Design and testing of shape memory alloy actuation mechanism for flapping wing micro unmanned aerial vehicles

AEROS Conference 2017

Kamaruzaman, N.F.^1 ; Abdullah, E.J.^1

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor

43400, Malaysia^1

关键词: Actuation mechanism;    Design criteria;    Design prototype;    Electrical circuit;    Flapping motion;    Primary systems;    Proof of concept;    Shape memory alloy actuators;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/270/1/012017/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/270/1/012017

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator offers great solution for aerospace applications with low weight being its most attractive feature. A SMA actuation mechanism for the flapping micro unmanned aerial vehicle (MAV) is proposed in this study, where SMA material is the primary system that provides the flapping motion to the wings. Based on several established design criteria, a design prototype has been fabricated to validate the design. As a proof of concept, an experiment is performed using an electrical circuit to power the SMA actuator to evaluate the flapping angle. During testing, several problems have been observed and their solutions for future development are proposed. Based on the experiment, the average recorded flapping wing angle is 14.33° for upward deflection and 12.12° for downward deflection. This meets the required design criteria and objective set forth for this design. The results prove the feasibility of employing SMA actuators in flapping wing MAV.