INTRODUCTION

Electromagnetic (EM) launch technology is a strong candidate for launching objects with high velocities
and to long distances in recent technology. Electromagnetic launching has been demonstrated in
laboratories, power supply technologies for launchers and its fabrication are not completely driven to be
used in practical applications. However, the complete EM launcher system has many technological
challenges that prevent the system from being put in the field today. Rail launcher, one type of
electromagnetic launchers, can accelerate objects to very high speed, up to 3 km/s. that exceed those of
conventional launcher that launch objects using solid propellants. This launcher converts very large
amount of electrical energy to mechanical energy (projectile kinetic energy) in very short time periods
with low electrical to mechanical efficiency. Rail launcher research has gained great importance in high
energy.
Other application for electromagnetic launch using moderate power excitation circuit is called Coil gun
which has the advantage that the object need not physically contact the walls of the launch tube. It
consists of driving coil surrounding a barrel of through which a conducting armature passes. A charged
capacitor bank is switched into the driving coil circuit to induce a current into the coil and hence induce
accelerating force for the projectile to move. This type has the advantage of eliminating a potential source
of wear that would otherwise limit barrel life. A fundamental concern for coil launcher is that the EM
forces basically act in the radial direction in the launch tube, so that the projectile is ―squeezed‖ in the
radial direction to provide acceleration in the axial (launch) direction. The exciting of pulsed power with
different voltage technology is found in the growing area of electromagnetic launch and propulsion. The
principal technical challenges for such propulsive devices are achieving high thrust and high coil strength,
producing and controlling high power levels, and maintaining good weight, volume and efficiency
characteristics. The excitation circuit design depends on the required projectile mass, speed, and firing
distance.

Schematic Diagram of Induction Coilgun

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Ferro fluid – Energy Harvester
Ferro fluid is a colloidal liquid made of nano scale ferromagnetic or ferri-magnetic, particles suspended in
a carrier fluid, organic solvent or water. Ferro fluids are composed of nano scale particles of magnetite,
hematite or some other compound containing iron, and a liquid. It becomes strongly magnetized in the
presence of a magnetic field. The magnetic attraction of nanoparticles is weak enough that the surfactant's
Van der Waals force is sufficient to prevent magnetic clumping or agglomeration.
The conformable nature of liquid-state transduction materials offers unprecedented opportunities for
designing complex-shaped vibratory energy harvesters that are, otherwise, hard to realize using solid-state
transduction elements.
To achieve this goal, we propose an electromagnetic energy harvester which exploits the sloshing of a
magnetized ferro fluid column in a base-excited container to transform vibratory energy into electricity.
Operation Principle
The magnetic flux, f, passing through a given area, A, is defined as the dot product of the magnetic field
vector with the unit vector normal to the area
According to Lenz‘s law, the induced voltage, also known back electromotive force (emf), can be related
to the change of flux through where N is the number of turns.
Back Emf can be induced in the coil by-
1. Changing the magnitude of the field B with time; which is achieved by the bulk motion of the
dipoles inside the container
2. Varying the angle between the dipoles and the area vector A, which can occur when the sloshing
motion of the fluid forces the dipoles to change their orientation

Sloshing in Ferro fluid

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Ferro fluid harvests vibration energy from the environment. It is placed inside a container that is wrapped
with a coil of wire and then externally magnetized. The external vibrations cause the Ferro fluid to slosh
around in the container which results in the change of magnetic flux fields with respect to the coil of wire.
According to Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, voltage is induced in the coil of wire due to
change in magnetic flux.
In the coil gun, the Ferro fluid is filled in a toroid shaped plastic container to allow the sloshing
movement of the fluid. When the toroid is subjected to external magnetic field of the coil, the magnetic
dipoles of the Ferro fluid rotate and distribute themselves such that a net magnetic moment is produced.
The direction of the fluid magnetisation is aligned with the external field.
During the recoil of gun, there is excitation in toroid due to recoiling motion. The ferrofluid undergoes
the sloshing movement which induces time varying magnetisation in the fluid. This results in time
varying flux and electron force in the metal coil.
Toroid shaped container is chosen for Ferro fluid because due to its symmetry, the amount of magnetic
flux that escapes outside the core that is leakage flux is low, therefore it is more efficient and thus radiates
less electromagnetic interference (EMI). Also, a toroid is more compact and lighter than other shaped
cores.
Projectile
Projectile is the metal that travels through the barrel and hits the target when the coil gun is triggered. It is
essential to design the projectile effectively in order to optimise the design of the coil gun.
The projectile is analysed under the following governing domains.
1. Projectile Material
2. Projectile Shape
3. Projectile Conductivity
4. Projectile Length
5. Projectile Diameter
Projectile Material
The projectile material for induction coil gun should be non–ferromagnetic since the projectile is repelled
out of the coil through the action of eddy currents induced in the projectile.
The non-ferromagnetic material includes aluminium, copper, lead, zinc. The material for the coil gun
selected is lead because of the following properties.
1. It is a soft material which expands on impact and thus has more impact to the target.
2. It is non-ferromagnetic and thus can be easily used in induction coil gun.
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 3. It is diamagnetic and can interact with the magnetic field, thus ensuring that the projectile hits the
target.
4. Even though, it has low susceptibility, it reacts to the changing magnetic field effectively
5. The velocity achieved with lead is higher than aluminium and ferromagnetic material iron.
6. It has high resistance to corrosion.
7. It is economically available than other materials.
Projectile Shape
The projectile shape should be flat faced cylinder is optimal for magnetic flux linkage. Any shape other
than this leaves air gaps that reduce performance. Blunt projectiles have the best flux linkage. Also, the
flat face ensures that the projectile shot is non-fatal.
Projectile Conductivity
The projectile material for induction coil gun should be non-conductive or should have very less
conductivity. Conductive materials are subject to eddy currents, which act as a form of resistance when
attempting to fire the projectile. The induced currents on the surface of the projectile generates its own
magnetic fields that tend to oppose the magnetic field acting on the projectile Lenz‘s Law induced by the
coil, resulting in the transformation of kinetic energy to a wasteful form of energy: heat.
Thus lead has been selected since it is non-conductive.
Projectile Length
The projectile length should be optimally designed and must not be too long.
The length of the projectile has been designed to be 8mm.
Projectile Diameter
The projectile diameter should be balanced with the strength of the magnetic field being produced. If the
projectile is too big then it will not fully saturate and so the extra mass in the projectile that is not
magnetised is effectively dead weight. If the projectile is too small then it saturates too quickly and
magnetic flux is not fully utilised to accelerate the projectile. Also, the diameter of the armature should
approach the diameter of the stator coil for an efficient coil gun.
According to the requirements of the coil gun, the diameter of the projectile is 25mm.

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 Projectile Shape
Barrel
The barrel of the coil gun should be non-conductive tube; else it will exhibit Faraday cage behaviour and
would reduce the velocity of projectile. Also, the coil's magnetic field would simply cancel out itself
inside the tube.
Therefore, the material selected for barrel is Polycarbonate
Barrel Parameter
Length: 150mm
Diameter: 70mm
Coil
It is essential to use the coil winding for the coil gun which has high conductivity and less resistance.
The coil has been selected as 18 AWG Copper Wire because of its following properties
1. It has high conductivity
2. It has high tensile strength
3. It has high corrosion resistance
4. It has high durability and reliability
Coil Parameters
Diameter of coil: 30mm
No. of turns: 90

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LITERATURE REVIEW
Operational Requirements and Issues for Coil gun Electromagnetic Launchers Ronald J. Kaye
Coil gun has been developed at Sandia National Laboratory. It consist of many coils stacked end-to-end
forming a barrel, with each coil energized in sequence to create a travelling magnetic wave that
accelerates a projectile. Active tracking of the projectile location during launch provides precise feedback
to control when the coils are triggered to create this wave. The energizing of the barrel coils synchronous
with the position of the armature is critical for optimum performance of the coilgun. If coils are energized
well before or after the armature is resident in a coil, no thrust will be generated since the magnetic
coupling between coil and armature would be weak. If the armature is present but the coil is energized too
early, the field may generate no thrust, or if the field fills the coil bore ahead of the armature, a braking
force will be generated. In this, the simulation of the effect of switching jitter shows negligible effect on
muzzle velocity for a 400 m/s gun, and for a 2.5 km/s gun, muzzle velocities vary with a standard
deviation less than 0.1% of the mean. These results indicate that the coil gun has significant potential for
precise, repeatable muzzle velocities that will enable precise targeting for low- or high-speed projectiles.
Design, Implementation and Test of a Coilgun-Type Electromagnetic Launcher Prototype
Ugur Hasirci, Abdulkadir Balıkçı
Department of Electronics Engineering
Gebze Institute of Technology
Kocaeli, Turkey
This paper deals with the design, fabrication and test of a laboratory scale prototype 50 m/s coilgun-type
electromagnetic launcher. The basic design criterion can be expressed as reaching a certain velocity at the
muzzle of the barrel with minimizing the physical dimensions of the launcher. Moreover, magnetic,
thermal and mechanical stresses on the projectile must be held at an applicable level. A cylindrical
aluminum pipe with the thickness of 2 mm, length of 20 mm and outer diameter of 32 mm, shown is used
as sleeve. By considering the physical dimension obtained in the previous section for drive coils, the
barrel is constituted by 24 coils that each coil has inner diameter of 35 mm, outer diameter of 55 mm and
length of 30 mm. Each of drive coils contains 10 layers with 15 turns in each layer. To get a stiff structure
for drive coils against to possible mechanical phenomena during the operation, some insulation materials
such as thread, and cloth-band was used. A triac-based power conditioner is designed and implemented to
quench the effect of dc component of the phase currents, which this effect explained before. This power
conditioner detects the zero crossing of each phase, then calculates the time that each phase reaches its
peak value, and triggers the triac of each phase at its peak.
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Effect of Projectile Design on Coil Gun Performance
Jeff Holzgrafe, Nathan Lintz, Nick Eyre, & Jay Patterson
The coil gun works by quickly discharging a large amount of energy from a capacitor through a coil,
creating a strong magnetic field through the coil. This strong field induces magnetization in the slug,
causing microscopic dipoles to align with the field in a lower energy state. Because the coil is a solenoid
of finite length, the produced magnetic field decays in strength axially away from the edge of the coil. The
aligned dipoles feel a force proportional to the gradient in the magnetic field:

ž F = µ0∇(M·H)

Where M is the projectile magnetization and H is the applied field. If the current were sustained
indefinitely, after being accelerated from one side of the coil, the projectile would encounter an opposite
gradient on the other side which would apply a force back towards the center of the coil. Thus, a coil gun
with constant current would simply cause the projectile to oscillate within the coil. If the slug reaches the
other side of the coil while significant current is still running in the coil, the slug will experience a force
toward the center ž of the coil, slowing its motion. This effect is commonly called suck-back, and is
undesirable for coil gun operation. However, if all of the charge is drained from the capacitors quickly,
before the projectile reaches the other side of the coil, there will be no repelling force and the projectile
will continue on to exit the barrel

The system is triggered by a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR). The SCR we are using is triggered by the
application of 1.7-5V referenced to the SCR‘s anode. So the system would be self-contained, we wanted
the triggering circuit to be driven of the firing capacitors. We used a 6V voltage regulator which accepts
input voltages between 7 and 40V and an additional 1000 Ω voltage divider to produce the desired 3V for
the trigger. We attached the SCR to the output of the voltage divider and use a linear SPDT switch to
control the voltage regulator state.
Projectile : Eight different styles of projectile were manufactured for testing. All projectiles are 5⁄8‖ in
diameter and slide easily in the plastic barrel. Iron projectiles, which we predict will shoot the best, were
made in three different lengths (1‖, 11⁄2‖ and 3‖) as well as in hollow and solid configurations.
Two Fluxes Multistage Induction Coilgun
Laurian GHERMAN
‖Henri Coandă‖ Air Force Academy, Braşov, Romania
This paper presents a new design of electromagnetic launcher based on induction. It uses two magnetic
fluxes to accelerate a projectile and the configuration allow multiple stages. The two fluxes multistage

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induction coilgun design offer multiple advantages over single flux designs. First the induced current in
ring can be controlled and the induced coil current is kept at low values. Second the direction of magnetic
field B inside the air gap is perpendicular on ring and the Lorentz force acts on the ring during entire
length of magnetic circuit. Because the magnetic field B is created by a different coil the magnetic circuit
can be unsaturated for a great efficiency.
Based on force used to accelerate the projectiles the EMLS are with attractive and repulsive force. The
poles between coil and projectile are different and an attractive force is acting on projectile. The projectile
is accelerated inside the coil until it reaches the middle of length of coil when the force became repulsive.
In that point the power of coil must be switched off in order to allow the projectile to travel further. If
multiple coils are synchronized with projectile position, the projectiles can be accelerated with a
multistage coilgun. At the end only half length of coils is used to accelerate the projectile. An air core coil
is designed which induces current into a ring placed outside the coil. The coil has an air core in order to
obtain a low inductance and give the possibility to increase the current in coil without saturation problem.

Design And Power Conditioning For The Coil-Gun

Z. Zabar, Y. Naot , L. Birenbaum, E. Levi And P.N. Joshi

Contact Less Coil Gun – Linear Induction Launcher

Barrel - linear array of coils carrying polyphase currents.

These create electromagnetic waves which move with increasing velocity and smooth acceleration of a
conductive sleeve which carries a set of azimuthal currents sinusoidally distributed along its length, and
which encloses the projectile payload

Power Source : Capacitor

The barrel coils are given polyphase energization. This creates an electromagnetic wave packet traveling
longitudinally with increasing velocity .Only the section of the barrel in which the projectile is located, at
a given moment, is excited. The frequency of the currents in the drive coils (the same as the frequency of
the traveling wave) increases from one section to the subsequent one. The projectile payload is enclosed
within a conductive sleeve to permit acceleration by the traveling wave packet.

Power Conditioning: Breadboard Model

1. The power conditioner provides high utilization of energy by transferring energy from capacitor to
capacitor simultaneously with the projectile movement.

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 2. A six stage diagram of one phase of the power- conditioning system. The resistors RI, R2 ... have
values that are chosen to make the energy dissipated in each one equal to the sum of the kinetic
energy and the ohmic losses of the corresponding section. The initial energy is stored in the
capacitors C1, C2 ... .
3. The power conditioning diagram suggests that all the power supplies of Fig. 1 are cascade-
connected in order to utilize the left-over energy of the previous stage.
4. A six-stage scaled-down breadboard circuit of the power conditioner was built in the laboratory.
5. The capacitors C were charged with alternating polarity, as shown in the figure, through
individual power supplies E.

It was demonstrated that for a ten stage configuration, the one- shot energy usage efficiency (muzzle
kinetic energy/initial stored energy in the capacitors) is above 63%. For repetitive operation, the energy
stored in the capacitors can be recovered almost completely.

Inductively Commutated Coilgun

Peter P Mongeau

This paper discusses the relevance of power factor in regards to induction launchers. It focuses on
different design considerations which include the magnetic coupling, localization of flux/excitation,
energy recovery and scale size and speed.

1. Magnetic Coupling : It has a significant impact on overall coupling. It is the function of radial
build and width of the involved coil. A certain amount of flux coupling is required to accomplish
the magnetic work while the rest amount of flux that is uncoupled flux is similar to leakage flux
and must be minimized. It is minimized by having minimum coil radius and reduced widths and
gaps.

2. Localisation of Flux/Excitation: In linear induction launchers, the projectile windings are localized
to a finite length. However, the excitation beyond one bore diameter from projectile instantaneous
position produces leakage flux which must be minimized. Thus, the excitation is confined by the
process known as commutation

3. Energy Recovery: It is the process of commutation which includes local and global commutation.
In local Commutation, the Magnetic energy is recovered from moving region continuously. While
in global commutation, the Magnetic energy is recovered from the end of the launch. Local
commutation is feasible in coilgun

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 4. Scale Size and Speed: Larger scale size and speed improves the efficiency of the induction
coilgun. Larger size ensures better coupling. While larger speed ensures short launch interval and
hence lower excitation losses

The brush commutated coilgun and solid state switch has been studied for switching purposes.

Brush Commutated Coilgun: Use of projectile mounted brushes sliding on the inside of continuous barrel
winding

Solid state switched coil guns can replace brush commutated coil gun.
1. In inductively commutated coil gun, switching function: opening and closing at zero current
crossing.
2. SCR is ideal
3. Advantages of Switches : Controllability, Reliability, Durability, Low losses
Induction Coil Gun
Vitor Matos, Luis Silva and João Sena Esteves
Dept. of Industrial Electronics. University of Minho.
Campus of Azurém. 4800-058 GUIMARÃES
Portugal
This paper describes a device built on the principle of linear inductor. It is capable of throwing metal
rings at a range of a few meters. A conducting non-ferromagnetic ring is inserted in the pipe through its
other extremity. An alternating current flowing through the coil creates an alternating magnetic field,
which magnetizes the iron pipe. So, an alternating
magnetic field is created around the pipe and induces a circumferential current flowing in the ring. This
current is repelled by the magnetic field, forcing the ring to jump out of the pipe.
The device is composed by a coil, winded around an extremity of a ferromagnetic core, leaving about two
thirds protruding. The projectiles are conducting non-ferromagnetic rings. The coil is driven by an
alternating current for a short period of time, until the ring leaves the core. The dimensions of the iron
pipe are 600mm length and 60mm diameter, as core. Around 200mm of the length of the core, about 800
turns of 0.90mm insulated copper were winded. Rings were made to fit around the core and are made of
aluminium, copper and brass. For safety reasons, core and coil were fit in a structure that prevents aiming
upward, in a direction perpendicular to the ground. A fixed angle of 30º with horizontal direction was
imposed, making rings jump forward.

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The coil gun works on the principles of electromagnetic induction and repulsion. When it is fired, an
alternating current flows through the coil creating an alternating magnetic field. The field magnetizes the
iron, which induces a circumferential alternating current in the ring. This current is repelled by the
magnetic field, making the ring jump from the core at a distance of a few meters. The faster the magnetic
flux changes, the greater are the induced currents in the ring, resulting in a stronger force.

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RESEARCH GAPS
ENERGY CONVERSIONS
 The basic principle is very simple, but in practical execution occurs many problems and
complications which together caused small efficiency of coil gun
 From the initial invested energy only a few percent is converted into kinetic energy of projectile.
In basic of this effect is a number of energy conversion
 Electrostatic energy of the capacitor is converted into magnetic energy of the coil, and then this
energy is converted into kinetic energy projectiles. At each conversion, the energy is lost so the
final efficiency can‘t be high
FLUID ENERGY HARVESTER
Proposed Idea
The conformable nature of liquid-state transduction materials offers unprecedented opportunities for
designing complex-shaped vibratory energy harvesters that are, otherwise, hard to realize using solid-state
transduction elements.
To achieve this goal, we propose an electromagnetic energy harvester which exploits the sloshing of a
magnetized Ferro fluid column in a base-excited container to transform vibratory energy into electricity.

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METHODOLOGY
The electromagnetic coil launcher structure is shown in Fig. 1. As shown in the figure, it consists of stator
coil and armature coil that moves along the stator coil axis. In the coil gun, the armature is the projectile
itself. The stator current density (Js) is circulating around the axis. This current induces a magnetic field
inside the armature (Ba). Accordingly, an induced current density (Ja) is induced in the armature which in
turn results in a magnetic field around the stator (Bs).The interaction of the different current density at the
stator and armature and their associated quasi stationary magnetic field at the stator and armature are
related
Ja = Ñ× Bs /µ
Js = Ñ× Ba /µ
where μ is the permeability of inner space between stator and armature.

Fig 1: Forces that exist on stator and armature

Based on the above current and magnetic field densities, magnetic forces have been established in both
stator and armature which can be calculated using Lorentz force as
F = J × B = Ñ× B× B/µ
where J is the induced current density in either stator/armature and B is the armature/stator magnetic
field. We are mainly interested in the forces affecting the armature (projectile). The forces affecting the
projectile inside electromagnetic coil are illustrated in Fig. 1. In the figure, the driving force (F) in coil
launcher is the Lorentz Force. Forces result from the current density crossed into the magnetic field. The
force (F) can be decomposed into a propulsive (axial) force (Fz) and a radial force exist on both the
armature and stator forces, induced on both stator and armature, are in opposite direction. These opposing
radial forces act to center the armature inside the stator coil making contactless launch possible. Hence,

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the projectile is centered and no friction occurs between the projectile and stator walls. These can be
expressed as
Fsr = -J sf × -Baz
-Far = Ja f × -Bsz
where Fsr and Far, are stator/armature radial forces, respectively. Also (Jsf) and (Jaf) are the radial
stator/armature current density. On the other hand, (Bsz) and (Baz) are the axial stator axial magnetic
field, respectively. Since the radial forces are balanced, the motion of the projectile inside the stator is
mainly due to the armature axial force affecting the projectile. This force can be expressed
mathematically as
Faz = Jaj × -Bsr
where (Faz) is the armature axial force that pushes the projectile, (Bsr) is the stator radial magnetic field
speed inside the projectile as a result of this force can be calculated.
Once geometry is decided on a characterization of the geometry can be made as a magnetic field factor,
L‘. The magnetic field factor is also the inductance gradient of the Electromagnetic coil gun geometry
and is expressed in Henrys per meter. L‘ allows for a dramatic simplification of into a scalar force
expressed as:
F = L‘

From this forcing function we were able to solve for acceleration using Newton 2nd law
F=m.a

a=

Once acceleration is found, an easy integration provides velocity and position.

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FERROFLUID Several assumptions are adopted in modeling the coupled magneto-ferro-hydro-dynamic
system depicted, the sloshing motion of the fluid is mainly two-dimensional. The sloshing plane is
defined as the xy-plane and the direction perpendicular to the sloshing plane as the z-direction. Since the
bar magnets have a much larger dimension in the z- direction than their cross-sectional dimensions, the
magnetic flux density distribution is considered to be uniform along the z-direction. Thus, the ferrofluid
based electromagnetic energy harvester is represented by the two-dimensional (2-D) system shown in Fig.
Second, the ferrofluid is considered to be ferromagnetic and magnetization of the ferrofluid is linearly
proportional to the magnetic field before reaches its saturation value. Third, the ferrofluid is considered
to be an incompressible viscous fluid with non-negligible surface tension. The governing equations of the
magneto-ferro-hydrodynamic system are described next.

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ENERGY HARVESTOR
Governing Equations

Fig: Schematic diagram showing the computational domains for different governing equations
The entire spatial domain, which is set to be 10 times the size of the tank and magnets, is governed by
Maxwell‘s equations. The domain enclosed by red dashed lines is subject to magneti- zation. The
domain inside the tank (enclosed by green dash-dot lines) is governed by Navier-Stokes and
continuity equations.
Maxwell‘s equations for magnetic analysis
In the external magnetic field applied by the magnets, the Ferro fluid sloshing creates a time-
varying magnetization in the fluid, further causing a time-varying magnetic field and electric field.
We compute the electromotive force induced by the time-varying magnetic field assuming open-
circuit conditions. This, combined with the fact that both the Ferro fluid and air are non-conducting
fluids, guarantees that there is no current passing through the system. With no electric current and
the high operating frequencies of the energy harvester (1-1150 Hz), the electric field induced
magnetic field is negligible. Under such conditions, Maxwell‘s equations for magneto-dynamics
are given as
𝞩.B=0 (1)
Rho = divD/(4*pi) (2)
𝞩divD = 0 (3)
where B is the magnetic flux density, H the magnetic field, E the electric field. Note that, Since the
curl of H is zero, H can be expressed as the gradient of a magnetic scalar potential ψ as
H = −∇ψ (4)
The constitutive equations are given by
B = µ0H (in the air) (5)
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 B = µ0(H + M) (in the ferrofluid) (6)
B = µ0H + B0 (in the magnets) (7)
where M is the magnetization, B0 the remnant magnetic flux density, and µ0 the permeability of free
space. Equation (7) is a good approximation for commonly used permanent magnets dur- ing normal
operation, such as ferrite, Samarium-Cobalt and Neodymium-Iron-Boron magnets, the differential
permeabilities of which are very close to µ0.
When the external H is applied, a ferrofluid particle aligns its magnetic moment with the field either
by a rotation of the whole particle, a process called Brownian relaxation, or by a change of the
direction of the magnetic moment inside the particle, the so-called N´eel relaxation. Both relaxation
processes are characterized by respective relaxation times τB and τN that produce a phase-delay
between H and M. When τN >> τB , the magnetization and rotation of magnetic particles follow the
magnetization relaxation equation and spin equation . However, since in this work, the order of
relaxation time (microseconds) is much lower than the period of fluid oscillation (seconds), the
ferrofluid sample can be regarded as ferromagnetic. In such a case, when the magnitude of H
increases over a threshold value, all the magnetic particles align with direction of H and
magnetization reaches its saturation value. On the other hand, when H is small, the following linear
relation exists between M and H:
M = χH (8)
where χ is the magnetic susceptibility.
Solving the governing equations of the [A Ferrofluid Based Energy Harvester: Computational Modeling,
Analysis, and Experimental Validation-Qi Liu, Saad F. Alazemi, Mohammed F. Daqaq, Gang Li]
according to our application using Fem.

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SIMULATION
In this section we present the excitation circuit needed to produce sufficient current for producing enough
magnetic field required to push the armature forward. The excitation circuit was designed for low weight
projectiles as will be explained in next section. Hence, the excitation circuit was designed as a moderate
power circuit. In our work, the excitation circuit is used to provide a discharging pulse. The amplitude
and discharging time constant (t) are determined according to the available charging energy and
projectile. The input energy source was an ac energy source (sinusoidal power supply) that charges a
capacitor bank to 300 volt. The commercial software Proteus design tool is used for design validation. As
shown in Figure the excitation circuit was implemented during charging phase and discharging phase.
Accordingly, the excitation circuit was designed using full wave bridge 1.5 k_ power resistor, 5×1000 uF
capacitors, 100 uH coil with 0.4Ω internal resistance as shown in Figure. The charged energy is
discharged on a switch action leading to the configuration shown in Figure where L is coil and R1 its
internal resistance.

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MATLAB CODING
clc
clear
close all
u0=1.25663706*10^-6; %permeability of free space
%Define coil parameters
I0=38; %Coil current in Amps
a=.015; %Coil radius in m
x_p=0; y_p=0; z_p=0; %Define coordinates of coil center point
%First we see how to calculate the magnetic field at a single point in %space %Input test point
x=0; y=0; z=.1;
[Bx,By,Bz] = magnetic_field_current_loop(x,y,z,x_p,y_p,z_p,a,I0)
%Now showing how to calculate points along a straigh line
clear x y z %Input vector of points
x=0; y=0; z=linspace(-.085,.085,100); %These default coordinates calculates the magnetic field along the
z axis through the center of the coil

[Bx,By,Bz] = magnetic_field_current_loop(x,y,z,x_p,y_p,z_p,a,I0);
figure
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plot(z,Bz)
xlabel('z [m]')
ylabel('Bz [T]')
title('1D magnetic field tests') %now we test how to calculate a 2D grid of points
clear x y z %input mesh of points in 2D plane
x=0; [y,z]=meshgrid(linspace(-.030,.030,25),linspace(-0.085,0.085,25)); %this is a 2d plane over the x=0
plane that extends away from the coils in the yz plane.
[Bx,By,Bz] =magnetic_field_current_loop(x,y,z,x_p,y_p,z_p,a,I0);
figure
surf(y,z,Bz)
xlabel('y [m]')
ylabel('z [m]')
zlabel('Bz [T]')
title('2D magnetic field tests')
colorbar %add colorbar
shading flat %Removes black lines from the mesh %velocity
m=0.009;
t= 0.35;
L=0.0081;
N=90;
v= ((N*Bz)*I0*L*t)/m;
V= max(v);
vp=linspace(0,4.28,25);
tp=linspace(0,0.35,25);
plot(tp,vp)
xlabel('tp [s]')
ylabel('vp [m/s]')
title('VelocityVsTime')%emf of ferrofluid
f=0;
F=745;
rho=1420;
g=10;
Page | 20
a0=0.03;
B=0.216;
M=((rho*g-rho*a0*cos((F/2*pi)*t)+f)*u0)/B;
emf=((B+M)*0.00085)/t;
plot(F,emf)
xlabel('F [Hz]')
ylabel('emf [mV]')
title(‗EmfVsFrequency') %function for magnetic field
function [Bx,By,Bz] = magnetic_field_current_loop(x,y,z,x_p,y_p,z_p,a,I0)
rc=((x-x_p).^2+(y-y_p).^2).^.5; %Radial component is required for cylindrical coordinate system.
m=(4.*a.*rc).*(((rc+a).^2)+((z-z_p).^2)).^(-1); %This is a parameter for calculating the Elliptical
integrals
kofkc=(pi/2)+(pi/8).*m+(9*pi/128).*m.^2; %K(k) elliptical function, this is a taylor expansion of the K
elliptical integral.
eofkc=(pi/2)+(-pi/8).*m+(-3*pi/128).*m.^2;%E(k) elliptical function this is a taylor expansion of the E
elliptical integral. %Note for improved accuracy, Matlab has built in elliptical integral %calculation but
these expressions here are still very accurate when rc < a
u0=1.25663706*10^-6;
Brc=(u0.*I0./(2.*pi.*rc)).*(z-z_p).*((((rc+a).^2)+((z-z_p).^2)).^(-.5)).*(-kofkc+eofkc.*((rc.^2+a.^2+(z-
z_p).^2)./(((rc-a).^2)+((z-z_p).^2)))); %radial component of B%
Bz=(u0.*I0./(2.*pi)).*((((rc+a).^2)+((z-z_p).^2)).^(-.5)).*(kofkc-eofkc.*((rc.^2-a.^2+(z-z_p).^2)./(((rc-
a).^2)+((z-z_p).^2)))); %axial component of B
Bx=Brc.*(x-x_p)./rc; %This converts the polar component into cartesian form.
By=Brc.*(y-y_p)./rc; %The following sets any terms that result in Inf to zero, this occurs at
%the points near the coil itself.
Bx(isnan(Bx)) = 0 ;
By(isnan(By)) = 0 ;
Bz(isnan(Bz)) = 0 ;

Page | 21
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
The capacitor bank has been charged up to 300 volt taking time about 97.8 sec resulting in a pulsed current when
discharged reached to 79.7 Amp. On the action of discharging, this pulse has been reduced smoothly to zero in 90
msec. This is shown in Figure. The resulted simulated current pulse is 38 amps.
OUTPUT FROM OSCILLOSCOPE

Variation of current and voltage with time across capacitor bank

Page | 22
Axial Magnetic field of the stator for 1 turn. There are 90turns in the coil.

Page | 23
Variation of Velocity of projectile with time

Page | 24
Variation of emf generated by ferrofluid with excitation frequency

The higher peak occurs at the system‘s first modal frequency which is around 800 Hz while the lower
peak occurs at around 600 Hz. The lower peak appears due to an internal resonance between the first and
second vibration modes. Internal resonances occur when two or more modal frequencies of the fluid
column are commensurate or nearly commensurate. It turns out that, for the design parameters used in the
experimental setup, ω1 is approximately half ω2 . As such, an internal energy pump is activated between
the two modes causing the smaller peak to appear. The internal resonance enables the energy harvester to
respond to a fairly wider range of excitation frequencies [8].

Page | 25
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