Design and Development of A Shape Memory Alloy Based Actuator

Abstract

This thesis presents a new two-phase bi-directional shape memory alloy (SMA) based rotary actuator. The details of the design, modeling, characterization, and realization of the two-phase motor are presented. The motor with the appropriate driving circuit is realized in the laboratory, and the simulated results have been veri_ed experimentally. newlineA brief introduction to the type of actuators covering the traditional and unconventional newlineactuators is presented. The importance and need for unconventional actuators are newlinediscussed, among which the SMA actuator looks promising for application in a speci_c newlinearea like space and medical robotics. In unlimited motion type bi-directional actuators newlinereported in literature, there is scope for improved performance and size reduction, plus newlineit is also clear that the SMA in wire form has the highest power density. Therefore, a newlinetwo-phase SMA-based bi-directional rotary actuator that uses nitinol wire as the actuating newlineelement is developed. The nitinol wire, in series with a spring, forms a phase. Two newlinesuch phases are combined to construct a two-phase motor that can provide unlimited newlinebidirectional rotation. newline newline