Development of inertial piezoelectric linear actuator with asymmetric design

Abstract

This article represents a numerical and experimental investigation of a piezoelectric linear actuator with asymmetric design. The actuator is based on a square-shaped rod with asymmetrical cut and T-shaped clamping. The cylindrical rail, with slider, is on the opposite side of the T-shaped clamping. The low-volume and mass of piezoelectric actuator allows to mount it directly to printed circuit board (PCB). The actuator operation is based on the inertial stick – slip operation principle inducted by the first longitudinal vibration mode excited by two sawtooth signals with phase difference π. Furthermore, the longitudinal vibration mode induces bending deformations of the rod, increasing the displacements of the cylindrical rail. The results of numerical and experimental investigations have validated the actuator operating principle, as well as shown that the displacement amplitudes of the guidance rail have reached 153.6 μm at the 200 Vp-p excitation signal amplitude, while the linear motion speed reached 45.6 mm/s at the same excitation signal.