Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 223, 2885–2895 (2014)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2014-02301-1

Regular Article

Ferromagnetic mass fixed on a spring and subjected to an electromagnet powered by self-sustained oscillators

Laboratory of Modelling and Simulation in Engineering, Biomimetics and Prototypes, and TWAS Research Unit, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, PO Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon

^a e-mail: pwoafo1@yahoo.fr

Received: 30 June 2014
Revised: 17 October 2014
Published online: 10 December 2014

Abstract

The study of a ferromagnetic mass, fixed on a spring and subjected to an electromagnet powered by a Van der Pol (VDP) oscillator and by a Hindmarsh-Rose (HR) oscillator is performed, to serve as an electromechanical devices, but also to mimic the action of a natural pacemaker and nerves on a cardiac assist device or artificial heart. The excitation with the VDP oscillator shows in the mechanical part the transition from harmonic, periodic, biperiodic up to bursting oscillations, high displacement without pull-in instability in the free dynamics regime. Under DC plus square wave excitation, there is a coexistence of the bursting oscillations of the free dynamics and the one of the modulated dynamics. Considering the action of a HR oscillator, it is found transition from spikes, bursting oscillations, relaxation spikes, multiperiodic and sinusoidal oscillations under DC or DC plus square wave excitation. These electrical behaviors are transferred to the mechanical part which can then adopt spiking or bursting dynamics as the HR oscillator. For this electromechanical model, the VDP oscillator is more efficient than the HR oscillator to induce pulsatile pumping function with higher amplitude and to react to external influences without pull-in.