Optimization of Proportional Solenoid for Flow Control Valve using Recursive Method in OCTAVE and FEMM

: Proportional solenoid valves are used in various applications that require smooth control of flow or pressure. Manufacturing such valves would involve design of valve component, solenoid core and the coil for specific input and output ratings. Materials for each component of the solenoid valve need to be selected for their magnetic properties, application specific requirements such as medical grade, temperature compatibility, etc. With proportional control as the primary objective, the proportional solenoid valve must exhibit linear characteristics between the control input and the output. Optimization of the magnetic core plays a vital role in achieving these requirements. Optimizing the core geometry of the proportional solenoid is crucial in achieving necessary linearity in the plunger movement without compromising the actuating force on the plunger for a given size of the solenoid. A proportional solenoid valve for mass flow control in low pressure application such as medical oxygen ventilators is developed based on the performance requirements such as flow rate, pressure and control requirements such as the solenoid voltage and current ratings. The materials used for manufacturing the valve components such as medical grade stainless steel with required magnetic properties are selected based on the application requirements. An optimization technique based on recursive method is used to determine the efficient core geometry for a proportional solenoid valve. The experimental results obtained from the proportional solenoid valve manufactured based on optimization results closely matched with the calculated values of plunger displacements from different offsets of 0 mm, 1 mm and 2 mm from the reference position in a total stroke length of 5 mm, which is presented in this paper.