Design and Characterization of a Piston Type Linear SMA Actuator

摘要

Smart materials; for example shape memory alloy (SMA) is used as actuator because of change in its properties like shape; dimension; stiffness; impedance; strain; natural frequency; with an external stimulus. Moreover; using SMA material in actuators makes the design simple and compact; at the same time providing large strain. These fundamental characteristics make them increasingly essential for different real time systems. This paper presents the design and implementation of a piston type actuator using the stiffness principle of shape memory alloy wire to provide a linear motion. A preliminary study is performed to investigate on the factors that influence the stiffness of the SMA wire piston type actuator for a translational movement of the actuator by design. The characteristics reveal that the stiffness is correlated with and influenced by the performance indices like the frequency of operation; displacement effected and force generated.