Design of MEMS magnetic actuator for MEMS fourier transform infrared spectrometer

The objective of this thesis is to design MEMS magnetic actuator for MEMS FTIRS. The actuator consists of moving part and fixed part. The moving part uses rotation-to-translation motion conversion mechanism to achieve large translation, which includes four trapezoidal plates, central ring, anchoring springs and connection springs. The fixed part of the actuator consists of four solenoids. The actuator can be integrated with separately fabricated micromirror plate to achieve high surface quality translation micromirror for FTIRS. The actuator is capable of eliminating titling by controlling the four solenoids individually. The MEMS magnetic actuator has been designed and simulated to be able to output a static displacement of 370micrometers. The stress has been analyzed for the moving part of the actuator. The actuator fixed part has been designed. Dynamic analysis has been conducted for the moving part of the actuator. The moving part of the actuator has been fabricated using MetalMUMPs.

A reciprocating permanent magnetic actuator for driving magnetic micro robots in fluids

Magnetic-based driving applications are receiving increasing attention. This study proposed a novel reciprocating permanent magnetic actuator (PMA) to manipulate magnetic micro robots to impact and clear blockages inside fluid pipes in a linear path. The PMA consisted of a cylindrical permanent magnet and a crank slider structure. A straight pipe with a circular cross-sectional area was located in front of the actuator to study the driving performance of PMA. A micro permanent magnet with a cylinder shape was employed as a working robot for manipulation inside the pipe. Firstly, analytical formulas were derived to obtain the magnetic driving force acting on the micro robot and determine the most suitable magnet configuration. The finite element simulation verified the analytical calculation. The developed reciprocating PMA prototype was then introduced, and the PMA and micro robot’s motion performance was analysed. Lastly, preliminary experiments were carried out for evaluating the micro robot’s motion characteristics. Performance tests for different excitation frequencies, flow rates, viscosities, and axial distances, indicating that PMA could manipulate the magnetic micro robot inside the pipe. The results confirmed that the developed PMA could effectively drive the micro robot with the advantage of consecutive magnetic driving. Especially, the micro robot featured good flexibility, rapid response, and a simple structure, suggesting that this micro robot may play an important role in industrial and medical applications, such as blockage elimination and thrombus clearance.

A New Type of Rotary Magnetic Actuator System Using Electromagnetic Vibration and Wheel

In recent years, large structures, such as bridges, which are a type of social infrastructure, have been constructed with increasing traffic volume. For this reason, inspection and maintenance of social infrastructures, such as large bridges and tanks, is important. In the present paper, a magnetic wheel actuator system capable of movement using a new principle of locomotion was proposed and tested. The experimental results indicated a maximum pulling force of 1.6 N. By on-off control of the attractive force of the magnetic wheel, the actuator system was demonstrated to be able to move on a step having a height of 10 mm. Furthermore, the proposed actuator system could freely rotate in horizontal and vertical planes of over angles of 360°.