• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.501-515
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• 2012

We design and test a shape memory alloy (SMA)-based actuation system that can be used to propel a fish robot. The actuator in the system is composed of a 0.1 mm diameter SMA wire, a 0.5 mm-thick glass/epoxy composite strip, and a fixture frame. The SMA wire is installed in a pre-bent composite strip that provides initial tension to the SMA wire. The actuator can produce a blocking force of about 200 gram force (gf) and displacement of 3.5 mm at the center of the glass/epoxy strip for an 8 V application. The bending motion of the actuator is converted into the tail-beat motion of a fish robot through a linkage system. The fish robot is evaluated by measuring the tail-beat angle, swimming speed, and thrust produced by the tail-beat motion. The tail-beat angle is about $20^{\circ}$, the maximum swimming speed is about 1.6 cm/s, and the measured average thrust is about 0.4 gf when the fish robot is operated at 0.9 Hz.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.217-224
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• 2000

This paper proposes a new type of HDD suspension integrated with shape memory alloy(SMA) actuator in order to prevent the friction between the slider and the disk. A finite element analysis is undertaken to investigate modal characteristics of the proposed self loading/unloading slider. The dynamic model is formulated and its validity is proved by comparing the predicted displacement transmissibility with the measured one. A control model is then established by integrating experimentally-obtained SMA actuator dynamics. Subsequently, a sliding mode controller is designed to achieve non-contact start/stop(Non CSS) modes, and control results are presented in time domain.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.1301-1307
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• 2011

Electrosurgical knee wand (EKW) is a high-frequency thermocautery instrument and is often used for coagulation, ablation, excision, and extirpation of knee ligaments and tissues. In order to maximize the success rate, ease, and safety of knee surgery using EKW and radiofrequency ablation, it is necessary to ensure that the EKW selectively approaches the lesion with utmost accuracy and safety. The key feature of this instrument is its excellent maneuverability. Hence, the authors constructed a tensile spring model based on a shape memory alloy (SMA), which exhibits the shape memory effect. This model can be used in knee surgery as it is considered the most biocompatible femorotibial surgical actuator. The changes in external temperature with current and the thermoelectric characteristics of the SMA were investigated. The relationship between the restoring force and the typical stroke (TS) in response to the conditions in the SMA tensile spring design were evaluated. In conclusion, as the diameter of the SMA tensile spring decreased, the maximum temperature increased. The strain in the actuator caused a stable and proportional increase in the force and induced current for up to 15s, but this increase became very unstable after 30s. Moreover, the relationship between the current and the TS was more stable than that between the current and the restoring force.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.67-76
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• 2020

This paper reports an experimental study to evaluate the flexural behavior of concrete beams reinforced using Fe based shape memory alloy (Fe-SMA) bars. For the experiment, a concrete beam of 200mm×300mm×2,200mm was produced, and a 4% pre-strained Fe-SMA bar was used as a tensile reinforcement. As experimental variables, type of tensile reinforcement (SD400, Fe-SMA), reinforcement ratio (0.2, 0.39, 0.59, 0.78), activation of Fe-SMA (activation, non-activation), and joint method of Fe-SMA bar (Continuous, welding, coupler) were considered. The electric resistance heating method was used to activate the Fe-SMA bar, and a current of 5A/㎟ was supplied until the specimen reached 160℃. After the upward displacement of the specimen due to the camber effect was stabilized, a three-point flexural loading experiment was performed using an actuator of 2,000 kN capacity. As a result of the experiment, it was found that the upward displacement occurred due to the camber effect as the Fe-SMA bar was activated. The specimen that activated the Fe-SMA bar had an initial crack at a higher load than the specimen that did not activate it. However, as with general prestressed concrete, the effect of the prestress by Fe-SMA activation on the ultimate state of the beam was insignificant.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.89-114
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• 2007

Two aspects of the design of a small-scale smart wing are addressed in this work, related to the ability of the wing to modify its cross section assuming the shape of two different airfoils and to the possibility of deflecting the profiles near the trailing edge in order to obtain hingeless control surfaces. The actuation is provided by one-way shape memory alloy wires eventually coupled to springs, Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) being among the most promising materials for this kind of applications. The points to be actuated along the profiles and the displacements to be imposed are selecetd so that they satisfactorily approximate the change from an airfoil to the other and to result in an adequate deflection of the control surface; the actuators and their performances are designed so that an adequate wing stiffness is guaranteed, in order to prevent excessive deformations and undesired airfoil shape variations due to aerodynamic loads. The effect of the pressure distributions, calculated by way of the XFOIL software, and of the actuators loads, is estimated by FE analyses of the loaded wing. Two prototypes are then realised incorporating the variable airfoil and the hingeless aileron features respectively, and the verification of their shapes in both the actuated and non-actuated states, supported by image analysis techniques, confirms that interesting results are achievable with the proposed lay out and design considerations.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.81-85
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• 2017

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites, which are made by combining a continuous fiber that acts as reinforcement and a homogeneous polymeric material that acts as a host, are engineering materials with high strength and stiffness and a lightweight structure. In this study, a shape memory alloy(SMA) reinforced composite actuator is presented. This actuator is used to generate large deformations in single lightweight structures and can be used in applications requiring a high degree of adaptability to various external conditions. The proposed actuator consists of numerous individual laminas of the glass-fiber fabric that are embedded in a polymeric matrix. To characterize its deformation behavior, the composition of the actuator was changed by changing the matrix material and the number of the glass-fiber fabric layers. In addition, current of various magnitudes were applied to each actuator to study the effect of the heating of SMA wires on applying current.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.69-75
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• 2012

This paper proposes a biomimetic finger module to be used in a lightweight hand prosthesis. The finger module consists of finger skeleton and an actuator module driven by SMA (Shape Memory Alloy). The prototype finger module can perform flexion and extension motions; finger flexion is driven by a contraction force of SMA, but it is extended by an elastic force of an extension spring inserted into the finger skeleton. The finger motions are controlled by feedback of electric resistance of SMA because the finger module has no sensors to measure length and angle. Total weight of a prototype finger module is 30g. In experiments the finger motions and finger grip force are tested and compared with simulation results when a constant contraction force of SMA is given. The experimental results show that the proposed SMA-driven finger module is feasible to the lightweight hand prosthesis.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.168-174
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• 2012

This paper presents a bending propagating actuation using SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) spring for an effective shape transition of a flytrap-inspired soft morphing structure. The flytrap-inspired soft morphing structure is made from unsymmetric CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Prepreg) structure which shows bi-stability and snap-through phenomenon. For a thin and large curved bistable CFRP structure, SMA spring is more acceptable than SMA wire and piezoelectric actuator which used in previous investigations. A bending propagating actuation is proposed which can induce snap-through of the bi-stable CFRP structure effectively. From this research, effective shape transition of soft morphing structure is possible.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.130.3-130
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• 2001

A SMA actuator fabricated in this paper generates the large force and it´s structure is very simple. The SMA actuator was fabricated by small size with diameter of 9mm and length of 27mm and also it´s actuations toward all the directions can be acquired because of three springs which was fabricated with diameter of 2.4mm and 28 turns, We showed into applicability to smart catheter by analyzing accurately the dynamic characteristics such as heading angle, force, displacement.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2001.07d
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• pp.2411-2413
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• 2001

A SMA actuator fabricated in this paper generates the large force and it's structure is very simple. The SMA actuator was fabricated by small size with diameter of 9mm and length of 27mm and also it's actuations toward all the directions can be acquired because of three springs which was fabricated with diameter of 2.4mm and 28 turns. We showed into applicability to smart catheter by analysing accurately the dynamic characteristics such as heading angle, force, displacement.