Nonlinear stability analysis of piecewise actuated piezoelectric microstructures

The main objective of this research is to provide a general nonlinear model of adjustable piezoelectric microwires with the ability to tune the stability conditions. In order to increase the controllability and improve system characteristics, only a part of the substrate is electrostatically actuated and the piezoelectric voltage is also...

A study on Micro-Actuators for Atomic Force Microscopes

High Energy Density Micro-actuation based on Gas Generation by means of Catalysis of Liquid Chemical Energy

This thesis describes the research for, and the assessment of a new type of energy source and actuation, applicable to a Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV). From the preliminary study resulted a promising energy source: hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) which is combined with the basic principle of the internal combustion engine for conversion to mechanical...

Thermal Actuation for Precision Micro Motion and Positioning

The primary goal of this research was to study the feasibility of a thermal micro actuator for improved tracking performance of a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), and the feasibility of thermal actuation for precision micro motion and positioning in general. The fast dynamics of the micro actuator allows it to quickly correct position errors and thus...

Potential of thermally expandable polymers with embedded skeletons for actuator applications

This paper presents an overview of a new type of thermal micro-actuators using thermally expandable polymers with embedded skeletons. Embedding a stiff skeleton enhances the actuation capability of the thermally expandable polymer. Consequently, the skeleton-reinforced polymers feature a large maximum actuation stress (often above 100 MPa) and a...