Electromagnetic Shakers for Active Vibration Control

Electromagnetic shakers are an excellent choice for meeting the needs of active vibration control systems. They offer high fidelity performance coupled with ruggedness, high reliability, high efficiency and compact size. This paper describes a method of linear force generation using electromagnetics and its application to a particular type of moving armature shaker. The principal design considerations of this type of shaker system are discussed, including the transducer features, selection of power amplifiers, force sensing and use of local feedback control. The technology is shown to be applicable to a wide range of shaker sizes rated from 225N (50 lbf) to 22kN (5000 lbf).