A new design approach to the shape and topology optimization of magnetic shields

Abstract

A novel approach to the three-dimensional optimal design of magnetic shields is presented, in which both shape optimization and topology optimization are achieved with the aid of numerical magnetic-field analysis. These numerical procedures are implemented by means of the hybrid finite element and boundary element method combined with the genetic algorithm. This results in an overall increase in the optimization speed with acceptable computational accuracy. Finally, some numerical results that demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach are presented.

Ferrofluids to Improve Field Homogeneity in Permanent Magnet Assemblies

“…For optimized magnetic field shimming by ferrofluids, finding the most effective microfluidic network can be carried out by optimizing the volume distribution of one chosen type of ferrofluid over the chip, or by optimizing the position of fixed volumes of ferrofluids of different saturation magnetization on the chip, or by a combination of these two methods. For a practical implementation, combining Topology Optimization with Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) routines seems to be ideal [68][69][70][71], and some illustrative examples of the combination of these two techniques for permanent magnet designs at different scales have been published recently [72][73][74][75][76]. Finally, we also see an opportunity for active shimming, because ferrofluid suspensions or plugs can be pumped through a microfluidic channel network to desired locations within the magnet bore to compensate for magnetic field inhomogeneities.…”