Design aspects of electromagnetic actuators

Electromagnetic actuators form an extremely diverse family within the electrical machines genus. The diversity results partly from the customised nature of the majority of actuator designs, in contrast with the standard, multi-application role envisaged for the majority of electric motor designs. This summary paper presents a broad categorisation of actuators based on operating principle, exemplifies the categories through both traditional and recently developed types, and examines briefly a few typical design trade-offs and their impact on material selection