Development of Advanced Actuators Using Shape Memory Alloys and Electrorheological Fluids

Abstract

Abstract. Actuators are used to perform a variety of functions in almost every type of electromechanical system, "smart" device, and instrument. Increasingly, in many applications, actuators need to achieve reduced size, mass, power consumption, and cost. Examples of industries that demand novel, miniature, and powerful actuators are medicine, biotechnology, information technology, space, manufacturing, entertainment, military, and micro-and nanotechnology. Conventional actuators such as DC motors, pneumatic motors, and hydraulic motors are energy-wasting, largevolume, and heavy-mass actuation systems. Novel design methodologies, materials, and paradigms are currently needed in order to develop such lightweight and powerful actuation systems. In this paper we present the development of two novel, compact, and powerful smart material-based advanced actuators. The first motor is a shape memory alloy (SMA) bundle actuator, and the second is a hybrid concept based on electrorheological fluids (ERFs) and electromagnetic components. A detailed review of the state of the art in SMA-and ERF-based actuators is also presented.

Experimental Study of a Shape Memory Alloy Actuation System for a Novel Prosthetic Hand

“…Shape memory alloy (SMA) is a smart material that has the ability to return to its predetermined dimensional configuration when heated beyond a threshold phase transformation temperature (Mavroidis et al, 2000). This behavior occurs due to a change in the material's crystallographic structure between two phases: the low temperature (martensite) and high temperature (austenite) phases (Fig.…”

Smart Portable Rehabilitation Devices

“…Their solid-like property in the presence of a field can be used to transmit forces over a large range and have found a number of applications. A list of many engineering and practical applications of ERFs can be found in [16]. Our team has developed several prototypes of ERF-based linear and rotary actuation elements [17,18], which can apply controllable resistive forces and torques such as the Flat Plate (FP) rotary actuator concept which is the primary component of the ERF actuated knee orthosis described below.…”

Modeling, Simulation and Optimization of Electrorheological Fluids

“…The measurements have been performed using, e.g., confocal scanning laser microscopy (DASSANAYAKE et al [2000]), two-dimensional light scattering techniques (MARTIN et al [1998b]), and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (UGAZ et al [1994]). The potential industrial applicability of electrorheological fluids in automotive applications (BAYER [1998], BUTZ and STRYK [2001], COULTER et al [1993], FILISKO [1995], GARG and ANDERSON [2003], GAVIN [2001], GAVIN et al [1996a,b], HARTSOCK et al [1991], HOPPE et al [2000], JANOCHA et al [1996], LORD [1996], PEEL et al [1996], SIMS et al [1999], STANWAY et al [1996], WEYENBERG et al [1996], ZHAO et al [2005]), aerospace applications (BERG and WELLSTEAD [1998], LOU et al [2001], WERELEY et al [2001]), food processing (DAUBERT et al [1998]), geophysics (MAKRIS [1999], XU et al [2000]), life sciences (KLEIN et al [2004], LIU et al [2005], MAVROIDIS et al [2001], MONKMANN et al [2003a,b], TAKASHIMA and SCHWAN [1985]), manufacturing (KIM et al [2003]), military applications (DEFENSE UPDATE [2004]), and nondestructive testing (MAVROIDIS [2002]) caused the US Department of Energy to issue a research assessment of electrorheological fluids (DOE [1993]) and popular scientific journals such as Science and Nature to publish overview articles (HALSEY [1992], WHITTLE and BULLOUGH [1992]). Further references covering various aspects of experimental work, modeling efforts, and applicat...…”