Design and Optimization of a Cylindrical Voice Coil Actuator for the Synchronized Segmentally Interchanging Pulley Transmission System (SSIPTS)

This paper presents design, modeling, and optimization methodologies for an electromagnetic actuator for the synchronized segmentally interchanging pulley transmission system (SSIPTS). The overall design of SSIPTS and its principle of operation introduce very challenging and conflicting design requirements. The actuators must be very small in size and as light as possible while they need to produce very high force linearly along the stroke. Since no commercial actuator is able to meet all the design requirements of SSIPTS, a novel actuator must be designed for this application. Based on the prior state of the art and literature surveys on actuator technologies and the performance requirements, it has been concluded that voice coil actuator (VCA) technology is the best candidate. VCA is modeled for this application, and the key design parameters have been defined. Further, geometry mapping optimization and FEM analysis have been conducted to determine the optimized values for the key design parameters. Based on the simulation results and FEM analysis, the optimized VCA is shaped. This design of VCA meets the design requirements of SSIPTS.