Design and characterization of acoustic pulse shape memory alloy actuators

Single crystal Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs) are active materials which produce strain when a magnetic field is applied. The large saturation strain (6%) of Ni-Mn-Ga, and material energy density comparable to piezoelectric ceramics make Ni- Mn-Ga an interesting active material. However, their usefulness is limited by the bulky electromagnet required to produce a magnetic field. In this thesis, a novel actuation method is developed for shape memory alloys in their martensitic phase, whereby asymmetric acoustic pulses are used to drive twin boundary motion. Experimental actuators were developed using a combination of Ni-Mn-Ga FSMA single crystals and a piezoelectric stack actuator. In bi-directional actuation without load, strains of over 3% were achieved using repeated pulses (at 100 Hz) over a 30 s interval, while 1% strain was achieved in under 1 s. The maximum strains achieved are comparable to the strains achieved using bi-directional magnetic actuation, although the time required for actuation is longer. No-load actuation also showed a nearly linear relationship between the magnitude of the asymmetric stress pulse and the strain achieved during actuation, and a positive correlation between pulse repetition rate and output strain rate, up to at least 100 Hz. Acoustic actuation against a spring load showed a maximum output energy density for the actuator of about 1000 J/m³, with a peak-to-peak stress and strain of 100 kPa and 2%, respectively.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Chambers, Joshua Michael

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Steven R. Hall.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/32378

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/32378