Influence of Flow Domain Parameters on Hot Water Actuation of Shape-Memory Alloy Spring for Barrier Gate System

Abstract

The study concerns the comparison of the experimental and analytical techniques using hot water actuated shape-memory alloy (SMA) spring for energy-efficient barrier gate. Specifically, this script studies the heat transfer analysis of the shape-memory alloy spring, using COMSOL Multiphysics. The actuation rate is one of the important factors for using SMA spring for rapid operation of barrier gates. In hot water actuation, this speed of actuation is influenced by two important parameters, the temperature of the inlet water and the velocity at which the water flows into the system. Parametric sweep for an inlet temperature of 65, 75, and 85 ℃ and velocity rates of 5 and 7 mm/s were studied. The conclusions from this parametric investigation can be used to choose the optimum values for the parameters to achieve the required actuation. The results from the finite element analysis were compared with the experimental results. © 2020, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.