results in negligible flow, in agreement with the ultrasound velocimetry measurements. COMSOL simulations also confirm that a non-uniform rotating magnetic field or a uniform rotating magnetic field with a non-uniform distribution of magnetization due to an external magnet or a current carrying coil can drive a measureable flow in an infinitely long ferrofluid cylinder with zero spin viscosity (η′=0).     

Neutron flux distribution on the wall of toroidal controlled thermonuclear reactor devices with elongated cross section

The neutron flux distribution on the wall of a toroidal CTR device with strongly elongated cross section is calculated. On the inner and outer cylindrical walls (belt-pinch device) the flux distribution has a plateau region with a half-width equal to about the height of the plasma. The maximum flux is found on the outer cylinder and in the symmetry plane (z ₀=0). The neutron flux asymmetry and reductionη of the mean wall loading are determined. For standard data anη of 57% is computed. This is mainly due to the flux profiles on the cylindrical walls and does not depend sensitively on the toroidal curvature. For standard parameters the inner cylinder absorbs 22.6%, the outer cylinder 68.6% and the end plates together 8.8% of the total neutron emission. The corresponding values for a straight device with the same coil and plasma cross section are 44%, 44% and 12%. A reduction of toroidal curvature diminishes flux asymmetry between the inner and outer cylinders. The maximum flux and minimumη-value are obtained at a large torus radius equal to two times the coil width. For small aspect ratios (R _t W0.5) the neutron flux through the inner cylinder becomes so small that its interior may be filled with a material other than a blanket material, e.g. with an iron core.     

The permanent magnet systems generating strong stray fields with large localization region

Three systems of permanent magnets, which produce strong magnetic stray fields (SFs) with H>B_r=4πM_r were studied in this work. Remarkable feature of the developed systems is localization of the strong fields in large region with linear dimension Δr comparable to characteristic magnet dimension a. The first system composed of uniformly magnetized magnets generates sufficiently homogeneous strong SFs, which amounts up to 1.5 of magnets induction B_r. The second system with nonuniform magnetization is represented by cylindrical and hemispheric magnets their magnetization vector directed at every point along the radius. Such distribution of magnetization is assumed to be the consequence of magnet radial crystal texture resulting in a high uniaxial anisotropy field H_K. It is shown that maximal SFs can exist on the flat surface of cylindrical magnet at the distance r from its axis and their limiting value equals to 4πM_r ln(2a/r). Here, the localization region of the fields is comparable to diameter of cylindrical magnet Δr≈2R. As for the hemisphere its SFs are less than corresponding SFs for the cylinder. The third so-called quasi-nonuniform system consists of uniformly magnetized cylindrical sectors their magnetization vector is directed along the sector bisectrix. The strong SFs and their localization region are calculated in details for this case. The passage to radial magnetized cylinder is considered.     

An Efficacious Target-Field Approach to Design Shim Coils for Halbach Magnet of Mobile NMR Sensors

The main magnetic fields of mobile nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnets differ from those of conventional NMR and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnets. In the Halbach magnet, the main field B ₀ is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the symmetry of the current distribution with respect to the symmetry of the magnetic field differs from that in conventional target-field applications, and the current distribution on the coil surface cannot be expressed in terms of periodic basis functions. To obtain the winding pattern of the coil, an efficacious target-field approach. The surface of a coil is divided into small discrete elements, where each element is represented by a magnetic dipole. From the stream function of the elements, the resultant magnetic field is calculated. The optimization strategy follows an objective function defined by the power dissipation or efficiency of the coil. This leads to the optimum stream function on the coil surface, whose contour lines define the winding patterns of the coil. This paper shows winding patterns designed of shim coils for Halbach magnet and illustrates the craft of a shim coil using flexible printed circuit board. The performance of the coils is verified by simulating the fields they produce over the sensitive volume.     

A portable Halbach magnet that can be opened and closed without force: the NMR-CUFF

Portable equipment for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is becoming increasingly attractive for use in a variety of applications. One of the main scientific challenges in making NMR portable is the design of light-weight magnets that possess a strong and homogeneous field. Existing NMR magnets can provide such magnetic fields, but only for small samples or in small regions, or are rather heavy. Here we show a simple yet elegant concept for a Halbach-type permanent magnet ring, which can be opened and closed with minimal mechanical force. An analytical solution for an ideal Halbach magnet shows that the magnetic forces cancel if the structure is opened at an angle of 35.3° relative to its poles. A first prototype weighed only 3.1 kg, and provided a flux density of 0.57 T with a homogeneity better than 200 ppm over a spherical volume of 5mm in diameter without shimming. The force needed to close it was found to be about 20 N. As a demonstration, intact plants were imaged and water (xylem) flow measured. Magnets of this type (NMR-CUFF = Cut-open, Uniform, Force Free) are ideal for portable use and are eminently suited to investigate small or slender objects that are part of a larger or immobile whole, such as branches on a tree, growing fruit on a plant, or non-metallic tubing in industrial installations. This new concept in permanent-magnet design enables the construction of openable, yet strong and homogeneous magnets, which aside from use in NMR or MRI could also be of interest for applications in accelerators, motors, or magnetic bearings.     

Effect of γ-ray irradiation on the magnetic properties of NdFeB and Fe–Cr–Co permanent magnets

The effect of γ-ray irradiation on the magnetic properties of NdFeB and Fe–Cr–Co permanent magnets has been investigated. The magnetic flux loss of two kinds of magnets before and after irradiation was measured. Results show that the effect of γ-ray irradiation on the magnetic properties of sintered NdFeB is not so obvious as that on Fe–Cr–Co magnet. Irradiation-induced damage from γ-ray for the Fe–Cr–Co magnets was characterized for the first time. The decline of permanent magnetic properties of Fe–Cr–Co magnet induced by γ-ray irradiation is reversible except for the maximum energy product (BH)_max. The difference of coercivity mechanism between these two kinds of permanent magnets is responsible for the different dependence of magnetic properties loss induced by γ-ray irradiation.     

Re-exchange of Fe and Cu at the interface in sintered Nd–Fe–B magnets: A method to eliminate Fe precipitation at grain boundaries

According to the decoupling hypothesis for magnetic grains, the coercivity in sintered Nd–Fe–B magnets is increased after Cu doping, which is due to the formation of non-magnetic grain boundaries. However, this method partially fails, and ferromagnetic Fe-segregation occurs at the grain boundary. We discovered both experimentally and through calculation that the Fe content at the grain boundaries can be tuned across a wide range by introducing another element of Ag. Segregated Fe at high temperature at the grain boundary re-dissolves into Nd₂Fe₁₄B grains during annealing at low temperature. Both configurable and magnetic entropies contribute a large driving force for the formation of nonmagnetic grain boundaries. Almost zero Fe content could be achieved at the grain boundaries of sintered Nd–Fe–B magnet.     

Design of a permanent magnet with a mechanical sweep suitable for variable-temperature continuous-wave and pulsed EPR spectroscopy

A magnetic system is introduced which consists of three nested rings of permanent magnets of a Halbach dipolar layout and is capable for EPR spectroscopy. Two of the rings can be rotated independently to adjust the magnetic flux in the center and even allow for mechanical field sweeps. The presented prototype achieves a magnetic flux range of 0.0282–0.3013 T with a minimal sweep of 0.15 mT and homogeneity of about 10⁻³.First applications with CW and pulsed Mims ENDOR as well as ESEEM experiments on a sample of a glycine single crystal doped with 1% copper nitrate demonstrate that flux range, sweep accuracy and homogeneity of this prototype is sufficient for EPR experiments on most solid samples.Together with a recently improved design magnets can be build which could serve as compact and easily transportable replacement of standard electromagnets with negligible consumption of power or coolants.     

磁约束等离子体推进器磁体系统的电磁力和机械应力分析

根据磁约束等离子体推进器磁体系统的设计参数,通过ANSYS有限元分析软件在电磁-结构耦合场方面的计算,得到磁体系统的轴向电磁力和机械应力的分布。计算超导磁体在通电情况下,磁体中平面上所有节点所受的轴向电磁压缩力以及磁体间的相互作用力;计算出磁体外层用不锈钢钢丝加固前后机械应力分布情况的变化。     

Calculation of magnetic field in the region of the superconducting winding of window frame dipole for particle accelerators

The necessity of simulations in design of superconducting dipole magnets is due to the following circumstances. First, the critical current as a function of the magnetic field I _c(B) for the multicore superconducting cable which drops strongly requires the knowledge of the value of maximum magnetic field “felt” by its coils for estimation of the working current of the magnet. Second, for choosing the optimal number of coils of the winding (1 or 2) and the working current of the magnet, the ratio of B _max for the inner and outer layers of the dipole magnet winding should be known. Since usually the length of the dipole magnet exceeds many times its transverse size, in this work all calculations of B(x, y) are performed in the transverse plane crossing the center of the magnet. The field at the central point is chosen to be B(0, 0) = 2 T (this is the characteristic working value close to the maximum value in the dipole magnet of this type). In this work, the results of calculation of B(x, y) for single-and double-layered windings with 8 and 16 coils from circular hollow cable are presented.     

Magnetic guns with cylindrical permanent magnets

The motion of a cylindrical permanent magnet (projectile) inside a tubular permanent magnet, with both magnets magnetized axially, illustrates nicely the physical principles behind the operation of magnetic guns. The force acting upon the projectile is expressed semi-analytically as derivative of the magnetostatic interaction energy. For comparison, the forces involved are also calculated numerically using finite elements methods. Based on the conservation of the magnetostatic and kinetic energies, the exit and asymptotic velocities are determined. The derived formulas can be used to optimize the generated forces and motion of the inner cylindrical magnet.     

Optimizing magnetization orientation of permanent magnets for maximal gradient force

The force exercised on a permanent magnet (PM) in a nonuniform field (gradient force) is dependent on the magnetization orientation of the magnet. In this paper, it is shown theoretically that the gradient force is greatest when the magnetization through the magnet, or at least at its surface, is collinear with the external field. The formulae for calculating the force between an axis-symmetric optimal magnet and a coaxial axis-symmetric coil are presented. Using the finite element method (FEM), calculations of the magnetic field distribution of an optimal cylindrical magnet and some its approximations are performed. The forces between these magnets and a pancake coil are computed and compared. For a system consisting of a magnet with a height of 1 unit and a diameter of 2 units and magnetization invariant in field and an annular pancake coil with a diameter of 2.4 units, a thickness of 0.2 units, an inner diameter of 0.4 units and a distance from the magnet of 0.2 units, the force on the optimal magnet was 1.44 times greater than the force on an axially magnetized magnet of the same size and magnetization magnitude. The optimal magnetization may be approximated by magnetization inclined at a constant angle to the axis and by a combination of axially and radially magnetized sections. With magnetization at a constant angle to the axis in the axis plane, the force was greatest when the angle was about 45°, being 1.38-fold compared to the force on an axially magnetized magnet. When the magnet was composed of an axially magnetized cylindrical core and a radially magnetized outer ring, the force was greatest when the volume of the core was approximately equal to the volume of the ring, being 1.26-fold compared to the force on an axially magnetized magnet. The optimal magnet and its approximations also provided a reduced stray field. A short review of methods of the fabrication of permanent magnets (PMs) with a continuous variation of the magnetization orientation and with radial magnetization orientation is given.The results of this study can be used to design linear electromagnetic (micro)actuators.     

Levitation performance of the magnetized bulk high-Tc superconducting magnet with different trapped fields

To a high-T_c superconducting (HTS) maglev system which needs large levitation force density, the magnetized bulk high-T_c superconductor (HTSC) magnet is a good candidate because it can supply additional repulsive or attractive force above a permanent magnet guideway (PMG). Because the induced supercurrent within a magnetized bulk HTSC is the key parameter for the levitation performance, and it is sensitive to the magnetizing process and field, so the magnetized bulk HTSC magnets with different magnetizing processes had various levitation performances, not only the force magnitude, but also its force relaxation characteristics. Furthermore, the distribution and configuration of the induced supercurrent are also important factor to decide the levitation performance, especially the force relaxation characteristics. This article experimentally investigates the influences of different magnetizing processes and trapped fields on the levitation performance of a magnetized bulk HTSC magnet with smaller size than the magnetic inter-pole distance of PMG, and the obtained results are qualitatively analyzed by the Critical State Model. The test results and analyses of this article are useful for the suitable choice and optimal design of magnetized bulk HTSC magnets.