Jump attenuation in a non-ideal system using shape memory element

Abstract

The studies on the so-called smart materials have grown in the last years due to the diverse possibilities that these materials can provide. These types of materials have the ability to respond to an external excitation, altering its physical form, and being able to be considered as actuators. Among these materials are the Shape Memory Alloys (SMA), several metal alloys that are able to memorize a shape and recover it after a deformation through an increase of its thermal energy. In this paper, an actuator consisting of an SMA wire is used to attenuate the vibration and Sommerfeld effect of a non-ideal type oscillator. The temperature control of the actuator was carried out through the application of an electric current in the wire. Results are presented for different currents, with the objective of investigating the temperature variation for vibration control applications. The results showed that it is possible to apply SMA actuators to the attenuation of the Sommerfeld Effect as well as in the reduction of the total vibration of the system.