Development of Electromagnetic and Smart-materials-based devices for industrial applications

The development of Industry 4.0 will lead to many changes in tasks and demands that companies will face. The Industry 4.0 paradigm will integrate people working in the factories into a cyber-physical structure that will see a close human-machine collaboration, taking advantage of human and machine features. Furthermore, the need to reduce energy consumption in industries requires significant effort to design new technologies/actuators to realize higher industrial energy reduction potential. In this framework, the development of brand-new devices able to respond to the need for integrating human-machine interfaces, multi-DoF mechanical movements, and high - efficiency performance will be necessary. In this thesis, some electromagnetic and smart materials-based devices and sensors that could be used in Industry 4.0 applications are developed, analyzed, and experimentally tested. In particular, two devices based on magnetorheological fluids, a haptic device and some variable compliance actuators, respectively, and a non-contact torque sensor based on magnetostrictive materials are analyzed. In every analysis, two primary phases are faced: electromagnetic modeling, which involves commercial codes based on FEM, and, where available, analytical models. The performance of the devices is investigated using numerical models in relation to the primary geometrical and physical parameters. Then, due to the innovative nature of smart-materials-based devices, some preliminary practical tests are performed to verify the models and assess the performance of prototypes. Part of this thesis was developed within the framework of the University of Pisa (DESTEC) - GE Avio 2018-2020 project "Validazione tecnologica di un sensore di coppia magnetostrittivo per applicazioni aeronautiche" (Technology validation of a magnetostrictive torque sensor for aviation applications)