Comparative study on equivalent models calculating magnetic force between permanent magnets

Abstract

Purpose – An appropriate equivalent model is the key to the effective analysis of the system and structure in which permanent magnet takes part. At present, there are several equivalent models for calculating the interacting magnetic force between permanent magnets including magnetizing current, magnetic charge and magnetic dipole–dipole model. How to choose the most appropriate and efficient model still needs further discussion. Design/methodology/approach – This paper chooses cuboid, cylindrical and spherical permanent magnets as calculating objects to investigate the detailed calculation procedures based on three equivalent models, magnetizing current, magnetic charge and magnetic dipole–dipole model. By comparing the accuracies of those models with experiment measurement, the applicability of three equivalent models for describing permanent magnets with different shapes is analyzed. Findings – Similar calculation accuracies of the equivalent magnetizing current model and magnetic charge model are verified by comparison between simulation and experiment results. However, the magnetic dipole–dipole model can only accurately calculate for spherical magnet instead of other nonellipsoid magnets, because dipole model cannot describe the specific characteristics of magnet's shape, only sphere can be treated as the topological form of a dipole, namely a filled dot. Originality/value – This work provides reference basis for choosing a proper model to calculate magnetic force in the design of electromechanical structures with permanent magnets. The applicability of different equivalent models describing permanent magnets with different shapes is discussed and the equivalence between the models is also analyzed.

Keywords

• permanent magnet
• magnetic force calculation
• equivalent magnetizing current
• equivalent magnetic charge
• magnetic dipole