Development of SMA Spring Linear Actuator for an Autonomous Lock and Release Mechanism: Application for the Gravity-Assisted Pointing System in Moon to Earth Alignment of Directional Devices

Abstract

The next generation lunar reflector (NGLR) experiment is one of the experiments selected by NASA in the framework of the commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) initiative. The experiment, inspired by the lunar laser ranging (LLR) experiments of the Apollo era, is basically a single cube corner reflector (CCR) capable of reflecting a beam coming from a laser station on Earth that must be deployed on the Moon and pointed toward the mean Earth direction. In this work, a prototype of an actuator for the lock and release system of the reflector package was conceived, built, and tested in laboratory conditions. Since the entire pointing system must be passive, the actuator is designed to be operated by an SMA spring actuated by the thermal radiation of the Sun and regolith on the Moon. In lab conditions, the prototype, activated by a heat gun, showed the capability of the SMA spring to operate a lock and release pin, whose diameter is 4 mm, subjected to a preload of F = 7 N exerted by the releasing spring.

Three DoF Cable Driven Parallel Manipulator with Self Sensing Nitinol Actuators

“…In recent years, there has been a growing interest in integrating smart materials, particularly shape memory alloys (SMAs), into robotic systems to enhance their performance and capabilities. Among SMAs, nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) alloys stand out for their unique properties, including high energy density, biocompatibility, and shape memory effect, making them ideal candidates as actuators [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] in many applications in different fields, such as aerospace [8][9][10][11][12], biomedical [13][14][15][16][17][18], wearables [19][20][21][22], micro-systems [23][24][25][26], robotics [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. There are not many works in the literature regarding manipulators with parallel architecture with SMA actuators.…”

Resistance Feedback for miniaturization of Shape Memory Alloys actuators

“…Many works in the scientific literature propose using SMA as actuators [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Many scientific works concern their applications in many fields, such as micro-systems [8][9][10][11], robotics [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], biomedical [20][21][22][23][24][25], wearables [26][27][28][29], aerospace [30][31][32][33][34].…”

Three-Degree-of-Freedom Cable-Driven Parallel Manipulator with Self-Sensing Nitinol Actuators

“…In recent years, there has been a growing interest in integrating smart materials, particularly shape memory alloys (SMAs), into robotic systems to enhance their performance and capabilities. Among SMAs, nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) alloys stand out for their unique properties, including high energy density, biocompatibility, and shape memory effect, making them ideal candidates as actuators [1][2][3][4][5][6] in many applications in different fields, such as in aerospace [7][8][9][10][11], biomedicine [12][13][14][15][16][17], wearables [18][19][20][21], micro-systems [22][23][24][25], and robotics [26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. There are not many works in the literature regarding manipulators with parallel architecture with SMA actuators.…”