A Novel Design of a Torsional Shape Memory Alloy Actuator for Active Rudder

SMA actuators are a group of lightweight actuators that offer advantages over conventional technology and allow for simple and compact solutions to the increasing demand for electrical actuation. In particular, an increasing number of SMA torsional actuator applications have been published recently...

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Published inSensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 24; no. 15; p. 4973
Main Authors Lima, Felipe S, Souto, Cícero R, Oliveira, Andersson G, Silvestre, Alysson D, Alves, Railson M N, Santos, Sebastião E S, Gomez, Ricardo S, Brito, Glauco R F, Bezerra, André L D, Santana, Diogenes S M, Lima, Antonio G B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 31.07.2024
Subjects
active rudder
Actuators
Alloys
Computer software industry
Design
Electric currents
Electric properties
Endoscopy
Energy consumption
Heat treating
Instrument industry
Robots
Shape-memory alloys
Supply and demand
Thermal cycling
torsional actuator
Wire
Brazil
United States
active rudder
shape memory alloys
torsional actuator
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Summary:SMA actuators are a group of lightweight actuators that offer advantages over conventional technology and allow for simple and compact solutions to the increasing demand for electrical actuation. In particular, an increasing number of SMA torsional actuator applications have been published recently due to their ability to supply rotational motion under load, resulting in advantages such as module simplification and the reduction of overall product weight. This paper presents the conceptual design, operating principle, experimental characterization and working performance of torsional actuators applicable in active rudder in aeronautics. The proposed application comprises a pair of SMA torsion springs, which bi-directionally actuate the actuator by Joule heating and natural cooling. The experimental results confirm the functionality of the torsion springs actuated device and show the rotation angle of the developed active rudder was about 30° at a heating current of 5 A. After the design and experiment, one of their chief drawbacks is their relatively slow operating speed in rudder positioning, but this can be improved by control strategy and small modifications to the actuator mechanism described in this work.
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ISSN:1424-8220
1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s24154973