Investigation of multipurpose piezoelectric actuator

Abstract

Operating principle of the actuator is based on exciting the corresponding sectors on the bottom of the cone with four external harmonical forces that have the same frequency but different phases. Due to the coupling between longitudinal and flexural vibrations in such a system, elliptical moving trajectories of the contact core can be achieved and travelling wave oscillations on the top surface of the cone can be obtained as well. A simulation of the piezoelectric actuator using finite elements method was done to analyze the actuator response to various input sets and to perform contact analysis. Experimental prototype of the piezoelectric actuator was built and its characteristics were compared to the results of theoretical analysis. Experimental investigation has showed that the actuator is well suited to achieve linear, curvilinear and rotational motion of the driven object.