Claims:We Claim:
A method for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, the method comprising:
inducing strain in a first strip (101) of the ferromagnetic material, to generate an acoustic wave;
guiding the acoustic wave along a length of an acoustic medium (103) coupled with the first strip (101) and one or more second strips (102) of the ferromagnetic material, wherein, during guiding, the acoustic wave induces stress in the one or more second strips (102) placed at a predefined distance from the first strip (101);
measuring magnetic field at each of the one or more second strips (102), caused due to the induced stress; and
determining magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material based on the measured magnetic field at the one or more second strips (102).

The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprises:
identifying an optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material, based on the determined magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material.

The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optimal biasing point is defined as an operating point at which strength of the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material is maximum.

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein inducing the strain in the first strip (101) comprises:
supplying Direct Current (DC) current to toroidal windings wound circumferentially around the first strip (101); and
supplying Radio Frequency (RF) pulse to solenoid windings wound at predefined location around the acoustic medium (103), the predefined location comprising the first strip (101) with the toroidal windings.

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the acoustic medium (103) is a pipe, wherein the pipe is made of one of non-ferromagnetic material and ferromagnetic material.

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material, comprises:
calculating scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) corresponding to the magnetostriction, based on the measured induced voltage (V_emf), wherein:

d_s^q=v(V_emf/(A*?))
wherein:
d_s^q is the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient,
V_emf is the measured induced voltage, by using an oscilloscope (107) attached to the one or more second strips (102),
A is cross section area of the one or more second strips (102) in plane, perpendicular to axis of the acoustic medium (103), and
? is angular frequency.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient is derived from:
d_s=v(V_emf/(A?*K(*H) ~ ))
wherein:
K and H ~ are neglected since they are constants,
wherein:
K=k_1*k_2*E_m where E_m is the elastic modulus of the acoustic medium (103), and k_1 and k_2 are proportionality constants for s_m?E_m ?*d?_s*H ~ and s_strip?s_m,
wherein:
? s?_m is acoustic stress in the acoustic medium (103),
H ~ is the magnitude of alternating magnetic field generated in the solenoid coil of the first strip (101), and
s_strip is the stress induced in the one or more second strips (102) by the acoustic medium (103),

The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprises:
calculating scaled magnetostrictive strain (?_q) based on the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient, using:
?^q=(d_s^q*H ¯)/3 ,
wherein
H ¯=(N*I)/L
wherein,
?_q is the scaled magnetostrictive strain,
H ¯ is the DC magnetic field strength induced in the one or more second strips (102),
N is number of turns in toroidal winding on the one or more second strips (102),
I is the DC current in the toroidal windings, and
L is the circumferential length of first strip (101) and the one or more second strips (102).

The method as in claim 2, wherein finding the optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material, comprises:
calculating the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) and scaled longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient (d_l^q), wherein;
d_s^q=(3*?_s^q)/H ¯
d_l^q=(??_s^q)/(?H ¯ )
wherein:

d_s^q is the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient,
d_l^q is the scaled longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient,
H ¯ is optimal biasing magnetic field, where the H ¯ is maximum for shear transduction when d_s^q is maximum, and
H ¯ is the optimal biasing magnetic field, where the H ¯ is maximum for longitudinal transduction when d_l^q is maximum.

A system for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, the system comprises:
a first strip (101) of a ferromagnetic material, induced with strain to generate an acoustic wave;
an acoustic medium (103) coupled with the first strip (101) and one or more second strips (102) of the ferromagnetic material, wherein the generated acoustic wave is guided along a length of the acoustic medium (103);
the one or more second strips (102) placed at a predefined distance from the first strip (101), wherein the acoustic wave induces stress in the one or more second strips (102);
a processor (109); and
a memory (111) communicatively coupled to the processor (109), wherein the memory (111) stores processor-executable instructions, which, on execution, cause the processor (109) to:
measure electromotive forces at each of the one or more second strips (102), caused due to the induced stress; and
determine magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material based on the measured magnetic field at the one or more second strips (102).

The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processor (109) is further configured to:
identify an optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material, based on the determined magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material.

The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the optimal biasing point is defined as an operating point at which strength of the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material is maximum.

The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the system further comprises:
toroidal windings wound circumferentially around each of the first strip (101) and the one or more second strips (102), wherein the toroidal windings are supplied with DC current; and
solenoid windings wound at a first predefined location and one or more second predefined locations around the acoustic medium (103), the first predefined location comprising the first strip (101) along the toroidal windings and each of the one or more second predefined location comprising a second strip from the one or more second strips (102) along the toroidal windings, wherein the solenoid windings are supplied with RF pulse.

The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the acoustic medium (103) is a pipe, wherein the pipe is made of one of non-ferromagnetic material and ferromagnetic material.

The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein determining the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material, comprises:
calculating scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) corresponding to the magnetostriction, based on the measured induced voltage (V_emf), wherein:

d_s^q=v(V_emf/(A*?))
wherein:
d_s^q is the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient,
V_emf is the measured induced voltage, by using an oscilloscope (107) attached to the one or more second strips (102),
A is cross section area of the one or more second strips (102) in plane, perpendicular to axis of the acoustic medium (103), and
? is angular frequency.

The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient is derived from:
d_s=v(V_emf/(A*?*K*H ~ ))
wherein:
K and H ~ are neglected since they are constants,
wherein:
K=k_1*k_2*E_m where E_m is the elastic modulus of the acoustic medium (103), and k_1 and k_2 are proportionality constants for s_m?E_m ?*d?_s*H ~ and s_strip?s_m,
wherein:
s_m is acoustic stress in the acoustic medium (103),
H ~ is the magnitude of alternating magnetic field generated in the solenoid coil of the first strip (101), and
s_strip is the stress induced in the one or more second strips (102) by the acoustic medium (103).

The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the system further comprises:
calculating scaled magnetostrictive strain (?_q) based on the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient, using:
?^q=(d_s^q*H ¯)/3,
wherein
H ¯=(N*I)/L
wherein:
?_q is the scaled magnetostrictive strain,
H ¯ is the DC magnetic field strength induced in the one or more second strips (102),
N is number of turns in toroidal winding on the one or more second strips (102),
I is the DC current in the toroidal windings, and
L is the circumferential length of first strip (101) and the one or more second strips (102).

The system as in claim 11, wherein finding the optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material, comprises:
calculating the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) and scaled longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient (d_l^q), wherein;
d_s^q=(3*?_s^q)/H ¯
d_l^q=(??_s^q)/(?H ¯ )
wherein;
d_s^q is the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient,
d_l^q is the scaled longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient,
H ¯ is optimal biasing magnetic field, where the H ¯ is maximum for shear transduction when d_s^q is maximum, and
H ¯ is the optimal biasing magnetic field, where the H ¯ is maximum for longitudinal transduction when d_l^q is maximum.

The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the toroidal windings wound circumferentially around the first strip (101) and the one or more second strips (102) is a conducting wire, wherein number of the toroidal windings related to each of the first strip (101) and the one or more second strips (102) is calculated based on required maximum magnetic field strength (H),
wherein:
H = (N*I_max)/L,
wherein:
H is the maximum magnetic field strength required,
N is number of turns of the conducting wire wounded around each of the first strip (101) and the one or more second strips (102),
I_max is maximum current provided by a DC power source connected to the copper wire, and
L is length of the first strip (101) and the one or more second strips(102).
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
The present subject matter is related in general to measuring magnetic properties of a material, more particularly, but not exclusively to a system and method for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material.
BACKGROUND
Magnetostriction is a property of ferromagnetic materials which causes the ferromagnetic materials to expand or contract in response to a magnetic field. Thus, such property allows ferromagnetic materials to convert electromagnetic energy into mechanical energy. Further, the ferromagnetic materials are used to not only convert electromagnetic energy into mechanical energy but also vice versa The ferromagnetic materials include materials such as iron, cobalt, nickel and so on, which have properties to form permanent magnet or to be attracted to magnets.

The magnetostriction effect can be used to create magnetic sensors which is used to measure a magnetic field or detect a mechanical force. The magnetic field or the mechanical force applied would create a strain in a material, which can be measured. The magnetic sensors are widely used in many consumer products such as printers, scanners, cameras, flat panels and so on. Further, the magnetostrictive materials may also be used in medical devices, industrial vibrators, ultrasonic cleaning devices, underwater sonar, vibration, or noise control systems, and in many other applications involving conversion of mechanical force to magnetic field and vice versa.

Presently, technologies are designed to measure the magnetostriction of bulk materials such as rods, bars, and disks. Some of the present technologies include strain gauge method, capacitance method and optical measurement. The strain gauge method is used for moderate to large magnetostriction measurements and is used in industrial labs. However, the strain gauge method is not suitable for wires or thin ribbons and requires calibration to compensate for temperature and magnetic field changes. Similarly, the capacitance method and the optical measurement method used for measuring magnetostriction are expensive techniques and implementation and require special sample preparation. Thus, there is a need for a more efficient solution that may be used to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material.

The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

SUMMARY
In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a method for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material. Initially, a strain is induced in a first strip made of ferromagnetic material, to generate an acoustic wave. Further, the acoustic wave is guided along a length of an acoustic medium which is coupled with the first strip and one or more second strips made of ferromagnetic material. During guiding, the acoustic wave induces stress in the one or more second strips placed at a predefined distance from the first strip. Further, the method includes to measure magnetic field at each of the one or more second strips which is caused due to the induced stress. Upon measuring the magnetic field, the method includes to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. Further, the method includes to identify an optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material based on the determined magnetostriction.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a system for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material. The system includes a first strip made of ferromagnetic material which is induced with strain to generate acoustic wave. Further, the system includes an acoustic medium which is coupled with the first strip and one or more second strip made of ferromagnetic material. The acoustic wave generated is guided along a length of the acoustic medium to induce stress in the one or more second strips placed at a predefine distance from the first strip. Further, the system includes a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory stores processor-executable instructions, which on execution cause the processor to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. The system is configured to measure electromotive force at each of the one or more second strips which is caused due to the induced stress. Upon measuring the magnetic field, the system determines the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. Further, the system identifies an optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material based on the determined magnetostriction.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and regarding the accompanying figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows an exemplary environment of a system for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 shows a detailed block diagram of a system for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figures 3a and 3b illustrate exemplary embodiments for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure;

Figure 4 shows a graph for determining magnetostriction and identifying an optimal biasing point of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure;

Figure 5 illustrates a flow diagram showing an exemplary method for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure; and

Figure 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprise”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device, or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.

The terms “include”, “including”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device, or method that includes a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “includes… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.

In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Present disclosure relates to a system and method for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material. The proposed system includes a first strip, an acoustic medium and one or more second strip. The proposed system is configured to measure electromotive force at each of the one or more second strips which is caused due to induced stress. Upon measuring the magnetic field, the system is configured to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. Further, the system is configured to identify an optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material based on the determined magnetostriction. The proposed system is robust against temperature variations and electromagnetic noise.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary environment 100 of a system for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary environment 100 may include a first strip 101, a second strip 102, an acoustic medium 103, a Radio Frequency (RF) pulse unit 104, a Direct Current (DC) unit 105, an amplifier 106, an oscilloscope 107 and a processing unit 108. In an embodiment, the first strip 101 and the second strip 102 may be made of ferromagnetic material such as iron, cobalt, nickel and so on. In another embodiment, the exemplary environment 100 may include more than one second strips made of ferromagnetic material (not shown in Figure 1). In an embodiment, the RF pulse unit 104 supplies RF pulse to the first strip 101. Similarly, the DC unit 105 supplies DC current to the first strip 101. In an embodiment due to the DC current and the RF pulse, a strain is induced in the first strip 101 which in turn generates an acoustic wave. In an embodiment, RF is a measurement representing oscillation rate of electromagnetic radiation spectrum, or electromagnetic radio waves, from frequencies ranging from 300 gigahertz (GHz) to as low as 9 kilohertz (kHz). In an embodiment, DC current is an electric current flowing in the first strip 101 only in one direction. In an embodiment, the generated acoustic wave is a torsional wave generated as a result of vibration from the first strip 101 caused due to the induced strain. In an embodiment, one or more other modes, known to a person skilled in the art, may be associated with the determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, to generate acoustic wave. Further, the acoustic wave is guided along a length of the acoustic medium 103. In an embodiment, the acoustic medium 103 is made of non-ferromagnetic material through which the acoustic wave can travel. In another embodiment, the acoustic medium 103 may be pipe made of ferromagnetic material. In an embodiment, the acoustic medium 103 is a material through which sound waves or acoustic waves may travel. The acoustic medium 103 may include, but is not limited to, a pipe, a bar, a rod, a wire and so on. In an embodiment, the acoustic medium 103 is coupled with the first strip 101 and the second strip 102. The acoustic wave travels along the acoustic medium 103 and induces stress in the second strip 102 which is placed at a predefined distance from the first strip 101. For example, the second strip 102 is place at a distance of 60 centimeters from the first strip 101. Further, due to the induced stress at the second strip 102, a magnetic field is generated which is amplified by the amplifier 106. In an embodiment, the amplifier 106 is a device which is used to increase strength of measured electromotive force associated with the magnetic field. Further, the electromotive force associated with the magnetic field is measured by the oscilloscope 107 and is processed by the processing unit 108. In an embodiment, the oscilloscope 107 is an instrument used to measure and graphically display the electromotive force associated with the magnetic field. In an embodiment, the processing unit 108 is configured to measure the electromotive force associated with the magnetic field and to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material based on the measured magnetic field at the second strip 102. Further, the processing unit 108 may be configured to identify an optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material based on the determined magnetostriction. In an embodiment, the optimal biasing point is defined as an operating point at which strength of the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material is maximum.

In an embodiment, the communication between the oscilloscope 107 and the processing unit 108 may be wired or wireless. In an embodiment, the oscilloscope 107 may communicate with the processing unit 108 via a communication network (not shown in Figure 1). In an embodiment, the communication network may include, without limitation, a direct interconnection, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Controller Area Network (CAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, and the like.

In an embodiment, the first strip 101 and the second strip 102 may be circumferentially wounded with toroidal windings. In an embodiment, the toroidal winding may be a coil of insulated or enameled wire wound on a donut-shaped form made of current conducting material. In an embodiment, the toroidal windings may be used to generate maximum magnetic field in the first strip 101 by supplying DC current from the DC unit 105. In an embodiment, all the magnetic field is contained in the core of the toroidal winding. In an embodiment, the first strip 101 and the second strip 102 may be wounded with solenoid windings. In an embodiment, the solenoid winding is made up of a coil of wire which can conduct the RF pulse generated by the RF pulse unit 104. In an embodiment, the solenoid windings may be used to generate the magnetic field in the first strip 101 by supplying RF pulse from the RF pulse unit 104.

In an embodiment, the processing unit 108 may be configured to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. The processing unit 108 may be configured to calculate scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) based on the measured induced voltage (V_emf). In an embodiment, the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient is derived from d_s=v(V_emf/(A?*K(*H) ~ )) . The scaled term here may refer to a measurement which is linearly proportional to absolute value. Further, in an embodiment, the processing unit 108 may be configured to calculate scaled magnetostrictive strain (?_q) based on the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient. In an embodiment, the processing unit 108 may be configured to find the optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material by calculating the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) and scaled longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient (d_l^q).

Further, the processing unit 108 may include a processor 109, I/O interface 110, and a memory 111. In some embodiments, the memory 111 may be communicatively coupled to the processor 109. The memory 111 stores instructions, executable by the processor 109, which, on execution, may cause the processing unit 108 to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material, as disclosed in the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the memory 111 may include one or more modules 112 and data 113. The one or more modules 112 may be configured to perform the steps of the present disclosure using the data 113, for determining the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. In an embodiment, each of the one or more modules 112 may be a hardware unit which may be present outside the memory 111 and coupled with the processing unit 108. The processing unit 108 may be implemented in a variety of computing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a Personal Computer (PC), a notebook, a smartphone, a tablet, e-book readers, a server, a network server, a cloud-based server and the like. In an embodiment, the processing unit 108 may be a dedicated server implemented inside the oscilloscope 107. In an embodiment, the processing unit 108 may be a cloud-based server.

In an embodiment, the processing unit 108 may receive data for determining the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material via the I/O interface 110. The received data may include, but is not limited to, the measured magnetic field, the measured induced voltage (V_emf) and so on. Also, the processing unit 108 may transmit data for determining the magnetostriction and identifying the optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material. The transmitted data may include, but is not limited to, the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material, the optimal biasing point of the ferromagnetic material and so on.

Figure 2 shows a detailed block diagram of the processing unit 108 for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The data 113 and the one or more modules 112 in the memory 111 of the processing unit 108 is described herein in detail.

In one implementation, the one or more modules 112 may include, but are not limited to, an electromotive force measuring module 201, a magnetostriction determination module 202, a biasing point identification module 203, and one or more other modules 204, associated with the processing unit 108.

In an embodiment, the data 113 in the memory 111 may include magnetic field strength data 205, magnetostriction data, electromotive force data 207, biasing point data 208, and other data 209 associated with the processing unit 108.

In an embodiment, the data 113 in the memory 111 may be processed by the one or more modules 112 of the processing unit 108. In an embodiment, the one or more modules 112 may be implemented as dedicated units and when implemented in such a manner, said modules may be configured with the functionality defined in the present disclosure to result in a novel hardware. As used herein, the term module may refer to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC), a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.

One or more modules 112 of the present disclosure function to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. Also, the one or more modules 112 of the present disclosure function to identify optimal biasing point for the ferromagnetic material based on the determined magnetostriction. The one or more modules 112 along with the data 113, may be implemented in any processing unit 108, for determining the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material.

In an embodiment, consider Figures 3a and 3b which show exemplary embodiments for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure. In an embodiment, the acoustic medium 103, a ferromagnetic material 301, a solenoid winding 302 and a toroidal winding 303 are shown in Figure 3a. For example, consider the ferromagnetic material 301 is a pipe made of iron for which the magnetostriction is to be determined. In an embodiment, the ferromagnetic material 301 is first circumferentially wounded with toroidal winding 303 as shown in Figure 3a. In an embodiment, the toroidal winding 303 is a conducting wire which can conduct the DC current supplied by the DC unit 105. The conducting wire may be, but is not limited to, a copper wire, silver coated copper wire, nickel coated copper wire bare copper and so on. In an embodiment, number of the toroidal windings is calculated based on required maximum magnetic field strength (H). In an embodiment, the magnetic field strength (H) is calculated based on the below equation (1):

H = (N*I_max)/L ……….(1)
wherein,
H is the maximum magnetic field strength required;
N is number of turns of the conducting wire wounded around the ferromagnetic material 301;
I_max is maximum current provided by the DC unit 105 connected to the copper wire; and
L is length of the ferromagnetic material 301.

In an embodiment, the ferromagnetic material 301 is also wounded with solenoid winding 302 as shown in Figure 3a. In an embodiment, the solenoid winding 302 consists of a metal core which is the ferromagnetic material 301 with copper wire windings. In an embodiment, the solenoid windings provide path for the RF pulse to flow in the ferromagnetic material 301. The solenoid winding is supplied with the RF pulse provided by the RF pulse unit 104 which creates an axial magnetic field in the ferromagnetic material 301. The toroidal winding 303 is supplied with the DC current by the DC unit 105 which creates a circumferential magnetic field in the ferromagnetic material 301. In an embodiment, the axial magnetic field is a magnetic field which is created along the axis of the ferromagnetic material 301. Similarly, the circumferential magnetic field is a magnetic field created around the ferromagnetic material 301. In an embodiment, the presence of the axial magnetic field and the circumferential magnetic field causes a vibration in the ferromagnetic material 301 causing strain which in turn generates the acoustic wave. In an embodiment, the ferromagnetic material 301 may be the first strip 101 and the second strip 102 as shown in Figure 3b. The acoustic wave generated due to the induced strain in the first strip 101 is guided from the first strip 101 to the acoustic medium 103 shown by a down arrow in Figure 3b. In an embodiment, the acoustic wave is guided along the length of the acoustic medium 103 as shown by an arrow pointing from left to right in Figure 3b. The acoustic wave induces stress in the second strip 102 as shown by a up arrow in Figure 3b. In an embodiment, the electromotive force measuring module 201 of the processing unit 108 is configured to measure electromotive force at the second strip 102 which is caused due to the induced stress. In an embodiment, the electromotive force is defined as an electric potential produced by the magnetic field at the second strip 102. In an embodiment, the electromotive force may be referred to as the electromotive force data 207 and the electromotive force data 207 may be stored in the memory 111. Upon measuring the electromotive force, the magnetostriction determination module 202 may be configured to determine the magnetostriction of the second strip 102 based on the magnetic field. In an embodiment, the magnetic field may be referred as the magnetic field strength data 205 and stored in the memory 111. In an embodiment, the magnetostriction determination module 202 may be configured to calculate scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) based on the measured induced voltage (V_emf). In another embodiment, the induced voltage (V_emf) may be alternatively referred as the electromotive force. In an embodiment, the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) is calculated based on the below equation (2):

d_s^q=v(V_emf/(A*?)) ……….(2)
wherein,
d_s^q is the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient;
V_emf is the measured induced voltage, by using the oscilloscope 107 attached to the second strip 102;
A is cross section area of the second strip 102 in plane, perpendicular to axis of the acoustic medium 103; and
? is angular frequency.

In an embodiment, the angular frequency ? refers to rate of change of a phase of a sinusoidal waveform. In an embodiment, the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient is derived from an equation (3) as given below:

d_s=v(V_emf/(A*?*K*H ~ )) ……….(3)
wherein,
K and H ~ are neglected since they are constants.
In an embodiment, the constant K is equal to k_1*k_2*E_m. The E_m is an elastic modulus of the acoustic medium 103. In an embodiment, the elastic modulus of the acoustic medium 103 is a quantity which measures resistance of the acoustic medium 103 to being deformed elastically when a stress in applied. In an embodiment, k_1 and k_2 are proportionality constants for s_m?E_m ?*d?_s*H ~ and s_strip?s_m.
wherein:
s_m is acoustic stress in the acoustic medium 103;
H ~ is the magnitude of alternating magnetic field generated in the solenoid winding of the first strip 101; and
s_strip is the stress induced in the second strip 102 by the acoustic medium 103.

Further, the magnetostriction determination module 202 may be configured to calculate scaled magnetostrictive strain (?_q) based on the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient. In an embodiment, the scaled magnetostrictive strain (?_q) is calculated based on the equations (4) and (5) as given below:

?^q=(d_s^q*H ¯)/3 ……….(4)
H ¯=(N*I)/L ……….(5)
wherein,
?_q is the scaled magnetostrictive strain;
H ¯ is the DC magnetic field strength induced in the second strip 102;
N is number of turns in toroidal winding 303 on the second strip 102;
I is the DC current in the toroidal winding 303; and
L is the circumferential length of the first strip 101 and the second strip 102.

In an embodiment, the equations (2), (3), (4) and (5) are used by the magnetostriction determination module 202 to determine the magnetostriction of the second strip 102. In an embodiment, Figure 4 shows one exemplary representation of outputted magnetostriction. The magnetostriction of the second strip 102 may be range of values. Such magnetostriction may be plotted on a graph. In an embodiment, the magnetostriction of the second strip 102 may be outputted in different forms such as in form of table, pie chart, histogram and so on. In an embodiment, the magnetostriction may be outputted in one or more other forms known to a person skilled in art. In an embodiment, the magnetostriction of the second strip 102 may be referred as the magnetostriction data 206 and stored in the memory 111. Further, upon determining the magnetostriction of the second strip 102, the biasing point identification module 203 may be configured to identify optimal biasing point of the second strip 102. In an embodiment, the optimal biasing point is defined as an operating point at which strength of the magnetostriction of the second strip 102 is maximum. In an embodiment, the biasing point identification module 203 may be configured to calculate the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient (d_s^q) and scaled longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient (d_l^q). The scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient and the scaled longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient is obtained by the equations (6) and (7) as given below:
d_s^q=(3*?_s^q)/H ¯ ……….(6)
d_l^q=(??_s^q)/(?H ¯ ) ……….(7)
wherein,
d_s^q is the scaled shear piezomagnetic coefficient;
d_l^q is the scaled longitudinal piezomagnetic coefficient;
H ¯ is optimal biasing magnetic field, where the H ¯ is maximum for shear transduction when d_s^q is maximum; and
H ¯ is the optimal biasing magnetic field, where the H ¯ is maximum for longitudinal transduction when d_l^q is maximum.

In an embodiment, Figure 4 shows a graph for determining the magnetostriction and identifying the optimal biasing point of the ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure. In an embodiment, the determined magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material 301 is plotted on a graph as shown in Figure 4. Y axis of the graph indicates normalized amplitude of the magnetostriction in meters. X axis of the graph indicates strength of the magnetic field in ampere per meter. Upon plotting the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material 301, the biasing point identification module 203 may be configured to identify the optimal biasing point of the ferromagnetic material 301 based on the maximum strength of the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material 301. In an embodiment, the biasing point may be referred as the biasing point data 208 and stored in the memory 111.

The other data 209 may include additional data that may be required to perform various miscellaneous functionalities of the processing unit 108 to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. The one or more modules 112 may also include other modules 204 to perform various miscellaneous functionalities of the processing unit 108 to determine the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material. It will be appreciated that such modules may be represented as a single module or a combination of different modules.

Figure 5 illustrates a flow diagram showing an exemplary method for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure.

At block 501, the first strip 101 is supplied with the RF pulse provided by the RF pulse unit 104. Similarly, the first strip 101 is supplied with the DC current provided by the DC unit 105. In an embodiment, due to the presence of the RF pulse and the DC current the first strip 101 is induced with a strain which in turn generates acoustic wave.

At block 502, the acoustic wave is guided along the length of the acoustic medium 103. In an embodiment, the acoustic medium 103 is coupled with the first strip 101 and the second strip 102. The first strip 101 and the second strip 102 may be made of ferromagnetic material. In an embodiment the acoustic medium 103 may be made of non-ferromagnetic material or a ferromagnetic material. In an embodiment, the acoustic wave induces stress in the second strip 102. The second strip 102 is placed at the predefined distance from the first strip 101.

At block 503, the electromotive force measuring module 201 may be configured to measure magnetic field at the second strip 102 which is caused due to the induced stress. In an embodiment, the measured magnetic field may be converted into electromotive force which is measured by the oscilloscope 107.

At block 504, the magnetostriction determination module 202 may be configured to determine the magnetostriction of the second strip 102 based on the measured magnetic field at the second strip 102. In an embodiment, the magnetostriction of the second strip 102 is a property of the ferromagnetic material which causes the ferromagnetic material to expand or contract in response to the magnetic field.

At block 505, the biasing point identification module 203 may be configured to identify an optimal biasing point of the second strip 102 based on the determined magnetostriction of the second strip 102. In an embodiment, the optimal biasing point is an operating point at which strength of the magnetostriction of the second strip 102 is maximum.

The order in which the method 500 is described may not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

Computing System
Figure 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 600 for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the computer system 600 is used to implement the processing unit 108. The computer system 600 may include a central processing unit (“CPU” or “processor”) 602. The processor 602 may include at least one data processor for executing processes in Virtual Storage Area Network. The processor 602 may include specialized processing units such as, integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, etc.

The processor 602 may be disposed in communication with one or more input/output (I/O) devices 609 and 610 via I/O interface 601. The I/O interface 601 may employ communication protocols/methods such as, without limitation, audio, analog, digital, monaural, RCA, stereo, IEEE-1394, serial bus, universal serial bus (USB), infrared, PS/2, BNC, coaxial, component, composite, digital visual interface (DVI), high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), RF antennas, S-Video, VGA, IEEE 802.n /b/g/n/x, Bluetooth, cellular (e.g., code-division multiple access (CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA+), global system for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE), WiMax, or the like), etc.

Using the I/O interface 601, the computer system 600 may communicate with one or more I/O devices 609 and 610. For example, the input devices 609 may be an antenna, keyboard, mouse, joystick, (infrared) remote control, camera, card reader, fax machine, dongle, biometric reader, microphone, touch screen, touchpad, trackball, stylus, scanner, storage device, transceiver, video device/source, etc. The output devices 610 may be a printer, fax machine, video display (e.g., cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED), plasma, Plasma display panel (PDP), Organic light-emitting diode display (OLED) or the like), audio speaker, etc.

In some embodiments, the computer system 600 may consist of the processing unit 108 which is configured to perform the determination. The processor 602 may be disposed in communication with the communication network 611 via a network interface 603. The network interface 603 may communicate with the communication network 611. The network interface 603 may employ connection protocols including, without limitation, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T), transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, etc. The communication network 611 may include, without limitation, a direct interconnection, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, etc. Using the network interface 603 and the communication network 611, the computer system 600 may communicate with a processing unit 612 for determining magnetostriction of a ferromagnetic material. The network interface 603 may employ connection protocols include, but not limited to, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T), transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, etc.

The communication network 611 includes, but is not limited to, a direct interconnection, an e-commerce network, a peer to peer (P2P) network, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, Wi-Fi, and such. The first network and the second network may either be a dedicated network or a shared network, which represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), etc., to communicate with each other. Further, the first network and the second network may include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, etc.

In some embodiments, the processor 602 may be disposed in communication with a memory 605 (e.g., RAM, ROM, etc. not shown in Figure 6) via a storage interface 604. The storage interface 604 may connect to memory 605 including, without limitation, memory drives, removable disc drives, etc., employing connection protocols such as, serial advanced technology attachment (SATA), Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), IEEE-1394, Universal Serial Bus (USB), fibre channel, Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), etc. The memory drives may further include a drum, magnetic disc drive, magneto-optical drive, optical drive, Redundant Array of Independent Discs (RAID), solid-state memory devices, solid-state drives, etc.

The memory 605 may store a collection of program or database components, including, without limitation, user interface 606, an operating system 607 etc. In some embodiments, computer system 600 may store user/application data 606, such as, the data, variables, records, etc., as described in this disclosure. Such databases may be implemented as fault-tolerant, relational, scalable, secure databases such as Oracle ® or Sybase®.

The operating system 607 may facilitate resource management and operation of the computer system 600. Examples of operating systems include, without limitation, APPLE MACINTOSH® OS X, UNIX®, UNIX-like system distributions (E.G., BERKELEY SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTIONTM (BSD), FREEBSDTM, NETBSDTM, OPENBSDTM, etc.), LINUX DISTRIBUTIONSTM (E.G., RED HATTM, UBUNTUTM, KUBUNTUTM, etc.), IBMTM OS/2, MICROSOFTTM WINDOWSTM (XPTM, VISTATM/7/8, 10 etc.), APPLE® IOSTM, GOOGLE® ANDROIDTM, BLACKBERRY® OS, or the like.

In some embodiments, the computer system 600 may implement a web browser 608 stored program component. The web browser 608 may be a hypertext viewing application, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, etc. Secure web browsing may be provided using Hypertext Transport Protocol Secure (HTTPS), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), etc. Web browsers 608 may utilize facilities such as AJAX, DHTML, Adobe Flash, JavaScript, Java, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), etc. In some embodiments, the computer system 600 may implement a mail server stored program component. The mail server may be an Internet mail server such as Microsoft Exchange, or the like. The mail server may utilize facilities such as ASP, ActiveX, ANSI C++/C#, Microsoft .NET, Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts, Java, JavaScript, PERL, PHP, Python, WebObjects, etc. The mail server may utilize communication protocols such as Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI), Microsoft Exchange, Post Office Protocol (POP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), or the like. In some embodiments, the computer system 600 may implement a mail client stored program component. The mail client may be a mail viewing application, such as Apple Mail, Microsoft Entourage, Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, etc.

Furthermore, one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilized in implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. A computer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memory on which information or data readable by a processor may be stored. Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for execution by one or more processors, including instructions for causing the processor(s) to perform steps or stages consistent with the embodiments described herein. The term “computer-readable medium” should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves and transient signals, i.e., be non-transitory. Examples include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, hard drives, CD ROMs, DVDs, flash drives, disks, and any other known physical storage media.

Advantages

An embodiment of the present disclosure provisions a method to identify optimal biasing point of the ferromagnetic material by determining the magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides uniform magnetization of the ferromagnetic material by using the acoustic wave to create magnetic field in the ferromagnetic material.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides low-cost method to determine magnetostriction of the ferromagnetic material.

The described operations may be implemented as a method, system or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. The described operations may be implemented as code maintained in a “non-transitory computer readable medium”, where a processor may read and execute the code from the computer readable medium. The processor is at least one of a microprocessor and a processor capable of processing and executing the queries. A non-transitory computer readable medium may include media such as magnetic storage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, DVDs, optical disks, etc.), volatile and non-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs, SRAMs, Flash Memory, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), etc. Further, non-transitory computer-readable media may include all computer-readable media except for a transitory. The code implementing the described operations may further be implemented in hardware logic (e.g., an integrated circuit chip, Programmable Gate Array (PGA), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.).

An “article of manufacture” includes non-transitory computer readable medium, and /or hardware logic, in which code may be implemented. A device in which the code implementing the described embodiments of operations is encoded may include a computer readable medium or hardware logic. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope of the invention, and that the article of manufacture may include suitable information bearing medium known in the art.
The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “the embodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “some embodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)” unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself.

The illustrated operations of Figure 5 show certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternative embodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order, modified, or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above described logic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further, operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operations may be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performed by a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral numerals:
Reference Number Description
100 Environment
101 First Strip
102 Second Strip
103 Acoustic Medium
104 Radio Frequency Pulse Unit
105 Direct Current Unit
106 Amplifier
107 Oscilloscope
108 Processing Unit
109 Processor
110 I/O Interface
111 Memory
112 Modules
113 Data
201 Electromotive Force Measuring Module
202 Magnetostriction Determination Module
203 Biasing Point Identification Module
204 Other Modules
205 Magnetic Field Strength Data
206 Magnetostriction Data
207 Electromotive Force Data
208 Biasing Point Data
209 Other Data
301 Ferromagnetic Material
302 Solenoid Winding
303 Toroidal Winding
600 Computer System
601 I/O Interface
602 Processor
603 Network Interface
604 Storage Interface
605 Memory
606 User Interface
607 Operating System
608 Web Browser
609 Input Devices
610 Output Devices
611 Communication Network
612 Processing Unit