A piezoelectric inertia rotary actuator based on asymmetric clamping mechanism

A newly piezoelectric inertia rotary actuator is presented by using asymmetric mechanical structure to produce asymmetric inertia impact force when the symmetric electrical signal is applied to the piezoelectric bimorph Mechanical analysis was derived and simulation model of asymmetric clamping mechanism was established to determine the influence of structural parameters to the output performance. A prototype was developed and a series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance in terms of angular displacement, speed, and load characteristic. The experimental results show that the angular displacement of the actuator is approximately proportional to the amplitude of driving voltage, and an angular displacement resolution of 12 µrad is obtained with a square wave of 15 V_p−p at a frequency of 4 Hz. The maximum torque can reach 3.96 N mm at 70 V_p−p applied voltage and 2 Hz driving frequency. The rotary actuator characterized with an asymmetric clamping mechanism will provide new references for the further research on piezoelectric inertia drive mechanism.