Abstract
The magnetoelastic effect is known as the dependence between the magnetic properties of the material and applied mechanical stress. The stress might not be applied directly but rather generated by the applied torque. This creates the possibility of developing a torque-sensing device based on the magnetoelastic effect. In this paper, the concept of an axially twisted toroidal magnetic core as a torque-sensing element is considered. Most known works in this field consider the utilization of an amorphous ribbon as the core material. However, Ni-Zn ferrites, exhibiting relatively high magnetostriction, also seem to be promising materials for magnetoelastic torque sensors. This paper introduces a theoretical description of the magnetoelastic effect under torque operation on the basis of total free energy analysis. The methodology of torque application to the toroidal core, utilized previously for coiled cores of amorphous ribbons, was successfully adapted for the bulk ferrite core. For the first time, the influence of torque on the magnetic properties of Ni-Zn ferrite was investigated in a wide range of magnetizing fields. The obtained magnetoelastic characteristics allowed the specification of the magnetoelastic torque sensitivity of the material and the determination of the optimal amplitude of the magnetizing field to maximize this parameter. High sensitivity, in comparison with previously studied amorphous alloys, and monotonic magnetoelastic characteristics indicate that the investigated Ni-Zn ferrite can be utilized in magnetoelastic torque sensors. As such, it can be used in torque-sensing applications required in mechanical engineering or civil engineering, like the evaluation of structural elements exposed to torsion.