Coupled thermal-electromagnetic design of a short-duty, high-specific force linear actuator

A coupled electromagnetic-thermal design methodology is introduced and applied to the design of a short-duty, high-specific force linear actuator which serves to demonstrate the strong relationship between duty cycle, thermal performance and machine force density. It is shown that in the presence of a short well-defined duty cycle a machine can be designed to operate, transiently, well above its steady state force capability while remaining within a specified thermal envelope.