International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512

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International Journal of Refrigeration

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrefrig

Theoretical modeling and experimental verification of the motor

design for a 500 g micro moving-coil linear compressor operating at
90–140 Hz
Haizheng Dang a,c,∗, Jiaqi Li a,b, Jun Tan a,c, Yibo Zhao d, Rui Zha a,b, Tao Zhang a,b,
Bangjian Zhao a,b, Yongjiang Zhao a,b, Han Tan a,b, Renjun Xue a,b
a
State Key Laboratory of Infrared Physics, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 500 Yutian Road, Shanghai 200083, China
b
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
c
Shanghai Boreas Cryogenics Co., Ltd, 1388 Shuidian Road, Shanghai 200434, China
d
Shanghai Institute of Measuring and Testing Technology, 1500 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai 201203, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents the theoretical modeling and experimental verification of the motor design for a
Available online 21 May 2019 micro moving-coil dual-opposed linear compressor operating at 90–140 Hz. A three-dimensional model
is built to study the characteristics of its magnetic field and then the magnetic circuit configuration is
Keywords:
optimized theoretically. The non-uniform distribution of magnetic field will have an important effect on
Micro moving-coil linear compressor
Motor design
the direction of the motor force, thereby decreasing the efficiency. Based on theoretical analyses, a 500 g
Magnet field analysis micro linear compressor is built and then coupled with a given micro pulse tube cold finger to test
Modeling and experimental verification the performance. Experimental results show that the developed compressor achieves an average motor
Pulse tube cryocooler efficiency of 78.6%, and a cooling power of 1.2 W at 77 K is acquired with an electric input power of 60 W.
The experimental results of both linear motor and the cooler system are compared with the theoretical
ones and good agreements can be observed.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

Modélisation théorique et vérification expérimentale de la conception d’un

moteur pour un compresseur linéaire miniature à bobine mobile de 500 g
fonctionnant à 90-140 Hz

Mots-clés: Compresseur linéaire miniature à bobine mobile; Conception du moteur; Analyse du champ magnétique; Modélisation et vérification expérimentale;
Cryorefroidisseur à tube à pulsation

1. Introduction
The miniaturization of cryocoolers has attracted worldwide at-
tention since a variety of applications based on optical and elec-
tronic technologies only require relatively small cooling powers
but do need a very light weight or the very short cool-down
time (Durand et al., 2014; Frank et al., 2016; Nguyen et al., 2011;
∗
Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Infrared Physics, Shanghai In-
stitute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 500 Yutian Road, 20 0 083
Shanghai, China.
E-mail address: haizheng.dang@mail.sitp.ac.cn (H. Dang).
Olson et al., 2014; Petach et al., 2009; Shire et al., 1999). A mi-
cro cryocooler can be cooled down very fast and is also able to be
conveniently attached to many special systems potentially used in
aerospace, on ground or under water. However, up to now, there
still exists a wide gap between the cooling requirements for var-
ious important applications and the availability of the applicable
miniaturized cryocoolers. Recently, besides the Joule–Thomson (JT)
which is based on the recuperative principle and has been the tra-
ditional backbone of the rapid cooldown cryocoolers, there is a
growing interest in miniaturizing regenerative cryocoolers such as
the Stirling cryocooler and the Stirling-type pulse tube cryocooler
(SPTC) (Lopes et al., 2012; Nast et al., 2014; Vanapalli et al., 2008;

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2019.05.025
0140-7007/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512 503

also delicate and subtle magnetic circuits in it. To make the matter
Nomenclature worse, the micro compressor also have to operate at a very high
frequency such as 100 Hz around because the cooling capacity of
B Magnetic field intensity (T) a regenerative cryocooler will decrease sharply with reduced size
c Friction factor of machinery and an effective solution to it is to increase both charge pressure
D Electric displacement (C m−2 ) and operating frequency to compensate for the decrease in work-
E Electric field intensity (V m−1 ) ing fluid volume (Radebaugh et al., 2010; Zhao and Dang, 2016;
f Frequency (Hz) Zhao et al., 2018). However, a very high operating frequency is
fn Resonant frequency often a demanding requirement for a linear compressor because
FLM Motor force (N) the moving coils, flexure springs and magnetic circuits all need
H Magnetic flux density (A m−1 ) to stand the severe ordeals, and to keep the required high perfor-
I Current (A) mance, the design of the compressor have to consider the match-
Im Amplitude of current ing mechanism between it and the PTCF since a high frequency
J Conduction current density (A m−2 ) often results in the poor heat transfer in the regenerative heat ex-
K Scaling factor changer and thus produces considerable irreversible losses (Dang
km Stiffness of flexure spring et al., 2016b; Zhao and Dang, 2016; Zhao et al., 2018).
kg Stiffness of gas spring The design of the high performance micro motor is one of the
Lw Effective length of coil (m) biggest challenges to the aimed micro linear compressor. In this
ri Inner radius (m) paper, a three-dimensional model will be established to investigate
ro Outer radius (m) its micro structure and magnetic characteristics, in which the re-
t Thickness (m) lationships between density magnetic structure and magnetic field
w Width (m) intensity will be discussed in detail for the motor optimization. The
x Shift of piston (m) optimized motor will be used to develop the micro linear compres-
Xm Amplitude of shift sor, which will then be coupled with a given micro PTCF to test the
d Diameter (m) performance. The experimental results will be compared with the
Ns Number of flexure springs modeled ones.
L Length

Greek symbols
τ Time
ε0 Permittivity (F m−1 )
θ Phase shift
γ Frequency ratio
μ0 Magnetic permeability (H m−1 )
σ0 Conductivity (S m−1 )
ρ Volume charge density (C m−3 )
ξ Friction ratio
Subscripts
g Air gap
m Magnet
p Return iron 2
s Flexure spring
Zhao and Dang, 2016; Zhao et al., 2018). Especially the latter, with
no moving component at the cold end, is well known for its low
vibration, long life and high reliability (Dang, 2015).
A SPTC is driven by the linear compressor, which is used to
produce the oscillating pressure wave and serves as the origin of
the energy for the system (Dang, 2015; Dang et al., 2016a). The
Oxford-type linear compressor based on the well-proven princi-
ples featuring clearance seal and flexure springs plays a vital role
in refrigeration and cryogenic fields (Davey, 1990; Marquardt et al.,
1993; Bailey et al., 2001, 2010–2011; Bradshaw et al., 2011; Liang
et al., 2014). Especially, the moving-coil linear compressor, which
can completely eliminate the radial forces easily, thereby leading
to enhanced reliability and high efficiency, has a strong appeal to
a variety of special fields, especially for aerospace or defense ap-
plications (Ross, 2007; Raab and Tward, 2010; Dang et al., 2016a,
2017).
Except the linear compressor, all of the remaining components
of a SPTC is named here as the pulse tube cold finger (PTCF). The
miniaturization of the PTCF is relatively easy because, as men-
tioned above, there is no any moving part in it (Tan and Dang,
2015). By contrast, to miniaturize the linear compressor is the core
of the work since there are not only high-speed moving pistons but
2. Theoretical analysis and design of miniature moving-coil
linear compressor
Fig. 1 shows a schematic of the typical Oxford-type moving-coil
dual-opposed linear compressor (Tan and Dang, 2017), including
the permanent magnet, the return iron and the moving coil, the
cylinder, the pressure vessel, the linear motor, the flexure springs,
and the pistons.
A micro linear compressor will be developed based on the
structure shown in Fig. 1.
Zhang et al. (2015) developed the partial scaling method of the
Oxford-type moving-coil linear compressor. The basic principle of
the partial scaling method is that the compressor’s capacities are
scaled by only adjusting several selected dimensional parameters
while the compressor’s efficiencies are kept unchanged. The spe-
cific procedures can be summarized as follows. First, the design
requirements are put forward and the dimensional parameters to
be scaled are selected. And then the scaling factors are calculated
and the operating frequency is checked. If it does not accord with
the design requirements, then the dimensional parameters’ scal-
ing factors should be adjusted. And then the scaling factors of the
forces on the piston are calculated to check the force balance. If
it does not accord with the design requirements, the dimensional
parameters’ scaling factors should be adjusted. The scaling factors
such as the input electric power, PV power and Joule loss are then
calculated to check the efficiencies. If efficiencies are not kept un-
changed, then the dimensional parameters’ scaling factors should
be adjusted. Finally, the scaling factor by the aimed value of the
powers is calculated and the values of the scaled dimensional pa-
rameters are determined.
Some design method, including the partial scaling method, can-
not be used directly in the design of the micro linear compres-
sor, because of the limits of the manufacture. Based on the scaling
method and the partial scaling method, some of the scaling factors
are modified to fulfill the needs of the micro linear compressor.
In order to use the scaling method to develop a miniature linear
compressor, the average pressure P0 , the ratio of the pressure Pr ,
the magnetic field intensity B, the current intensity j, the elastic
504 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512

Fig. 1. Schematic of a typical Oxford-type moving-coil linear compressor.

Table 1 springs. Because the thickness will influence a lot on the radial
Some of the scaling factors of the modified scaling method.
stiffness and elastic constants of the springs. The springs must
Dimension parameter Scaling factors Modified scaling factors have high radial stiffness and a proper elastic constant so that the
Operating frequency K−1
K− 1 linear compressor could have high efficiency and long lifetime.
Diameter of piston K3/2 K Eq. (1) shows the stiffness of the flexure spring km if the spring
Length of piston K3/2 K are considered as simple cantilever construction (Park et al., 2017),
Diameter of flexure springs K K
Thickness of flexure springs K Fixed value Ns Es ws ts3 Ns Es ts3
Number of flexure springs K 0.5 km ∝ ∝ ∝K (1)
Moving mass K4 K3 L3s ds3
where ws , Ls represents the width and the length of the spring
arms, respectively.
modulus of the flexure spring Es , the friction factor of the gas μ The scaling factor of Ns is set to be 0.5 while that of ts are cho-
are supposed to be a constant. sen from the data in our laboratory. Based on Eq. (1), the scaling
Table 1 shows some of the scaling factors of the modified scal- factor of the diameter of the flexure spring could be K. Under that
ing method. The micro linear compressor is developed based on circumstances, the structure of the linear compressor won’t change
the modified scaling method and the mid-sized linear compressor a lot.
in the same group (Dang, 2015). The operating frequency of the A photo of the flexure spring is shown in Fig. 2(a). The circular
micro linear compressor is set to be 100 Hz. The optimal operat- involute is used in the design and it can be calculated by:
ing frequency of the mid-sized linear compressor is 55 Hz. So, the 
scaling factor K is 0.55. x = r (cos ϕ + ϕ sin ϕ )
(2)
In the following sections, the determination of the scaling fac- y = r (sin ϕ − ϕ cos ϕ )
tors of the piston, the moving mass and the flexure springs will be
discussed in detail. where r is the radius of base circle, ϕ is the involute angle of the
circular involute.
2.1. Moving mass and the piston
2.3. Motor design
If the scaling factor of the moving mass is still K4 , the mov-
ing mass will decrease 90.84%. The size of the moving parts is too The size of linear motor is essential to the linear compressor
small compared to other parts of the linear compressor. The shaft performance. In view of that the value of the layers of the coil
of the piston will be less than 2 mm which is hard to manufactur- should be an integer and the thickness of the coil is fixed, when
ing and assembling. Such being the case, the scaling factor of the the scaling method is used, the compromise has to be made be-
moving mass should be changed. To limit the overall mass of the tween theoretical and actual values.
micro linear compressor, the scaling factor of the moving parts are The motor design will be made based on the magnetic field
changed to K3 . That of the length and diameter of the piston will analysis of the linear motor, the detailed process will be given as
change to K correspondingly. follows:

2.2. Flexure springs design 2.3.1. Model setup and optimization

The flexure springs are important feature of the linear compres-
sor. The springs will provide the support for the piston and ensures
that the piston have no radial movements at the same time. With
the decrease of the size of the linear compressor, the scaling factor
of the flexure spring should also be modified. Because it is hard
to guarantee that the value of the size and number of the spring
could be integer. Also, there is a limit to the thickness of the
In order to study the characteristics of the magnetic field and
to optimize the magnetic circuit configuration, a three-dimensional
theoretical model of the micro magnetic structure based on
Maxwell software is established. Fig. 2(b) shows the cross-sectional
drawing of the micro magnetic circuit model, in which the impor-
tant dimensional parameters are given, including the width of air
gap wg , the thickness of air gap tg , the width of permanent mag-
net wm , and the outer radius of permanent magnet rom , respec-
 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512 505

Fig. 2. (a) Photo of flexure springs (b) Drawing of simulated micro magnetic structure. (c) Optimization results of 3-D model.

Table 2 Fig. 2(c) shows the optimization results of the model based
Initial dimension parameters of the simulated
on one mid-sized linear motor developed in the authors’ labora-
magnetic structure.
tory. The deviation between the simulated results with the orig-
Dimension parameter Value (mm) inal model and the experimental ones is about 19%. To improve
Width of air gap wg 5 the accuracy of the simulations, the model is then improved based
Thickness of air gap tg 2.4 on the above results and comparisons, and then the deviation is
Width of magnet wm 7.3 reduced to be less than 5%. During the improvement, the motor’s
Outer radius of magnet rom 17
structure in the model is optimized in which the influence of the
Inner radius of magnet rim 5
holes is taken into consideration in the simulations to make it to
be closer to the actual situation.
In the simulation, the minimum length of the mesh in the air
tively. Table 2 gives the initial dimension parameters of the simu-
gap is set as 0.2 mm, while that in the permanent magnet, the
lated micro magnetic circuit in the model, which is obtained by
return iron 2 and the return iron 1 is 0.5 mm. The total number
scaling down from a mature mid-size moving-coil dual-opposed
of mesh elements is up to 140,175 and no noticeable difference of
linear compressor developed in the authors’ laboratory based on
the simulated result is observed when the minimum length of the
the modified scaling principles (Zhang et al., 2015).
mesh in the air gap decreases to 0.1 mm.
The governing equations for the 3-D micro magnetic struc-
ture model are based on Maxwell’s equations, including the Fara-
day’s law of electromagnetic induction, the Gauss’s law, the flux 2.3.2. Width of air gap
continuity theorem and the Ampere’s loop law, which are given Table 3 gives the dimensional parameters of the micro magnetic
by: structure in Cases A1–A6, in which the width of air gap ranges
from 1 mm to 11 mm, and the width of return iron 2 varies ac-
∂B
∇ ×E =− (3) cordingly on the condition that other parameters remain constant.
∂τ The effects of wg on the distributions of the magnetic field inten-
∂D sity inside the air gap on the motor force are simulated.
∇ ×H =J+ (4) Fig. 3(a)–(f) shows the contours of the simulated magnetic field
∂τ
intensities inside the air gap in Cases A1–A6, respectively. It can be
∇ ·B=0 (5) observed that, the magnetic field intensity increases monotonously
in the radial direction from outside to inside in each case, except
that there exist slightly non-uniform distributions in Cases A1 and
∇ ·D=ρ (6) A3. Therefore, the moving coil should be placed close to the return
where E, H, B, D, J, ρ and τ represent the electric field intensity, iron 1 so as to get high motor force. In addition, it can also be
magnetic flux density, magnetic field intensity, electric displace- found that the magnetic field intensity decreases with the increase
ment, conduction current density and volume charge density, re- of the width of air gap.
spectively. The constitutive relations between the parameters are Fig. 4(a) shows a detailed comparison of the radial distributions
given by: of the average magnetic field intensity in Cases A1–A6, where the
radial location represents the distance between the test point and
D = ε0 E (7) the inner boundary of air gap. The results show that the mag-
netic field intensity drops sharply with wg increasing from 1 mm to
B = μ0 H (8) 5 mm, and then decreases gradually with wg increasing from 5 mm
to 11 mm. The average magnetic field intensities vary from 0.57 T
to 2.15 T.
J = σ0 E (9)
where ε 0 , μ0 and σ 0 are the permittivity, magnetic permeability 2.3.3. Thickness of air gap
and conductivity. Table 4 gives the dimensional parameters of the micro magnetic
The magnetic field of the linear motor in the micro moving-coil structure in Cases B1–B6, in which the thickness of air gap ranges
compressor is the magnetostatics field generated by the permanent from 0.6 mm to 3.6 mm, and the width of return iron 2 varies ac-
magnet, which is time independent. Therefore, the simulated re- cordingly on the condition that other parameters remain constant.
sults are mainly decided by the flux continuity theorem. Tetrahe- Fig. 3(g)–(l) shows the simulation results of the contours of
dral mesh is used in the model. the magnetic field intensities inside the air gap in Cases B1–B6,
506 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512

Table 3
Parameter settings in Cases A1–A6.

Case number wg (mm) tg (mm) wp (mm) wm (mm) rom (mm) rop (mm) rim (mm) rip (mm)

A1 1 2.4 13.3 7.3 17 24.4 5 19.4

A2 3 2.4 15.3 7.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
A3 5 2.4 17.3 7.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
A4 7 2.4 19.3 7.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
A5 9 2.4 21.3 7.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
A6 11 2.4 23.3 7.3 17 24.4 5 19.4

Fig. 3. Contours of magnetic field densities of air gap in Cases A1-A6 and B1-B6 (a) Case A1. (b) Case A2. (c) Case A3. (d) Case A4. (e) Case A5. (f) Case A6. (g) Case B1. (h)
Case B2. (i) Case B3. (j) Case B4. (k) Case B5. (l) Case B6.

Table 4
Parameter settings in Cases B1–B6.

Case number wg (mm) tg (mm) wp (mm) wm (mm) rom (mm) rop (mm) rim (mm) rip (mm)

B1 7 0.6 19.3 7.3 17 22.6 5 17.6

B2 7 1.2 19.3 7.3 17 23.2 5 18.2
B3 7 1.8 19.3 7.3 17 23.8 5 18.8
B4 7 2.4 19.3 7.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
B5 7 3 19.3 7.3 17 25 5 20
B6 7 3.6 19.3 7.3 17 25.6 5 20.6

respectively. The magnetic field intensities increase monotonously
in radial direction from outside to inside in each case. In Case B1,
B2 and B6, there exists non-uniform in the contours of the mag-
netic field intensities. In Case B3–B5, the distribution of magnetic
field is uniform.
Fig. 4(b) illustrates the distribution of the magnetic field in the
radius direction in Case B2–B6. Since the non-uniform distribution
in the Case B1 and Case B2, they will not be taken into consid-
eration for optimization. It can be found that the magnetic field
intensities decrease with the increase of the thickness of the air
gap. When the thickness of the air gap is more than 2.4 mm, the
average magnetic field intensity will lower than 0.75 T.
Based on the analysis above, only the motor force in Case B3
and B4 will be compared. Based on the design method of the
miniature of the linear motor, the diameter of the coil wire is
0.53 mm. When the thickness of air gap is 2.4 mm, 4 layers of coil
can be made. When the thickness is 1.8 mm, only 3 layers can be
coiled up. The 2.4 mm air gap can be confirmed is the optimization
results.
2.3.4. Width of permanent magnet
Table 5 shows the dimensional parameters of the micro mag-
netic structure in Cases C1–C5. In these cases, the width of the
permanent magnet changes, the width of the return iron 1 varies
accordingly while the other parameters, such as the size of the air
gap, remain the same.
Fig. 5(a)–(e) shows the contours of the magnetic field intensi-
ties inside the air gap in Case C1–C5. The simulation results show
that the magnetic field intensities increase as the radius increasing.
The distributions are uniform in all cases except the Case C1. Com-
paring the simulation results of the Case C1–C5, it can be found
 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512 507

Fig. 4. Radial distributions of average magnetic field in (a) Case A. (b) Case B. (c) Case C. (d) Case D.

Table 5
Parameter settings in Cases C1–C5.

Case number wg (mm) tg (mm) wp (mm) wm (mm) rom (mm) rop (mm) rim (mm) rip (mm)

C1 7 2.4 17.3 5.3 17 24.4 5 19.4

C2 7 2.4 19.3 7.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
C3 7 2.4 21.3 9.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
C4 7 2.4 23.3 11.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
C5 7 2.4 25.3 13.3 17 24.4 5 19.4

out that, with the raise of the width of permanent magnet, the
magnetic field increases correspondingly.
Fig. 4(c) shows the comparation of the magnetic field inten-
sities in radius direction in Case C1–C5. When the width of the
permanent magnet raises from 5.3 mm to 9.3 mm, the magnetic
field intensity increases significantly. If the width of the permanent
magnet is larger than 9.3 mm, the magnetic field intensity will in-
crease slowly, and the overall mass of the permanent magnet will
increase greatly. For optimization, only the distribution of the mag-
netic field and the size of the motor will be taken into considera-
tion. In order to decrease the size and the overall mass of the mi-
cro linear compressor, the width of the permanent magnet should
be 9.3 mm with an appropriate magnetic field intensity of 0.86 T.
2.3.5. Radial dimensions of magnet
Table 6 gives the parameters of the linear motor in Case D1–D5.
The air gap and the width of the magnet remain the same, varia-
tions of the magnetic field intensities with the radial dimensions
of magnet are simulated.
Fig. 5(f)–(j) compares the contours of the magnetic field inten-
sities in Case D1–D5. It can be found out that the magnetic field
intensities increase from the inside to the outside. As for the Case
D4 and D5, the magnetic field intensities are relatively high but
non-uniform exist. If the radius of the magnet increases, the phe-
nomenon of the non-uniform becomes more obvious.
Fig. 4(d) shows the comparation of the magnetic field inten-
sities along the radius of the magnet in Case D1–D5. With the
508 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512

Fig. 5. Contours of magnetic field densities of air gap in Cases C1-C5 and D1-D5. (a) Case C1. (b) Case C2. (c) Case C3. (d) Case C4. (e) Case C5. (f) Case D1. (g) Case D2. (h)
Case D3. (i) Case D4. (j) Case D5.

Table 6
Parameter settings in Cases D1–D5.

Case number wg (mm) tg (mm) wp (mm) wm (mm) rom (mm) rop (mm) rim (mm) rip (mm)

D1 7 2.4 21.3 9.3 15 22.4 5 17.4

D2 7 2.4 21.3 9.3 17 24.4 5 19.4
D3 7 2.4 21.3 9.3 19 26.4 5 21.4
D4 7 2.4 21.3 9.3 21 28.4 5 23.4
D5 7 2.4 21.3 9.3 23 30.4 5 25.4

increasement of the magnet radius, the magnetic field intensities

show an increasing tendency. When the radius of the magnet is
less than 19 mm, the average magnetic field intensity is less than
0.9 T which will not satisfy the requirement of the design. When
the radius is over 19 mm, the distribution of the magnetic field will
be non-uniform. It can be observed that 19 mm is the optimum
radius of the magnet with the inner and outer radiuses of the re-
turn iron 2 are 21.4 mm and 26.4 mm, respectively.

2.4. The motor force

The motor force FLM is given by:

FLM = BILw ∝ BIwg (10)

where Lw represents the effective length of coil. The linear motor

in the micro compressor employs the long coil design, and there-
fore Lw is proportional to wg .
Based on Eq. (10), the value of motor force is proportional to
the magnetic field intensity, the length of the copper wire in the
coil and the current. According to the Right-hand grip rule, the di-
rection of the motor force is parallel to the axis of the coil if the Fig. 6. The motor force in Cases A, B, C and D.
distribution of the magnetic field is uniform.
 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512
Fig. 6 shows the motor force in all cases. With the increase of
the air gap width in Case A, the motor force shows an upward
trend due to increase of the effective coil length. However, the
increasing rate of the relative motor force decreases with the in-
creasing air gap width.
The magnetic field intensity in the Case B6 is the lowest but the
motor force is higher than that in other Cases. The reason is that
the thickness of the air gap is relatively high and more layers of
the coil could be used, and the length of the coil will rise. Based
on Eq. (10), the motor force will rise correspondingly. The motor
force rises with the increasing thickness of the air gap, for which
the reason is the thickness is very small and the magnetic field
intensity becomes high correspondingly. The effect of the increase
of the magnetic field intensities on the motor force is greater than
that of the decrease of the thickness.
In Case C, it is observed that the change of the width of the
permanent magnet will not only change the motor force, but also
influence the magnetic field. The magnetic field intensity will rise
with the increase of the width of the permanent magnet.
In Case D, as the radius increases, the motor force will rise ac-
cordingly. The reason is that the magnetic field intensity becomes
higher when the increasing radius of the magnet. Also, the length
of the copper wires inside the coil will be longer if the radius of
the permanent magnet is larger.
2.5. The compressor characteristics without load
The force balance relations are given by:
mẍ + cx˙ + km x + Fp = BLw I
where x is the shift of the piston, c is the friction factor of the ma-
chinery, and the product of magnetic flux density B and the valid
length of the coil Lw is called as the specific thrust.
In view of that the AC power is used, the x and i can be rewrit-
ten as:
x = Xm cos 2π f t
i = −Im sin (2π f t − θ )
where Xm and Im are the amplitudes of the shift and current, re-
spectively. θ represents the phase difference between the velocity
of the piston and the motor thrust. Based on Eqs. (11), (12) and
(13), the Xm and Im are given as follow:
 2
Xm
Im = km − 4mπ 2 f 2 + 4c π 2 f 2
BLw
The relation between the resonant frequency and the moving
mass is given by:
 netic field intensity. Third, several dimensions are slightly different
1 kg + km
fn =
2π m the structure more appropriate for fabrication, which also leads to
where kg and km are the stiffness of the gas springs and the flexure
springs, respectively.
Eq. (15) can also be rewritten as:
 2
Xm km
Im = 1 − τ2 + 4τ 2 ξ 2
BLw
where the frequency ratio τ = f
and friction ratio ξ = √c
fn
non-dimensional parameters.  magnetometer probe is contacted with the outer circle of the re-
It is found that Im is the lowest with τopt = 1 − 2ξ 2 . When the
linear compressor is with no-load, the optimal frequency is lower
than the resonant one. The optimal value is relevant to the friction,
the moving mass and the spring stiffness.
509
Table 7
Dimension parameters of the tested magnetic structure.
Dimension parameter Value (mm)
Width of air gap wg 7
Thickness of air gap tg 2.4
Width of magnet wm 9.3
Outer radius of magnet rom 19
Inner radius of magnet rim 5
3. Experimental investigations
3.1. The experimental results of the linear motor
Based on the simulation results of the 3-dimensional model, the
magnets are worked out and assembled. Comparing to the theo-
retical 3-dimensional simulation model, the experimental one has
some difference in the structure. In the practical design, there are
several holes for the screws to set the magnets with the com-
pressor base which is a little different from that of the theoreti-
cal model. Table 7 gives the detailed parameters of the motor for
experimental testing. A high precision magnetometer is used to
measure the magnetic flux intensity inside the air gap, which is
assisted by an altitude meter. During the experiments, the magne-
tometer is fixed in the altitude meter which is used to control the
position of the probe in the air gap.
Fig. 7(a) and (b) shows the schematic diagram of the structure
of micro motor in the axial and radial section. The x–r coordinate
(11) axis is built in the radial section. The point of origin is set at the
upper surface of the return iron 1. Also, there are 8 testing point in
the air gap in uniform distribution named from point 1 to point 8.
All the eight testing points are at the center of the air gap where
r = 1.2 mm.
Table 8 gives the magnetic field intensities of the eight test-
ing points. The x represents the position of the probe in the radial
(12) direction. It can be observed that when the position in the r di-
rection is set as fixed value, the magnetic field intensities of the
testing points are basically the same, which agrees well with the
(13) simulation results in Fig. 8(a). The experimental results show that
the motor coil can get stable force during the reciprocating motion.
Fig. 8(a) shows the test results of magnetic field intensity at
the position of 1.2 mm in r direction. The magnetic field inten-
sity at the test points fluctuate between 0.9 T to 0.92 T, which
is 0.03 T lower than the simulation ones. There are several rea-
sons for the difference between the experimental values and the
(14) simulated ones. First, the actual permanent magnet cannot get full
magnetized. Under this situation, the actual magnetic field inten-
sity in the air gap is reduced accordingly. Second, there are fixed
holes on the return iron 2, which has a negative effect on the mag-
(15) from the optimal results to reduce the overall mass and to make
the loss of the magnetic field intensity.
Since the magnetic field intensity inside the air gap distributes
uniformly in the circumferential direction, only Point 1 is selected
as a representative point to show the magnetic field intensities at
different radial positions.
(16)
Table 9 gives the actual distribution of magnetic field at point
1 along the axial and radial directions, respectively. The point 1
are
2 mkm moves in the radial range of r = 0–2.4 mm. r = 0 represents that the
turn iron 1, and r = 2.4 mm represents that the probe is connected
with the return iron 2 inner circle tightly. Fig. 8(b) shows the mag-
net field intensities with the radial position of the probe varying
from 0 mm to 2.4 mm and x is set to be 3 mm.
510 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512

Fig. 7. Cross-sectional drawings of the developed micro magnetic structure. (a) Perpendicular to the axis. (b) Coincident with the axis.
Table 8
Tested magnetic flux density in axial direction (r = 1.2 mm).

Test point x = 0 mm B (mT) x = 1 mm B (mT) x = 2 mm B (mT) x = 3 mm B (mT) x = 4 mm B (mT) x = 5 mm B (mT) x = 6 mm B (mT) x = 7 mm B (mT)

Point 1 882 910 911 921 922 910 904 822

Point 2 880 910 912 919 918 910 906 822
Point 3 887 911 911 920 920 911 905 822
Point 4 891 911 913 920 921 911 907 823
Point 5 886 912 911 922 921 912 904 817
Point 6 878 913 914 921 920 913 904 816
Point 7 874 912 914 920 923 912 900 810
Point 8 880 910 912 918 919 910 899 808

Fig. 8. Simulated and experimental results: (a) Average magnetic field intensities in axial direction at r = 1.2 mm. (b) Magnetic field intensities in radial direction at x = 3 mm.
Table 9
Tested magnetic flux density in axial and radial directions (Test point 1).

Axial location (mm) r = 0 mm B (mT) r = 0.6 mm B (mT) r = 1.2 mm B (mT) r = 1.8 mm B (mT) r = 2.4 mm B (mT)

x=0 900 890 882 862 841

x=1 932 922 910 894 871
x=2 932 921 911 896 874
x=3 943 930 921 903 886
x=4 944 932 922 903 884
x=5 933 921 910 894 878
x=6 929 916 904 885 872
x=7 850 835 822 804 792
 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512
Fig. 9. (a) Comparation of the miniature linear compressor to a cola can. (b) The linear compressor connected with pulse tube cold finger. (c) Experimental setup for the
measurement of the pulse tube cryocooler performance.
Fig. 10. The performance: (a) Effects of operating frequency on linear compressor performance. (b) Cool down curves of the pulse tube cryocooler. (c) Effects of operating
frequency on the no-load temperature.
When the radial position is fixed, the magnetic field intensity
does not change much in the range of x = 1–6 mm. And the highest
value can be measured at the center of the air gap where x = 3 mm
and x = 4 mm. When the axial position is fixed, the actual magnetic
field intensity changes monotonically with decreasing r. The varia-
tion trend matches well with the simulated ones in Fig. 8(b).
The measurements of the displacements are made by the sen-
sor which is fixed at the end of the piston. When the piston moves,
the sensor measures the position change of the piston. An electric
current of 4.53 A is used in the coil, and the displacements of the
piston can be measured by the sensor which is shown in the os-
cilloscope. The motor force can be calculated by the product of the
measured magnetic field intensity, the length of the coil and the
electric current. The motor force can be calculated to be 12.99 N.
3.2. The testing of the micro linear compressor coupling with the
miniature pulse tube cold finger
In order to verify the above analysis and results, a miniature
pulse tube cryocooler operating at 100 Hz has been manufactured
and tested.
A photograph of the developed micro linear compressor is
shown in Fig. 9(a). The compressor is manufactured based on the
theoretical analysis and the experimental test above. The resonant
frequency reaches 100 Hz and the overall mass is about 500 g in
weight. Fig. 9(b) shows the combination of the linear compressor
and the pulse tube cold finger. The linear compressor and the cold
finger are connected by a copper tube. The pulse tube cryocooler
uses neither double-inlet nor multi-bypass phase shifter, and the
inertance tube and the reservoir are the only phase shifter.
Fig. 9(c) shows the experimental setup for the measurement of
the pulse tube cryocooler performance, in which the micro linear
511
compressor coupled with the pulse tube cold finger. The AC power
supply is used to provide power to the linear compressor which
can also measure the input electric parameters. The temperature
sensor and the heater are attached on the cold tip. The DC power
supply is used to control the heat load of the heater at the cold
tip which indicates the cooling capacity of the SPTC. The data ac-
quisition is connected to the temperature sensor and the heater to
monitor the cold tip temperature and the cooling power as well.
The PC is used to collect the data of the power supplies and data
acquisition system for analysis.
Fig. 10(a) shows the motor efficiency and power factor of the
linear compressor as a function of the operating frequency. When
the operating frequency varies from 92 Hz to 108 Hz, the high-
est motor efficiency of the linear compressor can be acquired at
102 Hz, and its value reaches 79.48%. The optimal frequency is very
close to that of the cold finger, which indicates that the micro cold
finger is well matched with the linear compressor. In addition, the
relation between the power factor and operating frequency is also
given in Fig. 10(a). Generally, a higher frequency brings more loss
in the linear motor which is mainly caused by the phase difference
between the voltage and the current.
The motor loss includes the copper loss, windage loss and eddy
current loss. Both windage loss and eddy current loss are usu-
ally negligible in experiments. The copper loss is the largest and
is approximate to the joule heating loss which is affected by the
resistance of the copper wire of the coil. The measured total re-
sistance of the linear compressor is 1.2 ohms. In the testing, the
working current is 4.5 A. Based on the Joule’s Law, the copper loss
is 12.31 W and the corresponding efficiency of the linear compres-
sor is 79.48%.
Fig. 10(b) shows the cool down curve of the miniature pulse
tube cryocooler using the linear motor designed above. It takes
512 H. Dang, J. Li and J. Tan et al. / International Journal of Refrigeration 104 (2019) 502–512
about 240 s to reach a no-load temperature of 62 K with an in-
put power of 60 W at 101 Hz. Comparing the no-load temperature
and the refrigeration power at 77 K under different operating fre-
quencies, it can be found out that the lowest no-load temperature
can be reached at 101.5 Hz which is shown in Fig. 10(c). A cooling
capacity of 1.2 W at 77 K can be obtained with an electric input
power of 60 W, and the motor efficiency is 78.6%.
4. Conclusions
This paper presents theoretical modeling and experimental ver-
ification of the motor design for a micro moving-coil dual-opposed
linear compressor operating at 90–140 Hz. A 3D model is estab-
lished to simulate the magnetic field intensity inside the air gap.
The micro moving-coil linear compressor is built and then tested
with a miniature pulse tube cold finger.
The magnetic field intensities are basically the same when the
position is at the same cylindrical surface and the distribution of
the magnetic field is uniform. Also, the magnetic field intensity
monotonously increases in radial direction from outside to inside
except for the cases which exist slightly non-uniform distributions.
The magnetic field intensity will increase when the width of the
return iron 1 or the radial dimensions of the magnet and the re-
turn iron 2 rise. If the air gap is much smaller comparing to other
parts in the cases, it is more likely to exist non-uniform distribu-
tions which results in inefficiency because the magnetic force is
not in the axis direction. The actual magnetic field intensity in the
air gap is 0.03–0.05 T smaller than the theoretical value. When the
coil length and the input current are constant, the actual motor
thrust and motor output work only account for 80% of the theo-
retical value, resulting in a slight decrease in the actual motor effi-
ciency.
In addition, a 500 g linear compressor is worked out. To test
the performance of the linear motor, the micro linear compressor
is coupled with a miniature pulse tube cold finger. The micro pulse
tube cryocooler can achieve a cooling capacity of 1.2 W at 77 K op-
erating at 101.5 Hz with an electric input power of 60 W and the
motor efficiency of 78.6%.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences
(No. 6141A01070102), Shanghai Municipality (Nos. 18511110100,
18511110101, 18511110102) and the Aeronautical Science Founda-
tion of China (No. 20162490 0 05).
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