A piezoelectric bone-conduction bending hearing actuator

A prototype of a novel bone-conduction hearing actuator based on a piezoelectric bending actuator is presented. The device lies flat against the skull which would allow it to form the basis of a subcutaneous bone-anchored hearing aid. The actuator excites bending in bone through a local bending moment rather than the application of a point force as with conventional bone-anchored hearing aids. Through measurements of the cochlear velocity created by the actuator in embalmed human heads, the device is shown to exhibit high efficiency, making it a possible alternative to present-day electromagnetic bone-vibration actuators.     

Shape memory effect and linear actuators based on Cu-Al-Ni single crystals

Recovery stress generation under thermal cycling has been experimentally studied in clamped shape memory Cu-Al-Ni single crystals up to 9% reversible strain. It is shown that such crystals are capable of repeated force generation upon heating up to 600 K and single actuation when heated to 700 K with a maximal stress of 350 MPa. The main principles of designing cyclic linear actuators are considered and a technique for calculating their force characteristics is proposed. The calculation is based on the mathematical model of linear actuator.     

Comparison between AlN and Al_2O_3 ceramics applied to barrier dielectric of plasma actuator

This paper reports the material characterization and performance evaluation of an AlN ceramic based dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) plasma actuator. A conventional Al_2O_3 ceramic is also investigated as a control. The plasma images,thermal characteristics and electrical properties of the two actuators are compared and studied. Then, with the same electrical operating parameters(12-kV applied voltage and 11-kHz power frequency), variations of the surface morphologies,consumed power and induced velocities are recorded and analyzed. The experimental results show that the AlN actuator can produce a more uniform discharge while the discharge of the Al_2O_3 actuator is easier to become filamentary. The later condition leads to higher power consumption and earlier failure due to electrode oxidation. In the plasma process,the power increment of the AlN actuator is higher than that of the Al_2O_3 actuator. The induced velocity is also influenced by this process. Prior to aging, the maximum induced velocity of the AlN actuator is 4.2 m/s, which is about 40% higher than that of the Al_2O_3 actuator. After 120-min plasma aging, the maximum velocity of the aged AlN actuator decreases by 27.8% while the Al_2O_3 actuator registers a decrease of 25%.     

Acoustic manipulation of active spherical carriers: Generation of negative radiation force

This paper examines theoretically a novel mechanism of generating negative (pulling) radiation force for acoustic manipulation of spherical carriers equipped with piezoelectric actuators in its inner surface. In this mechanism, the spherical particle is handled by common plane progressive monochromatic acoustic waves instead of zero-/higher- order Bessel beams or standing waves field. The handling strategy is based on applying a spatially uniform harmonic electrical voltage at the piezoelectric actuator with the same frequency of handling acoustic waves, in order to change the radiation force effect from repulsive (away from source) to attractive (toward source). This study may be considered as a start point for development of contact-free precise handling and entrapment technology of active carriers which are essential in many engineering and medicine applications.     

Active vibration control using an inertial actuator with internal damping

Collocated direct velocity feedback with ideal point force actuators mounted on structures is unconditionally stable and generates active damping. When inertial actuators are used to generate the control force, the system can become unstable even for moderate velocity feedback gains due to an additional -180 degree phase lag introduced by the fundamental axial resonant mode of the inertial actuator. In this study a relative velocity sensor is used to implement an inner velocity feedback loop that generates internal damping in a lightweight, electrodynamic, inertial actuator. Simulation results for a model problem with the actuator mounted on a clamped plate show that, when internal relative velocity feedback is used in addition to a conventional external velocity feedback loop, there is an optimum combination of internal and external velocity feedback gains, which, for a given gain margin, maximizes vibration reduction. These predictions are validated in experiments with a specially built lightweight inertial actuator.     

FEM simulation of the Nitinol wire

In recent years, one of the most promising new actuator technologies is based on the use of Shape Memory Alloys (SMA). The main challenge for the application of devices that use these materials is the hysteresis in the phase transition they suffer during actuation. Finite element analysis (FEA) is an important aid in the simulation of mechanical properties and thermal fields in actuators. Dynamic simulations give in many cases enough information without the necessity of building a prototype. We have used ABAQUS to simulate a Nitinol wire used in a micropositioning actuator. The model parameters, not given by the supplier but required by the FEA program, have been obtained by thermal and mechanical characterization of the material used. The output force is computed and compared with the measurements.     

Design and Optimization of the Electromagnetic Actuator in Active-Passive Hybrid Vibration Isolator

The design and optimization of actuators are difficult and critical for the active-passive hybrid vibration control system. In this paper, an electromagnetic actuator model is established based on Ohm’s Law for magnetic circuit considering the leakage flux. The 600N electromagnetic actuators are designed and optimized based on ANSYS simulation according to the engineering request. Its transient characteristics are studied. The effects of different structural parameters on its output force are analyzed. The experimental results show that the structure parameters and output force characteristics of the designed electromagnetic actuators satisfy the practical requirement.     

Active vibroacoustic control with multiple local feedback loops

When multiple actuators and sensors are used to control the vibration of a panel, or its sound radiation, they are usually positioned so that they couple into specific modes and are all connected together with a centralized control system. This paper investigates the physical effects of having a regular array of actuator and sensor pairs that are connected only by local feedback loops. An array of 4 x 4 force actuators and velocity sensors is first simulated, for which such a decentralized controller can be shown to be unconditionally stable. Significant reductions in both the kinetic energy of the panel and in its radiated sound power can be obtained for an optimal value of feedback gain, although higher values of feedback gain can induce extra resonances in the system and degrade the performance. A more practical transducer pair, consisting of a piezoelectric actuator and velocity sensor, is also investigated and the simulations suggest that a decentralized controller with this arrangement is also stable over a wide range of feedback gains. The resulting reductions in kinetic energy and sound power are not as great as with the force actuators, due to the extra resonances being more prominent and at lower frequencies, but are still worthwhile. This suggests that an array of independent modular systems, each of which included an actuator, a sensor, and a local feedback control loop, could be a simple and robust method of controlling broadband sound transmission when integrated into a panel.     

Design and optimization of carbon nanotube/polymer actuator by using finite element analysis

In recent years,actuators based on carbon nanotube(CNT) or graphene demonstrate great potential applications in the fields of artificial muscles,smart switches,robotics,and so on.The electrothermal and photothermal bending actuators based on CNT/graphene and polymer composites show large bending actuations,which are superior to traditional thermaldriven actuators.However,the influence of material parameters(thickness,temperature change,etc.) on the actuation performance needs to be further studied,because it is a critical point to the design and fabrication of high-performance actuators.In this work,finite element analysis(EEA) is employed to simulate the actuation performance of CNT/polymer actuator,which has a bilayer structure.The main focus of this work is to design and to optimize material parameters by using computational method.FEA simulation results show that each layer thickness of actuator has an important influence on the actuation deformation.A maximum curvature of 2.7 cm~(-1) is obtained by simulation,which is much larger than most of the actuator curvature reported in previous experiments.What is more,larger temperature change and larger difference of coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE) between two layers will result in larger bending actuation.This study is expected to provide valuable theoretical reference for the design and realization of CNT-based thermal actuator with ultra-large actuation performance.     

Size-dependent thermal buckling of heated nanowires with ends axially restrained

Nanowires (NWs) are being actively explored for applications as nanoscale building blocks of sensors, actuators and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). Temperature changes can induce an axial force within NWs due to the thermal expansion and may lead to buckling. The thermal buckling behaviors of ends-axially-restrained nanowires, subjected to a uniform temperature rise, are studied based on Bernoulli–Euler beam theory including the surface thermoelastic effects. Besides the surface elastic modulus, the influences of surface thermal expansion coefficient are incorporated into the model presented herein to describe size-dependent thermoelastic behaviors of nanowires. The results show that the critical buckling temperature and postbuckling deflection are significantly affected by surface thermoelastic effects and the influences become more prominent as the thickness of nanowire decreases. The corresponding influences of the slenderness ratio are also discussed. This research is helpful not only in understanding the thermal buckling properties of nanowires but also in designing the nanowire-based sensor and thermal actuator.     

大口径天文薄镜面磨制试验

介绍了采用薄镜面主动支撑技术来加工大口径天文薄镜面的试验情况。试验镜为一弯月型球面反射镜．直径为Ф1035mm,镜面曲率半径为3220mm,径厚比约为40：1。在磨制过程中,有55个分离支撑点支撑存镜子背面。支撑点的位置与支撑力的大小通过有限元分析计算确定,其中3个为固定支撑点．另外52个为主动支撑点。每个支撑点位置设置了力促动器,调节力促动器加力的大小。可以主动改正镜面的低频误差。加工后最后达到的面形精度：λ=632．8nm,面形误差(RMS)小于等于λ／21．5,局部高频误差(RMS)小于等于λ／23。试验证明所采用的方法适合于大口径天文薄镜面的加工。     

主动光学技术在制造标准大反射镜中的应用

介绍了利用主动光学技术校正大型标准反射镜残余面形误差和重力变形的方法 ,研制了用于施加局部作用力的工具———机械式作动器的结构与性能 ,作用力的测定方法 ;位于不同位置的作用力引起的镜面变形量的测定与分析 ,与镜面最小面形误差对应的作动器作用力控制矩阵的求解等。对一块Φ2 30mm、中心厚 18mm、R880mm、玻璃材料为K 9的标准球面镜进行了面形误差校正实验 ,取得了较明显的校正效果。     

Interdigitated electrode design and optimization for dielectrophoresis cell separation actuators

Among all particle separation approaches, dielectrophoresis actuators which use electric properties difference between particles, have turned into strong separating tools. This way, the particles in the fluid within non-uniform electric field experience the dielectrophoresis force. The amount and direction of this force depend on the fluid and particle polarization, particle size and electric field gradient. In this paper after presenting governing equations concerning the dielectrophoresis phenomenon, a microfluidic actuator introduced in which an interdigitated electrode pattern is applied in. Voltage, pitch, and width to pitch ratio of electrode as well as channel height are of the most important geometrical parameters of this actuator whose individual effect on particles separation was investigated using finite element analysis (FEM). The simulation results showed that if the actuator is intended to work in the efficient conditions, channel height and electrodes pitch should be near to each other, height needs to be as minimum as possible while voltage as maximum as possible in order to reach to the least time duration and the highest quantity for particles separation. Then, using theoretical equations and simulation results, a flowchart is introduced to design and optimize dielectrophoresis separation actuators. Finally, experimental results for k562 cell separation, as a biological particle, from Polystyrene, as a standard particle, is presented. In the fabricated actuator recovery and purity efficiency are 93% and about 100% respectively.     

The effect of magnetic stress and stiffness modulus on resonant characteristics of Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloy actuators

The prospect of using ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs) is promising for a resonant actuator that requires large strain output and a drive frequency below 1 kHz. In this investigation, three FSMA actuators, equipped with tetragonal off-stoichiometric Ni₂MnGa single crystals, were developed to study their frequency response and resonant characteristics. The first actuator, labeled as A1, was constructed with low-k bias springs and one Ni-Mn-Ga single crystal. The second actuator, labeled as A2, was constructed with high-k bias springs and one Ni-Mn-Ga crystal. The third actuator, labeled as A3, was constructed with high-k bias springs and two Ni-Mn-Ga crystals connected in parallel. The three actuators were magnetically driven over the frequency range of 10 Hz-1 kHz under 2 and 3.5 kOe magnetic-field amplitudes. The field amplitude of 2 kOe is insufficient to generate significant strain output from all three actuators; the maximum magnetic-field-induced strain (MFIS) at resonance is 2%. The resonant MFIS output improves to 5% under 3.5-kOe amplitude. The frequency responses of all three actuators show a strong effect of the spring k constant and the Ni-Mn-Ga modulus stiffness on the resonant frequencies. The resonant frequency of the Ni-Mn-Ga actuator was raised from 450 to 650 Hz by increasing bias spring k constant and/or the number of Ni-Mn-Ga crystals. The higher number of the Ni-Mn-Ga crystals not only increases the magnetic force output but also raises the total stiffness of the actuator resulting in a higher resonant frequency. The effective modulus of the Ni-Mn-Ga is calculated from the measured resonant frequencies using the mass-spring equation; the calculated modulus values for the three actuators fall in the range of 50-60 MPa. The calculated effective modulus appears to be close to the average modulus value between the low twinning modulus and high elastic modulus of the untwined Ni-Mn-Ga crystal.     

新型低电压大变形微驱动器数值求解及仿真

针对横向加载单向变形MEMS静电微驱动器位移过小或驱动电压过大问题,提出一种基于纵横弯曲变形原理的硅基大位移低驱动电压静电驱动器模型;基于拉格朗日-麦克斯韦机电动分析力学,建立轴向横向同时加载的微驱动器动力方程;分析温度应力、静电调节力和轴向挤压力对轴向载荷的影响;基于龙格-库塔算法和有限差分法分别将横向分布载荷和轴向载荷等效转化为横向集中载荷;仿真得到变形同驱动电压、调节电压、轴向挤压量和温差的关系;结果显示当驱动电压仅为16 V时,位移高达10.861μm,远大于传统横向加载单向变形微驱动器的位移量.实验验证了仿真结果.     

Estimating ensemble average power delivered by a piezoelectric patch actuator to a non-deterministic subsystem

Engineering systems such as aircraft, ships and automotive are considered built-up structures. Dynamically they are taught of as being fabricated from many components that are classified as ‘deterministic subsystems’ (DS) and ‘non-deterministic subsystems’ (Non-DS). Structures' response of the DS is deterministic in nature and analysed using deterministic modelling methods such as finite element (FE) method. The response of Non-DS is statistical in nature and estimated using statistical modelling technique such as statistical energy analysis (SEA). SEA method uses power balance equation, in which any external input to the subsystem must be represented in terms of power. Often, input force is taken as point force and ensemble average power delivered by point force is already well-established. However, the external input can also be applied in the form of moments exerted by a piezoelectric (PZT) patch actuator. In order to be able to apply SEA method for input moments, a mathematical representation for moment generated by PZT patch in the form of average power is needed, which is attempted in this paper. A simply-supported plate with attached PZT patch is taken as a benchmark model. Analytical solution to estimate average power is derived using mobility approach. Ensemble average of power given by the PZT patch actuator to the benchmark model when subjected to structural uncertainties is also simulated using Lagrangian method and FEA software. The analytical estimation is compared with the Lagrangian model and FE method for validation. The effects of size and location of the PZT actuators on the power delivered to the plate are later investigated.     

Failure modeling of folded dielectric elastomer actuator

When subjected to voltage,the dielectric elastomer membrane reduces its thickness and expands its area under the resulting compressive force.This characteristic enables the dielectric elastomer actuators of different structures to be designed and fabricated.By employing the thermodynamic theory and research method proposed by Suo et al.,an equilibrium equation of folded dielectric elastomer actuator with two generalized coordinates is established.The governing equations of failure models involving electromechanical instability,zero electric field,electrical breakdown,loss of tension,and rupture by stretch are also derived.The allowable areas of folded dielectric elastomer actuators are described.These results could provide a powerful guidance to the design and performance evaluation of the dielectric elastomer actuators.     

Modelling and characterization of a piezoceramic inertial actuator

An inertial actuator (also known as a proof mass actuator) applies forces to a structure by reacting them against an “external” mass. This approach to actuation may provide some practical benefits in the active control of vibration and structure-borne noise: system reliability may be improved by removing the actuator from a structural load path; effective discrete point-force actuation permits ready attachment to curved surfaces, and an inherent passive vibration absorber effect can reduce power requirements.This paper describes a class of recently developed inertial actuators that is based on mechanical amplification of displacements of an active piezoceramic element. Important actuator characteristics include resonance frequencies, clamped force, and the drive voltage to output the force frequency response function.The paper addresses one particular approach to motion amplification, the “dual unimorph,” in detail. A model of actuator dynamic behavior is developed using an assumed-modes method, treating the piezoelectrically induced stresses as external forces. Predicted actuator characteristics agree well with experimental data obtained for a prototype actuator. The validated actuator dynamic model provides a tool for design improvement.     

薄镜面面形主动校正技术研究

采用12个主动支撑点对口径400 mm薄实验镜进行面形主动校正,使用Zygo干涉仪测量面形误差,主动支撑点的力促动器由位移促动器和力传感器组成。分别测量单个促动器的响应函数,由各促动器的响应函数组成刚度矩阵,然后用阻尼最小二乘法计算各支撑点的校正力。实验中分析主动支撑结构对各项Zernike形式像差的校正能力,并选择了7项像差进行校正。经过5次校正,使初始状态下1.16λ(λ=0.632 8μm)RMS面形精度达到0.13 RMS,接近镜面抛光后的精度。     

Capacitance and power consumption quantification of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators

A new procedure for determining the characteristic capacitance of DBD plasma actuators during operation is introduced, based on time-resolved discharge cyclograms. The actuator performance is described extensively and the interaction of several key quantities is elucidated. Operating voltage and corresponding power consumption are identified as deciding factors influencing the actuator’s capacitance. Conclusions concerning plasma actuators as a time and power dependent load in electrical circuits are drawn from these new insights. The steps necessary to insure optimal impedance matching of DBD based systems are underlined as well as its sensitivity to simple parameters such as the operating voltage.