Research of Fast-Response Giant Magnetostrictive Actuator for Space Propulsion System

This paper presents a flow regulator based on a fast-response giant magnetostrictive actuator (GMA). The finite-element method is adopted for analyzing and optimizing the magnetic circuit structure of the GMA, and the influence of structural parameters on the driving magnetic field uniformity is summarized. Based on the analysis and output demand, a prototype of the GMA driven by a Φ5 × 40 mm giant magnetostrictive material rod is made, and a test bench is set. The result shows that the static output displacement is about 47.1 μm. With a flexure hinge working as the displacement amplification structure, the maximum opening displacement of the flow regulator is about 240 μm, and the response time is less than 1 ms. Using nitrogen (N₂) as the working medium, the mass flow rate of the giant magnetostrictive regulator is 12 g/s at 3 MPa.