Natural heat-sinking control method for high-speed actuation of the SMA

Abstract

This paper describes two methodologies for increasing the actuation speed of the shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator in ambient environment. The first method involves the implementation of a simple, light-weight heat sink, which consists only of a combination of an outer metal tube with the silicone grease, but able to cool the heated alloy effectively. The second method describes a high current pulse actuation that actuates the alloy fastly using pulses in the milliseconds order. We hypothesize that a fast actuation of the SMA results in small increase in temperature, due to energy transformation from heat energy to the kinetic energy in the SMA. This new heating method revolutionizes the actuation of the alloy for a significantly faster response.