Magnetostrictive actuation of a smart beam with hysteretic material behaviour

Magnetostrictive materials can be used as actuators in smart structures technology. The relation between induced strain and the applied magnetic field is nonlinear and shows hysteretic behaviour. Thus the magnetomechanical coupling coefficient is not constant and should be defined as a function of strain or magnetic field in computations. In this study the hysteresis of a mechanically unconstrained actuator is determined using the Michelson interferometry. The hysteretic behaviour is modelled phenomenologically by a Preisach model. Using these experimental data for the modelling of an active structure with embedded magnetostrictive actuators, the actual coupling coefficient can be determined utilising the Preisach model. With this procedure the actuation strain of an embedded actuator, including the physical nonlinearities, can be calculated using the material characteristics obtained with an unconstrained actuator. For the determination of the actual coupling coefficient a strain- and field-dependent approach is used. For an experimental validation of the method outlined above, a magnetostrictive actuator is characterised experimentally and then applied to a cantilever aluminium beam. Then, the tip displacement of the actuated beam is measured with a laser triangulation sensor and compared with the numerical results. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)