Equivalent Circuit of a Piezomagnetic Unimorph Incorporating Single-Crystal Galfenol

In this paper, the reversible transducer properties of a piezomagnetic unimorph are investigated experimentally and aggregated in a linear equivalent circuit. The unimorph consists of a single-crystal Galfenol plate, which is mounted to an aluminum plate. Such two-layer piezomagnetic elements are used in bending actuators or sensors. The completed two-port model of the transducer describes the dynamic behavior in sensing, as well as actuation direction, and includes the magnetomechanical interaction. The coupling of the transducer with a solenoid and demagnetization are considered. A circuit simulator can be used to investigate efficiently the dynamic behavior of the system, and circuit theory can be applied to analyze and simplify the equivalent circuit model.