METHOD TO ESTIMATE THE TEMPERATURE OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTUATOR

A method to estimate the temperature of an electromagnetic actuator (1), which entails a preliminary step in which to define a first threshold value (I, I*, I) for the current or for the voltage; and define a characteristic curve (C) of the actuator family in the plane temperature / time needed to reach the threshold value (I, I*, I); a step in which to carry out a reference measurement, in which, using the characteristic curve (C), a reference time (S) needed by the electromagnetic actuator (1) to reach the first threshold value (I, I*, I) is associated with a known reference temperature (T); and a step in which to carry out a series of measurements in which to determine the time needed by the electromagnetic actuator (1) to reach the first threshold value (I, I*, I), calculate the deviation (Δ) between the time needed by the electromagnetic actuator (1) to reach the first threshold value (I, I*, I) and the reference time (S); and determine the temperature of the electromagnetic actuator (1), using the characteristic curve (C), by associating the temperature of the electromagnetic actuator (1) with the sum (SΔ) of the deviation (Δ) and of the reference time (S).