A Novel Design of a Torsional Shape Memory Alloy Actuator for Active Rudder.

SMA actuators are a group of lightweight actuators that offer advantages over conventional technology and allow for simple and compact solutions to the increasing demand for electrical actuation. In particular, an increasing number of SMA torsional actuator applications have been published recently due to their ability to supply rotational motion under load, resulting in advantages such as module simplification and the reduction of overall product weight. This paper presents the conceptual design, operating principle, experimental characterization and working performance of torsional actuators applicable in active rudder in aeronautics.

Passive Attenuation of Mechanical Vibrations with a Superelastic SMA Bending Springs: An Experimental Investigation.

This work presents an experimental study related to the mechanical performance of a special design spring fabricated with a superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA-SE). For the experimental testing, the spring was coupled in a rotor machine, aiming to attenuate the mechanical vibration when the system went through a natural frequency without any external power source. It was verified that the reduction in instabilities stemmed from the better distribution of vibration force in the proposed device, as well as the damping capacity of the spring material.