Development of a Pneumatic on/Off Control Valve Using a PZT Flight Hammer

Abstract

This paper deals with the development of a pneumatic on/off valve driven by impulsive force of a multilayer PZT actuator. The displacement of the actuator is so small that it is necessary to design an amplifying mechanism . However, it subtracts the advantages of this actuator. On the other hand, the actuator can snap off a contacting small object like a hammer when the voltage is applied rapidly. This type of action is called a flight hammer . Using this action we hav developed an on/off valve with a nozzle-flapper mechanism, which is normally closed by the air pressure and is opened for a short time by the PZT actuator with the help of the spring force . The application of this valve is to blow off small objects by the air pulse flows that are generated by the on/off action of the valve . The air jet could blow up a small steel ball up to 20cm in height.