Actuators, Volume 5, Issue 1 (March 2016) – 10 articles

This paper presents the modeling and design of an actuator consisting of an electrical motor and a magnetic gear. To minimize the overall actuator dimensions, both of the electromagnetic devices need to be optimally designed and matched. An issue in performing a simultaneous design as such arises from a high number of design variables that significantly increases the complexity of the optimization problem. A method to reduce the design variables is discussed in this paper, which is the application of response surface methodology (RSM) to represent the optimized torques of the electrical motor and magnetic gear as polynomial functions of their respective dimensions. Prior to the application of RSM, optimization problem statements are defined for the electrical motor and magnetic gear, for which the optimization objective and constraint functions are derived from analytical electromagnetic models of the considered electromagnetic devices. Full article

Multiferroic magnetoelectric (ME) composites are attractive materials for various electrically and magnetically cross-coupled devices. Many studies have been conducted on fundamental understanding, fabrication processes, and applications of ME composite material systems in the last four decades which has brought the technology closer to realization in practical devices. In this article, we present a review of ME composite materials and some notable potential applications based upon their properties. A brief summary is presented on the parameters that influence the performance of ME composites, their coupling structures, fabrications processes, characterization techniques, and perspectives on direct (magnetic to electric) and converse (electric to magnetic) ME devices. Overall, the research on ME composite systems has brought us closer to their deployment. Full article

Piezoelectrics have been widely used in different kinds of applications, from the automobile industry to consumer electronics. The novel multilayer piezoelectrics, which are inspired by multilayer ceramic capacitors, not only minimize the size of the functional parts, but also maximize energy efficiency. Development of multilayer piezoelectric devices is at a significant crossroads on the way to achieving low costs, high efficiency, and excellent reliability. Concerning the costs of manufacturing multilayer piezoelectrics, the trend is to replace the costly noble metal internal electrodes with base metal materials. This paper discusses the materials development of metal co-firing and the progress of integrating current base metal chemistries. There are some significant considerations in metal co-firing multilayer piezoelectrics: retaining stoichiometry with volatile Pb and alkaline elements in ceramics, the selection of appropriate sintering agents to lower the sintering temperature with minimum impact on piezoelectric performance, and designing effective binder formulation for low pO₂ burnout to prevent oxidation of Ni and Cu base metal. Full article

Passive vibration control solutions are often limited to working reliably at one design point. Especially applied to lightweight structures, which tend to have unwanted vibration, active vibration control approaches can outperform passive solutions. To generate dynamic forces in a narrow frequency band, passive single-degree-of-freedom oscillators are frequently used as vibration absorbers and neutralizers. In order to respond to changes in system properties and/or the frequency of excitation forces, in this work, adaptive vibration compensation by a tunable piezoelectric vibration absorber is investigated. A special design containing piezoelectric stack actuators is used to cover a large tuning range for the natural frequency of the adaptive vibration absorber, while also the utilization as an active dynamic inertial mass actuator for active control concepts is possible, which can help to implement a broadband vibration control system. An analytical model is set up to derive general design rules for the system. An absorber prototype is set up and validated experimentally for both use cases of an adaptive vibration absorber and inertial mass actuator. Finally, the adaptive vibration control system is installed and tested with a basic truss structure in the laboratory, using both the possibility to adjust the properties of the absorber and active control. Full article

Piezoelectric motors are used in many industrial and commercial applications. Various piezoelectric motors are available in the market. All of the piezoelectric motors use the inverse piezoelectric effect, where microscopically small oscillatory motions are converted into continuous or stepping rotary or linear motions. Methods of obtaining long moving distance have various drive and functional principles that make these motors categorized into three groups: resonance-drive (piezoelectric ultrasonic motors), inertia-drive, and piezo-walk-drive. In this review, a comprehensive summary of piezoelectric motors, with their classification from initial idea to recent progress, is presented. This review also includes some of the industrial and commercial applications of piezoelectric motors that are presently available in the market as actuators. Full article

Energy harvesting is the most effective way to respond to the energy shortage and to produce sustainable power sources from the surrounding environment. The energy harvesting technology enables scavenging electrical energy from wasted energy sources, which always exist everywhere, such as in heat, fluids, vibrations, etc. In particular, piezoelectric energy harvesting, which uses a direct energy conversion from vibrations and mechanical deformation to the electrical energy, is a promising technique to supply power sources in unattended electronic devices, wireless sensor nodes, micro-electronic devices, etc., since it has higher energy conversion efficiency and a simple structure. Up to now, various technologies, such as advanced materials, micro- and macro-mechanics, and electric circuit design, have been investigated and emerged to improve performance and conversion efficiency of the piezoelectric energy harvesters. In this paper, we focus on recent progress of piezoelectric energy harvesting technologies based on PbZr_xTi_1-xO₃ (PZT) materials, which have the most outstanding piezoelectric properties. The advanced piezoelectric energy harvesting technologies included materials, fabrications, unique designs, and properties are introduced to understand current technical levels and suggest the future directions of piezoelectric energy harvesting. Full article

This paper presents the invention and development of a new fundamental type of hydraulic actuator, aimed at delivering better actuation efficiency. This actuator is a flexible tube, composed of two different materials, which deflects while applying inner pressure. This concept is simple to produce, and allows adaptation of the deflected shape by the design parameters (radius, wall thickness, geometry, etc.). Among other applications, it is mostly suitable for the activation of fins of nature-like marine robots. Theoretical formulation, production of prototypes and actuation experiments are presented, as well as material hysteresis research and an application example. Full article

Recent advances in phase transition transduction enabled the design of a non-resonant broadband mechanical energy harvester that is capable of delivering an energy density per cycle up to two orders of magnitude larger than resonant cantilever piezoelectric type generators. This was achieved in a [011] oriented and poled domain engineered relaxor ferroelectric single crystal, mechanically biased to a state just below the ferroelectric rhombohedral (F_R)-ferroelectric orthorhombic (F_O) phase transformation. Therefore, a small variation in an input parameter, e.g., electrical, mechanical, or thermal will generate a large output due to the significant polarization change associated with the transition. This idea was extended in the present work to design a non-resonant, multi-domain magnetoelectric composite hybrid harvester comprised of highly magnetostrictive alloy, [Fe_81.4Ga_18.6 (Galfenol) or Tb_xDy_1-xFe₂ (Terfenol-D)], and lead indium niobate–lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (PIN-PMN-PT) domain engineered relaxor ferroelectric single crystal. A small magnetic field applied to the coupled device causes the magnetostrictive element to expand, and the resulting stress forces the phase change in the relaxor ferroelectric single crystal. We have demonstrated high energy conversion in this magnetoelectric device by triggering the F_R-F_O transition in the single crystal by a small ac magnetic field in a broad frequency range that is important for multi-domain hybrid energy harvesting devices. Full article

In this paper, we present the design and development of the UC-Softhand. The UC Softhand is a low cost, Bionic and adaptive hand that takes advantage of compliant joints. By optimization of the actuation strategy as well as the actuation mechanism, we could develop an anthropomorphic hand that embeds three actuators, transmission mechanisms, controllers and drivers in the palm of the hand, and weighs only 280 g, making it one of the lightest bionic hands that has been created so far. The key aspect of the UC Softhand is utilization of a novel compact twisted string actuation mechanism, that allows a considerable weight and cost reduction compared to its predecessor. Full article