An Automotive SMA Mirror Actuator: Modeling, Design, and Experimental Evaluation

Abstract

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) provide compact and effective actuation for a variety of mechanical systems. Automotive applications of these materials, although very attractive, have not been fully explored. The lack of activities in this area is partly due to the complex thermomechanical behavior of these materials. In this work a two degree of freedom SMA actuator has been developed to orient the position of a rearview mirror for automotive applications. This paper presents the design, modeling, and experimental evaluation of this SMA mirror actuator. To evaluate the performance of the actuator a prototype SMA actuated mirror is designed and fabricated. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the SMA actuator in positioning the mirror.

Control of an automotive shape memory alloy mirror actuator

“…Results of modeling, model verification and functionality evaluation of the first generation mirror were previously reported [18]. This section includes the results related to experimental evaluation of the control system.…”

“…4 and 5. This redesigned mirror solves the main limitations of the first generation SMA mirror actuator [18]. This second-generation mirror, as shown in Fig.…”

“…The first generation SMA mirror actuator is shown in Fig. 3 [18]. While the actuator achieved desired range of motion, the main limiting factor was the trade-off between the stability of the mirror and range of motion.…”

“…This paper introduces a second generation SMA actuator for automotive side mirrors [18]. The design of the new mirror has been updated to overcome some of the limitations of the previous design such as limited range of motion and the trade off between 0957-4158/$ -see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.…”

Formation of Ni-Ti intermetallics during reactive sintering at 800–900 °C

“…3 Due to its exceptional properties, the NiTi alloy is applied in both medical (dental implants, stents, scaffolds) 4,5 and technical applications (actuators, robotics, etc.). [6][7][8] The most commonly applied techniques in the industrial production of nitinol alloy are melting metallurgy processes -vacuum induction melting (VIM) and vacuum arc remelting (VAR). 9,10 In the VIM of Ti-containing alloys there is a serious danger of a strong contamination of the melt due to the high reactivity of molten titanium.…”