Topology Optimization of a Magnetic Actuator Based on a Level Set and Phase-Field Approach

Abstract

This paper aims to develop a topology optimization method for magnetic actuator design, which can control the geometrical complexity of optimal configurations, using a level set model that incorporates a fictitious interface energy model based on concepts in the phase-field method. By adding a fictitious interface energy term to the objective functional, the optimization problem is sufficiently relaxed and the obtained optimal configurations have sufficient smoothness. The optimization problem is formulated to maximize the performance of a magnetic actuator under a volume constraint for the ferromagnetic material. The update scheme for implicit moving boundaries is developed based on time evolutional equations. The proposed method is applied to the structural design of a C-core actuator and a numerical example confirms the effectiveness of the method for achieving optimal configurations that deliver enhanced performance.