Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Akron
This paper presents the design and experimental results of control of an SMA actuator using PWPF modulation to reduce the energy consumption of the SMA actuator. An SMA wire test stand is used in this research. Based on results of open-loop testing of the SMA wire actuator and parameter analysis of the PWPF modulator, a PWPF modulator is designed to modulate a Proportional plus Derivative (PD) controller. Experiments demonstrate that control of the SMA actuator using PWPF modulation effectively save actuation energy whiling maintaining same control accuracy as compared to continuous PD control.
