• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.453-456
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• 2009

Impact resistance of shape memory alloy hybrid composite(SMAHC) plates were experimentally investigated. Shape memory alloy(SMA) have large failure strain and failure stress and can absorb large strain energies through phase transformation. SMA wires were embedded in composite plates to improve their weak impact resistance. Tensile tests of SMA wires were performed at various temperature to investigate their thermo-mechanical properties. Low-Velocity impact tests of several types of composite plates with SMA/Al/Fe were performed. Embedding SMA wires was most effective to improve impact resistance of composite plates. The effects of SMA position on impact resistance were also investigated.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1451-1456
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• 2017

In this research we discuss an integrated actuator-control system for advanced control of a smart Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuator. Toward this goal, we designed and fabricated an actuator-control module combining two SMA actuating units with a single-chip microprocessor, two different sensing elements, and an actuator driver. In our proposed system, sensing elements include a 6-axis single-chip motion sensor for orientation measurement and a circuit for resistance measurement of SMA wires. We experimentally verified our proposed actuator-control system using actuator driving, sensor data readings, and communication tests.

• Composites Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.18-24
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• 2004

In this paper, active shape control of composite structures actuated by shape memory alloy (SMA) wires is presented. The thermo-mechanical behaviors of SMA wires were experimentally measured. Hybrid composite structures were established by attaching SMA actuators on the surfaces of graphite/epoxy composite beams using bolt-joint connectors. SMA actuators were activated by phase transformation, which induced by temperature rising over austenite finish temperature. In this paper, electrical resistive heating was applied to the hybrid composite structures to activate the SMA actuators. For (aster and more accurate shape/deflection control of the hybrid composite structure, PID feedback controller was designed from numerical simulations and experimentally applied to the SMA actuators.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.663-682
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• 2016

Continuum manipulators as a kind of mechanical arms are useful tools in special robotic applications. In medical applications, like colonoscopy, a maneuverable thin and flexible manipulator is required. This research is focused on developing a basic module for such an application using shape memory alloys (SMA). In the structure of the module three wires of SMA are uniformly distributed and attached to the circumference of a flexible tube. By activating wires, individually or together, different rotation regimes are provided. SMA model is used based on Brinson work. The SMA model is combined to model of flexible tube to provide a composite model of the module. Simulating the model in Matlab provided a platform to be used to develop controller. Complex and nonlinear behavior of SMA make the control problem hard especially when a few SMA actuators are active simultaneously. In this paper, position control of the two degree of freedom module is under focus. An experimental control strategy is developed to regulate a desired position in the module. The simulation results present a reasonable performance of the controller. Moreover, the results are verified through experiments and show that the continuum module of this paper would be used in real modular manipulators.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1849-1855
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• 2003

Newly commercialized wireless capsule endoscope has many advantages compared to conventional push-type endoscopes. However, it is moved by the peristaltic waves. Therefore, it can not diagnose desired zones actively. In this paper, a locomotive mechanism for wireless capsule endoscope is proposed to increase the efficiency of endoscopy. We designed and fabricated a prototype using SMA springs and bio-mimetic clamping device. The hollow space in the prototype is allocated for further system integration of a camera module, a RF module and a battery. And the sequential control scheme is employed to improve the efficiency of its locomotion. To validate the performance of the locomotive mechanism, experiments on a silicone rubber pad and in vitro tests are carried out. The results of the experiments indicate that proposed mechanism is effective in harsh environments such as digestive organs of a human.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.48-53
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• 2005

This work discusses the numerical analysis, the design and experimental test of the SMA actuator along with its capabilities and limitations. Convective heating and cooling using water actuate the SMA(Shape memory alloy) element of the actuator. The fuel such as propane, having a high energy density, is used as the energy source for the SMA actuator in order to increase power and energy density of the system, and thus in order to obviate the need for electrical power supplies such as batteries. The system is composed of a pump, valves, bellows, a heater(burner), control unit and a displacement amplification device. The experimental test of the SMA actuator system results in 150 MPa stress(force : 1560 N) with $3\%$ strain and 0.5 Hz. actuation frequency. The actuation frequency is compared with the prediction obtained from numerical analysis. For the designed SMA actuator system, the results of numerical analysis were utilized in determining design parameters and operating conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.439-440
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• 2006

This research proposes a novel method of shape display to present 3-dimensional objects. Shape displays allow us to feel the actual volume of the object, unlike conventional 2D visual displays of 3D objects. The proposed method employs a wire frame structure to present 3D objects. The wire frame is composed of small units driven by shape memory alloy(SMA) actuators. The drive unit is analogous to the agonist-antagonist system of animal musculoskeletal systems, where the SMA actuators serve as agonist and antagonist muscles. The force in the SMA actuator is controlled by electrical current. The drive unit is equipped with the locking mechanism so that it can sustain the external force exerted by the user as well as the own weight of the wire frame structure. By controlling the current into the SMA actuator and locking mechanism, we call control the angle of the drive unit. A chain of drive units enables presentation of 2 dimensional objects. 3 dimensional presentations are possible by collecting the chains of drive units.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.563-574
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• 2006

This paper studies mechanical behavior of the superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) rods in terms of local deformations and time via tensile loading-unloading cycles for both ends fixed end constraints. Besides the unique stress induced martensitic transformation (SIMT), SMA's time dependent behavior when it is in mixed-phase condition upon loading and unloading, also need careful attention with a view of investigating the local deformation of the structural elements made of the same material. With this perspective, the so-called stress-relaxation tests have been performed to demonstrate and investigate the local strains-total strains relationships with time, particularly, during the forward SIMT. Some remarkable phenomena have been observed pertaining to SIMT, which are absent in traditional materials and those unique phenomena have been explained qualitatively. For example, at the stopped loading conditions the two ends (fixed end and moving end of the tensile testing machine) were in fixed positions. So that there was no axial overall deformation of the specimen but some notable increase in the axial local deformation was shown by the extensometer placed at the middle of the SMA specimen. It should be noted that this peculiar behavior termed as 'inertia driven SIMT' occurs only when the loading was stopped at mixed phase condition. Besides this relaxation test for the SMA specimens, the same is performed for the mild steel (MS) specimens under similar test conditions. The MS specimens, however, show no unusual increase of local strains during the stress relaxation tests.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.6-13
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• 2014

A passive launch and on-orbit vibration isolator using SMA(Shape Memory Alloy) washer for both the structural safety of the micro-vibration source by attenuating the transmitted force under launch loads and the micro-vibration isolation during their on-orbit operation has been proposed, which does not require the additional launch locking mechanism. To measure the characteristics of SMA mesh washer, we performed compressive loading tests with a single SMA mesh washer and a vibration isolator using SMA mesh washer. The numerical equivalent model of vibration isolator using SMA mesh washer composed of two spring and viscous damping elements has been verified that both stiffness and viscous damping varied with respect to compressed deformations. In addition, the effectiveness of launch loads and micro-vibration reduction has been investigated through the dynamic characteristics measurement test of cooler assembly combined with passive vibration isolator.

• 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.