Magnetostriction measurements with a low-cost magnetostrictive cantilever beam

Abstract

The magnetostrictive effect is an important topic for scientific research as well as for technological applications. Since magnetostriction constitutes an important property of emerging smart materials, experimental investigations as well as theoretical discussions of the magnetostrictive effect are of great educational value. Quantitative measurements of the magnetostrictive effect are usually technically sophisticated or not related to real applications or everyday materials. The objective of this article is to describe a simple and low-cost experiment for the qualitative and quantitative investigation of magnetostrictive characteristics employing magnetostrictive laser deflection and optical amplification. Measurements are performed for precut magnetostrictive materials found in electronic article surveillance tags. Comparative theoretical calculations for magnetostrictive cantilever beams prove the quality of the experimental approach. The described method for magnetostriction measurements has been developed as a part of the Scientific Outreach Project within the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1261 “Magnetoelectric Sensors.”

Teaching Magnetoelectric Sensing to Secondary School Students—Considerations for Educational STEM Outreach

“…The CRC scientists not only provided their expertise and feedback on teaching materials and experiments, but also actively contributed ideas that enriched the design. One example of this was the co-development of an experiment (see Box 1), a process that also led to a joint publication in a physics education journal [31].…”

“…This experiment is part of the learning station 3 and illustrates the magnetostrictive effect using a cantilever-type sensor (for more detail see [31]). The magnetostrictive cantilever consists of a non-magnetostrictive substrate material and a magnetostrictive material attached to it.…”

“…A laser beam is directed onto the cantilever beam sensor and reflected onto a screen. The experimental setup includes the magnetostrictive cantilever, an electromagnet, a laser pointer and a screen (Figure 6, for more information on the materials see [31]). The cantilever beam is mounted so that it can be bent horizontally and is inserted inside a coil.…”

“…beam is directed onto the cantilever beam sensor and reflected onto a screen. The e mental setup includes the magnetostrictive cantilever, an electromagnet, a laser p and a screen (Figure 6, for more information on the materials see [31]).…”