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  1. Synchronous reluctance motors (SynRMs) have gained considerable attention in the field of electric vehicles as they reduce the need for permanent magnets in the rotor, resulting in less material and manufacturing costs. However, their lower average torque and torque ripple vibrations have been identified as key issues that require resolution. In this study, we present a SynRM design framework employing the cardinal basis functions (CBF)-based parametric level set method. The SynRms design problem is recast as a variational problem constrained by Maxwell's equations which describe the behavior of electric and magnetic fields in the SynRM. A continuum shape sensitivity analysis is carried out using the material derivative and adjoint method. A distance regularization energy function is employed to maintain the level set function as a signed distance function during the optimization. The parametric topology optimization problem is computationally solved using the Method of Moving Asymptotes (MMA). To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we present a numerical example that compares the torque characteristics of the optimal design with those of a reference design. Preliminary results show that the optimized SynRM has a 30.30% increase in average torque, along with a slight increase in torque ripple, compared to the reference model. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available August 1, 2024
  2. Minimally invasive endovascular therapy (MIET) is an innovative technique that utilizes percutaneous access and transcatheter implantation of medical devices to treat vascular diseases. However, conventional devices often face limitations such as incomplete or suboptimal treatment, leading to issues like recanalization in brain aneurysms, endoleaks in aortic aneurysms, and paravalvular leaks in cardiac valves. In this study, we introduce a new metastructure design for MIET employing re-entrant honeycomb structures with negative Poisson's ratio (NPR), which are initially designed through topology optimization and subsequently mapped onto a cylindrical surface. Using ferromagnetic soft materials, we developed structures with adjustable mechanical properties called magnetically activated structures (MAS). These magnetically activated structures can change shape under noninvasive magnetic fields, letting them fit against blood vessel walls to fix leaks or movement issues. The soft ferromagnetic materials allow the stent design to be remotely controlled, changed, and rearranged using external magnetic fields. This offers accurate control over stent placement and positioning inside blood vessels. We performed magneto-mechanical simulations to evaluate the proposed design's performance. Experimental tests were conducted on prototype beams to assess their bending and torsional responses to external magnetic fields. The simulation results were compared with experimental data to determine the accuracy of the magneto-mechanical simulation model for ferromagnetic soft materials. After validating the model, it was used to analyze the deformation behavior of the plane matrix and cylindrical structure designs of the Negative Poisson's Ratio (NPR) metamaterial. The results indicate that the plane matrix NPR metamaterial design exhibits concurrent vertical and horizontal expansion when subjected to an external magnetic field. In contrast, the cylindrical structure demonstrates simultaneous axial and radial expansion under the same conditions. The preliminary findings demonstrate the considerable potential and practicality of the proposed methodology in the development of magnetically activated MIET devices, which offer biocompatibility, a diminished risk of adverse reactions, and enhanced therapeutic outcomes. Integrating ferromagnetic soft materials into mechanical metastructures unlocks promising opportunities for designing stents with adjustable mechanical properties, propelling the field towards more sophisticated minimally invasive vascular interventions. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available August 1, 2024
  3. Generators are considered as the core application of electromagnetic machines, which require high-cost rare-earth-based permanent magnets. The development of generators is moving toward high efficiency and increased environmental friendliness. Minimizing the use of rare earth materials such as magnetic materials under the premise of machine performance emerges as a challenging task. Topology optimization has been promisingly applied to many application areas as a powerful generative design tool. It can identify the optimal distribution of magnetic material in the defined design space. This paper employs the level-set-based topology optimization method to design the permanent magnet for generators. The machine under study is a simplified 2D outer rotor direct-drive wind power generator. The dynamic and static models of this generator are studied, and the magnetostatic system is adopted to conduct the topology optimization. The optimization goals in this study mainly focused on two aspects, namely the maximization of the system magnetic energy and the generation of a target magnetic field in the region of the air gap. The continuum shape sensitivity analysis is derived by using the material time derivative, the Lagrange multiplier method, and the adjoint variable method. Two numerical examples are investigated, and the effectiveness of the proposed design framework is validated by comparing the performance of the original design against the optimized design. 
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  4. null (Ed.)
    Ferromagnetic soft materials can generate flexible mobility and changeable configurations under an external magnetic field. They are used in a wide variety of applications, such as soft robots, compliant actuators, flexible electronics, and bionic medical devices. The magnetic field enables fast and biologically safe remote control of the ferromagnetic soft material. The shape changes of ferromagnetic soft elastomers are driven by the ferromagnetic particles embedded in the matrix of a soft elastomer. The external magnetic field induces a magnetic torque on the magnetized soft material, causing it to deform. To achieve the desired motion, the soft active structure can be designed by tailoring the layouts of the ferromagnetic soft elastomers. This paper aims to optimize multi-material ferromagnetic actuators. Multi-material ferromagnetic flexible actuators are optimized for the desired kinematic performance using the reconciled level set method. This type of magnetically driven actuator can carry out more complex shape transformations by introducing ferromagnetic soft materials with more than one magnetization direction. Whereas many soft active actuators exist in the form of thin shells, the newly proposed extended level set method (X-LSM) is employed to perform conformal topology optimization of ferromagnetic soft actuators on the manifolds. The objective function comprises two sub-objective functions, one for the kinematic requirement and the other for minimal compliance. Shape sensitivity analysis is derived using the material time derivative and the adjoint variable method. Three examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework. 
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  5. null (Ed.)
    Soft active materials can generate flexible locomotion and change configurations through large deformations when subjected to an external environmental stimulus. They can be engineered to design 'soft machines' such as soft robots, compliant actuators, flexible electronics, or bionic medical devices. By embedding ferromagnetic particles into soft elastomer matrix, the ferromagnetic soft matter can generate flexible movement and shift morphology in response to the external magnetic field. By taking advantage of this physical property, soft active structures undergoing desired motions can be generated by tailoring the layouts of the ferromagnetic soft elastomers. Structural topology optimization has emerged as an attractive tool to achieve innovative structures by optimizing the material layout within a design domain, and it can be utilized to architect ferromagnetic soft active structures. In this paper, the level-set-based topology optimization method is employed to design ferromagnetic soft robots (FerroSoRo). The objective function comprises a sub-objective function for the kinematics requirement and a sub-objective function for minimum compliance. Shape sensitivity analysis is derived using the material time derivative and adjoint variable method. Three examples, including a gripper, an actuator, and a flytrap structure, are studied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework. 
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