Investigation on Actuation Performance of Shape Memory Alloy Actuator for Robotics Application

Abstract

The shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator comprising SMA wire and kapton polyimide was fabricated. The actuation characteristics were analyzed using the open-loop programmable power supply. The maximum displacement at different parameters was analyzed. The actuator showed a two-way shape memory effect during analysis without the tedious process of training. Two different diameters of wire were used during the actuator fabrication. The composition analysis of two different diameter wires revealed that there is a slight variation in composition percentage. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis showed the austenite transformation temperature for both the diameter wire (0.5 mm and 300 µm) lies in between 70–80 ℃ temperature range. The actuator of dimension 7 × 2 cm2 showed a maximum displacement of 3 cm and 5 × 2 cm2 reached a maximum displacement of 1.2 cm for 300 µm SMA wire. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.