Model-based control of solenoid actuators using flux channel reluctance models

Control-oriented magnetic models for solenoid actuators are analyzed and evaluated subject to their capabilities to reflect important features of the magnetic properties. Moreover, it is shown that undesired tuning requirements can be omitted by use of flux channel models. The focus here is put on the modeling of eddy currents since the accurate calculation of eddy current losses is a requirement for control strategies that are designed to minimize these losses. It is shown that flux channel models provide good results while the computational burden is low in comparison to finite element models. However, flux channel models require an additional step when used in flatness-based optimization schemes. This step is called state-decomposition and is explained in the second part of this paper.