Material Charactarization for a Terfenol–d Based Force Sensor

In this paper the magneto–elastic–effect is taken under further investigation, to determine the utility of the novel material Terfenol–D in force sensor applications. A measurement set–up is designed and the characteristic material parameters like magnetization diagram, butterfly diagram and the reluctance dependent on the applied mechanical load is determined. The results demonstrate that it is possible to sense both static and dynamic forces with only a single read out coil. The resultant simple arrangement of the set–up combined with the not fully utilized overload capability given by the elastic range of the sensing–material Terfenol–D guarantees its robustness.