Abstract
A simple electromechanical model of the meander-line actuator, whose characteristics are presented in a separate companion paper, is developed. The model consists of a voltage-actuated force source, which is the result of the piezoelectric properties of the bars that make up the actuator, in parallel mechanically with a stiff spring that models the compression-expansion response of the piezoelectric bars. This parallel combination is in series mechanically with a second spring. This series connection is subjected to large bending moments that cause the stiffness of this second spring to be much less than the stiffness of the spring in parallel with the force source. The addition of stiffeners to the actuator can significantly reduce these bending moments and thus increase the stiffness of this second spring. As a result, the force generation capability of the actuator is significantly increased without affecting its displacement capability.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 461-467 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1991 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Manuscript received September I, 1990; revised and accetpted February 28. 1991. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation grant number ECS-8821103. The auhtor is with the Department of Electrical Engeineering. University of Minnesota. 200 Union Street S.E.. Minnespoli5. MN 55455. IEEE Log Number 9 101 158.