NiTi Alloy Negator Springs for Long-Stroke Constant-Force Shape Memory Actuators: Modeling, Simulation and Testing

This work aims at the experimental characterization and modeling validation of shape memory alloy (SMA) Negator springs. According to the classic engineering books on springs, a Negator spring is a spiral spring made of strip of metal wound on the flat with an inherent curvature such that, in repose, each coil wraps tightly on its inner neighbor. The main feature of a Negator springs is the nearly constant force displacement behavior in the unwinding of the strip. Moreover the stroke is very long, theoretically infinite, as it depends only on the length of the initial strip. A Negator spring made in SMA is built and experimentally tested to demonstrate the feasibility of this actuator. The shape memory Negator spring behavior can be modeled with an analytical procedure, which is in good agreement with the experimental test and can be used for design purposes. In both cases, the material is modeled as elastic in austenitic range, while an exponential continuum law is used to describe the martensitic behavior. The experimental results confirms the applicability of this kind of geometry to the shape memory alloy actuators, and the analytical model is confirmed to be a powerful design tool to dimension and predict the spring behavior both in martensitic and austenitic range.