A Novel Self-Moving Framed Piezoelectric Actuator

Abstract

Utilizing the inherent advantages of the piezoelectric driving technology, such as good adaptability to vacuum environment and no electromagnetic interference, a novel self-moving framed piezoelectric actuator is proposed, simulated, and tested in this study, holding a potential application for magnetic confinement fusion. Four piezoelectric composite beams form a framed piezoelectric actuator. Two orthogonal vibration modes are excited and coupled in the framed piezoelectric actuator, producing a microscopic elliptical motion at its driving feet. Due to the friction, the framed piezoelectric actuator can move on a rail, thereby constructing the railed carrying system. Numerical simulation is carried out to confirm the operation principle and to conduct the dimensional optimization of the proposed framed piezoelectric actuator. A prototype of the proposed framed piezoelectric actuator with a weight of 83.8 g is manufactured, assembled, and tested, to verify the piezoelectric actuation concept. The optimal driving frequency of 20.75 kHz is obtained for the proposed actuator prototype, and at the excitation voltage of 400 Vpp its maximum mean velocity of 384.9 mm/s is measured. Additionally, the maximum load weight to self-weight of the proposed actuator prototype reached up to 10.74 at the excitation voltage of 300 Vpp. These experimental results validate the feasibility of the piezoelectric actuation concept on the railed carrying system.

A Biomimetic Piezoelectric Composite‐Driven Undulation Underwater Robotic Structure: Characteristic Analysis and Experimental Investigation

“…The piezoelectric actuator is devised to synchronize the resonant frequencies of the two modes, thereby minimizing interferences from adjacent modes and optimizing the functionality of the two modes. [33,50,51] The geometric finite element model of the robotic structure (Figure 7), along with the corresponding material parameters, is imported into the ANSYS Workbench. A modal analysis is conducted to optimize the geometric parameters of the piezoelectric actuator based on the design objectives, and the resultant optimized dimensions are tabulated in Table 4.…”

“…As shown in Figure 16, four groups of piezoelectric bimorphs were selected as the measurement area, reflective tapes were pasted on them to enhance laser reflection, and reflective paint was applied to the link plate to avoid errors caused by laser penetrating through the resin. [51,53] We used the main control computer to manipulate three laser scanning heads that cooperate to evenly mark the scanning points on the structural-functional integration frame of the robot. To meet the experimental requirements, a bench clamp was employed to secure the measured surfaces during the experiment, providing support and stability to ensure that accurate results were obtained.…”

A Simple Model of the Energy Harvester within a Linear and Hysteresis Approach

“…Among piezoelectrics there is the class of ferroelectric materials, which have a non-zero polarization in a certain temperature range, changing due to external excitation [ 19 , 20 ]. In fact, ferroelectrics are the material used to build microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), sound emitters, accelerometers, and precision microdisplacement sensors [ 16 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”