Refined modeling and experimental verification of a torque motor for an electro-hydraulic servo valve

The Permanent Magnet Torque Motor (PMTM) is the key electro-mechanical conversion device in an Electro-Hydraulic Servo Valve (EHSV). In this work, a refined model of a PMTM is developed, considering the non-working air-gaps between the upper or lower yoke and the armature, the fringing effect at the limiting holes, and the nonlinear permeability of soft magnetic material. Based on the refined model, the influences of various factors on the calculation accuracy of the magnetic flux at the pole surfaces of the armature and the output torque are investigated. For verifying the validity of the refined model, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the PMTM is conducted, and a test platform is constructed. Compared with existing models, the refined model can better reveal the intrinsic mechanism of the PMTM, and its calculations are more consistent with the FEA results. The experimental results of the armature deflection displacement show that the refined model can accurately describe the output characteristics of the PMTM.