The Asymmetric Flexure Hinge Structures and the Hybrid Excitation Methods for Piezoelectric Stick-Slip Actuators

Piezoelectric stick–slip actuators have become viable candidates for precise positioning and precise metering due to simple structure and long stroke. To improve the performances of the piezoelectric stick–slip actuators, our team deeply studies the actuators from both structural designs and driving methods. In terms of structural designs, the trapezoid-type, asymmetrical flexure hinges and mode conversion piezoelectric stick–slip actuators are proposed to improve the velocity and load based on the asymmetric structure; besides, a piezoelectric stick–slip actuator with a coupled asymmetrical flexure hinge mechanism is also developed to achieve the bidirectional motion. In terms of driving methods, a non-resonant mode smooth driving method (SDM) based on ultrasonic friction reduction is first proposed to restrain the backward motion during the rapid contraction stage. Then, a resonant mode SDM is further developed to improve the output performance of the piezoelectric stick–slip actuator. On this basis, the low voltage and symmetry of the SDM are also discussed. Finally, the direction-guidance hybrid method (DGHM) excitation method is presented to achieve superior performance, especially for high speed

Climatology of near-surface wind speed from observational, reanalysis and high-resolution regional climate model data over the Tibetan Plateau

As near-surface wind speed plays a role in regulating surface evaporation and thus the hydrological cycle, it is crucial to explore its spatio-temporal characteristics. However, in-situ measurements are scarce over the Tibetan Plateau, limiting the understanding of wind speed climate across this high-elevation region. This study explores the climatology of near-surface wind speed over the Tibetan Plateau by using for the frst time homogenized observations together with reanalysis products and regional climate model simulations. Measuring stations across the center and the west of the plateau are at higher elevations and display higher mean and standard deviation, confrming that wind speed increases with increasing altitude. By exploring wind characteristics with a focus on seasonal cycle through cluster analysis, three regions of distinct wind regimes can be identifed: (1) the central Tibetan Plateau, characterized by high elevation; (2) the eastern and the peripheral areas of the plateau; and (3) the Qaidam basin, a topographic depression strongly infuenced by the blocking efect of the surrounding mountainous terrain. Notably, the ERA5 reanalysis, with its improvements in horizontal, vertical, and temporal spacing, model physics and data assimilation, demonstrates closer agreement to the measured wind conditions than its predecessor ERA-Interim. It successfully reproduces the three identifed wind regimes. However, the newest ERA5-Land product does not show improvements compared to ERA5, most likely because they share most of the parametrizations. Furthermore, the two dynamical downscalings of ERA5 analyzed here fail to capture the observed wind statistics and exhibit notable biases and discrepancies also when investigating the diurnal variations. Consequently, these high-resolution downscaling products do not show add value in reproducing the observed climatology of wind speed compared to ERA5 over the Tibetan Plateau

A High-Thrust Screw-Type Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Motor with Three-Wavelength Exciting Mode

A high-thrust screw-type piezoelectric ultrasonic motor with a three-wavelength exciting mode is proposed in this paper. The motor mainly includes a stator and a screw output shaft, and the stator is composed of twelve rectangular piezoelectric plates and a hollow metal elastomer with an internal thread. The stator can be excited to generate the combined micro ultrasonic vibration mode. With this ultrasonic vibration mode, a three-wavelength traveling wave can be synthesized. The three-wavelength traveling wave is used to drive the screw output shaft by means of the frictional force between the stator and the shaft. Rotary-linear motion can be achieved without any additional conversion mechanism. Large thrust output can be easily obtained using a three-wavelength exciting mode. The exciting mode is analyzed in detail. The prototype is designed, simulated, and fabricated. A series of experiments are carried out and the results indicate that the maximum output thrust is 50.8 N at an excitation frequency and peak-to-peak voltage of 28.9 kHz and 120 Vp-p, respectively. The maximum force density is 247.8 N/kg

Development of a Nonlinear Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for Alternating Air Load

The demand for energy-harvesting technology is steadily growing in the field of self-powered wireless sensor systems for use in pneumatic systems. The purpose of this research was to study an energy harvester excited by alternating air load in a pneumatic system. The harvester was designed to consist of a power chamber and a compressed chamber, and to the bottom of the power chamber a piezoelectric patch as been affixed. The harvester is excited by the changing pressure, which can be adjusted through changing volume, and the alternating air pressure energy can be harvested through the deformation of the piezoelectric patch. A test system was built and a prototype device was tested under various experimental conditions. The test results show that the energy generation performance of the harvester can be influenced by varying the volume compression parameters, with the output voltage increasing when the flow increases. The maximal output voltage and power are 24.7 V and 1.06 mW, respectively. An effective power of 0.28 mW was measured across the 200 kΩ resistor at a pressure of 200 kPa and a cycle time of 2.5 s with a flow of 150 L/min

Tribological property investigation on a novel pneumatic actuator with integrated piezo actuators

Pneumatic piston–cylinder actuators are commonly used in industry for a variety of automation and robotics applications. In order to suppress leakage, these actuators comprise seal rings which unfortunately introduce friction and affect the positioning accuracy and output force. This article investigates vibrations of the seal generated by integrated piezo actuators to reduce friction force. For this, two piezoelectric stacks are integrated in the cylinder and used to excite vibration modes. This concept was studied in a compact cylinder pneumatic actuator with a bore diameter of 5 mm and a stroke of 10 mm. Dry friction measurement shows a 52% reduction from the original friction force at a driving frequency of 18.29 kHz and vibration amplitude of 0.05 μm. In the wet friction experiments, the friction force can be reduced by 54% from the original wet friction with vibrations at amplitude of 0.04 μm.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Tribological property investigation on a novel pneumatic actuator with integrated piezo actuators journaltitle: Tribology International articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2015.01.021 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe