Expanding the capabilities that are used in the NASA’s exploration of planetary bodies in our solar system would require mechanisms and actuators that can operate at cryogenic temperatures (-240 °C to -60 °C) in dusty environments. These applications include the exploration of lunar surface environments with temperatures that are below -100 °C. For this purpose, the authors are working on developing piezoelectric motors capable of operating at such extreme conditions. Novel piezoelectric motors were conceived and are being investigated to enable precision deployment and motion mechanisms that can be used for potential actuation of antennas and solar arrays, lower power robot arms, and percussive drills. This motor technology is intended to be integrated in a testbed developed at NASA to demonstrate its capabilities once it has been characterized at room temperature. These motors are being developed as game changers for enabling rotational drive mechanisms (rovers, robots, gimbals, drills, etc.) in extremely cold and dusty environments. These drive systems will be operated without the use of heaters or atmospheric control chambers (which eliminates grease lubrication) to raise the actuator’s temperature. Further, these motors will enable actuation of very high precision mechanisms having lower power motion without gears or gear lubrication, backlash, or power consumption to hold position. These actuators contain piezoelectrically-excited fixtures that are vibrated out of phase such that they sequentially push the rotor to produce continuous rotation. A proof-of-concept linear actuator that uses fixtures with flexure-preloaded piezoelectric stacks and operates in an inch-worm configuration at low frequency has been developed and demonstrated. Further, a proof-of-concept rotary actuator is currently being developed that uses a V-shaped piezoelectric fixture driven in resonance that generates an elliptical motion at the horn tip to drive a rotor. In this paper, the latest progress will be presented.
A novel mechanism called the vibration ring is being developed to enable energy conversion elements to be incorporated into the driveline of a helicopter or other rotating machines. Unwanted vibration is transduced into electrical energy, which provides a damping effect on the driveline. The generated electrical energy may also be used to power other devices (e.g., health monitoring sensors). PZT (‘piezoceramic’) and PMN-30%PT (‘single crystal’) stacks, as well as a Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe1.92 (‘Terfenol-D’) rod with a bias magnet array and a pickup coil, were tested as alternative energy conversion elements to use within the vibration ring. They were tuned for broadband damping using shunt resistors, and dynamic compression testing was conducted in a high-speed load frame. Energy conversion was experimentally optimized at 750Hz by tuning the applied bias stress and resistance values. Dynamic testing was conducted up to 1000Hz to determine the effective compressive modulus, shunt loss factor, internal loss factor, and total loss factor. Some of the trends of modulus and internal loss factor versus frequency were unexplained. The single crystal device exhibited the greatest shunt loss factor
whereas the Terfenol-D device had the highest internal and total loss factors. Simulations revealed that internal losses in the Terfenol-D device were elevated by eddy current effects, and an improved magnetic circuit could enhance its shunt damping capabilities. Alternatively, the Terfenol-D device may be simplified to utilize only the eddy current dissipation mechanism (no pickup coil or shunt) to create broadband damping.
In this paper, a computational study is presented of structural vibration control that is realized by switching a magneto-strictive transducer between high and low stiffness states. Switching is accomplished by either changing the applied magnetic field with a voltage excitation or changing the shunt impedance on the transducer's coil (i.e., the magneto-strictive material's magnetic boundary condition). Switched-stiffness vibration control is simulated using a lumped mass supported by a damper and the magneto-strictive transducer (mount), which is represented by a nonlinear, electromechanical model. Free vibration of the mass is calculated while varying the mount's stiffness according to a reference switched-stiffness vibration control law. The results reveal that switching the magnetic field produces the desired change in stiffness, but also an undesired actuation force that can significantly degrade the vibration control. Hence, a modified switched-stiffness control law that accounts for the actuation force is proposed and implemented for voltage-controlled stiffness switching. The influence of the magneto-mechanical bias condition is also discussed. Voltage-controlled stiffness switching is found to introduce damping equivalent to a viscous damping factor up to about 0.13; this is shown to primarily result from active vibration reduction caused by the actuation force. The merit of magneto-strictive switched-stiffness vibration control is then quantified by comparing the results of voltage- and shunt-controlled stiffness switching to the performance of optimal magneto-strictive shunt damping. For the cases considered, optimal resistive shunt damping performed considerably better than both voltage- and shunt-controlled stiffness switching.
This paper details the development of an electrically-controlled, variable-stiffness spring based on magnetostrictive materials. The device, termed a magnetostrictive Varispring, can be applied as a semi- active vibration isolator or switched stiffness vibration controller for reducing transmitted vibrations. The Varispring is designed using 1D linear models that consider the coupled electrical response, mechanically-induced magnetic diffusion, and the effect of internal mass on dynamic stiffness. Modeling results illustrate that a Terfenol-D-based Varispring has a rise time almost an order of magnitude smaller and a magnetic diffusion cut-off frequency over two orders of magnitude greater than a Galfenol-based Varispring. The results motivate the use of laminated Terfenol-D rods for a greater stiffness tuning range and increased bandwidth. The behavior of a prototype Varispring is examined under vibratory excitation up to 6 MPa and 25 Hz using a dynamic load frame. For this prototype, stiffness is indirectly varied by controlling the excitation current. Preliminary measurements of continuous stiffness tuning via sinusoidal currents up to 1 kHz are presented. The measurements demonstrate that the Young's modulus of the Terfenol-D rod inside the Varispring can be continuously varied by up to 21.9 GPa. The observed stiffness tuning range is relatively constant up to 500 Hz, but significantly decreases thereafter. The stiffness tuning range can be greatly increased by improving the current and force control such that a more consistent current can be applied and the Varispring can be accurately tested at a more optimal bias stress.
A novel and precise characterization of the constitutive behavior of solid and laminated research-grade, polycrystalline Galfenol (Fe81:6Ga18:4) under under quasi-static (1 Hz) and dynamic (4 to 1000 Hz) stress loadings was recently conducted by the authors. This paper summarizes the characterization by focusing on the experimental design and the dynamic sensing response of the solid Galfenol specimen. Mechanical loads are applied using a high frequency load frame. The dynamic stress amplitude for minor and major loops is 2.88 and 31.4 MPa, respectively. Dynamic minor and major loops are measured for the bias condition resulting in maximum, quasi-static sensitivity. Three key sources of error in the dynamic measurements are accounted for: (1) electromagnetic noise in strain signals due to Galfenol's magnetic response, (2) error in load signals due to the inertial force of fixturing, and (3) time delays imposed by conditioning electronics. For dynamic characterization, strain error is kept below 1.2 % of full scale by wiring two collocated gauges in series (noise cancellation) and through lead wire weaving. Inertial force error is kept below 0.41 % by measuring the dynamic force in the specimen using a nearly collocated piezoelectric load washer. The phase response of all conditioning electronics is explicitly measured and corrected for. In general, as frequency increases, the sensing response becomes more linear due to an increase in eddy currents. The location of positive and negative saturation is the same at all frequencies. As frequency increases above about 100 Hz, the elbow in the strain versus stress response disappears as the active (soft) regime stiffens toward the passive (hard) regime.
This paper investigates the use of Galfenol (FeGa) composite beams as solid-state, adaptive vibration absorbers that have an electrically-tunable sti ness. The study encompasses the manufacture of these structures by ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) and the formulation of a continuous model for the beams' bending vibrations. The beams' 1st and 3rd resonant frequencies are calculated as a function of base acceleration, Galfenol volume fraction, and DC magnetic eld. The e ects of an axial force, viscoelastic material damping, beam nonuniformity, and Galfenol's nonlinear behavior are incorporated. Autoresonant feedback control is used as a numerical technique to maintain the resonant state under changes in the inputs. The model is validated by comparing (1) calculated and analytical frequency responses and (2) calculated and measured resonant frequencies and modes shapes of a Galfenol/Al 6061 composite beam that was manufactured using UAM. The modeling results show that by varying the DC magnetic eld, the resonant frequency can be tuned between 3 % and 51 % for Galfenol/Al 6061 composites containing from 10 % to 100 % Galfenol by volume, respectively. The magnitude of this change will increase for composites that have a softer matrix. The axial force was found to have only a small e ect on the maximum resonant frequency tunability, but, for high Galfenol volume fractions, was also found to broaden the region over which tuning can occur.
This paper presents a single degree of freedom model for the nonlinear vibration of a metal-matrix composite manufactured by ultrasonic additive manufacturing that contains seamlessly embedded magnetostrictive Galfenol alloys (FeGa). The model is valid under arbitrary stress and magnetic field. Changes in the composite’s natural frequency are quantified to assess its performance as a semi-active vibration absorber. The effects of Galfenol volume fraction and location within the composite on natural frequency are quantified. The bandwidth over which the composite’s natural frequency can be tuned with a bias magnetic field is studied for varying displacement excitation amplitudes. The natural frequency is tunable for all excitation amplitudes considered, but the maximum tunability occurs below an excitation amplitude threshold of 1 × 10−6 m for the composite geometry considered. Natural frequency shifts between 6% and 50% are found as the Galfenol volume fraction varies from 25% to 100% when Galfenol is located at the composite neutral axis. At a modest 25% Galfenol by volume, the model shows that up to 15% shifts in composite resonance are possible through magnetic bias field modulation if Galfenol is embedded away from the composite midplane. As the Galfenol volume fraction and distance between
Galfenol and composite midplane are increased, linear and quadratic increases in tunability result, respectively.
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