Dynamic contact in multiferroic energy conversion

This paper reports a semi-analytical model (SAM) for simulating the dynamic contact of a rigid sphere and the surface of a multiferroic magnetoelectroelastic (MEE) film under an increasing applied force. The frequency response functions (FRFs) and their conversion into influence coefficients (ICs) for the MEE film are analytically derived, incorporating the loading velocity in a dynamic process. Fast numerical techniques, including the conjugate gradient method (CGM) and the fast Fourier transform (FFT), are employed for efficient numerical solutions to the dynamic contact behaviors, including the distributions and variations of contact pressure and electric/magnetic potentials, as well as subsurface stresses. The proposed model is implemented to analyze the influences of loading velocity, film thickness, and sphere radius on the dynamic MEE responses, including pressure/stresses and electric/magnetic potentials. An energy conversion factor is selected to evaluate the performance of MEE energy conversion. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the influence of material properties and their coupling on the efficiency of mechanical–electric/magnetic energy conversion.