Investigation on a novel bellows-type piezo-hydraulic actuator

A novel bellows-type piezo-hydraulic actuator was proposed, manufactured and tested in this study. The influence of water on the piezoelectric vibrator was analyzed and the output performance of the actuator was tested. The results show that the maximum average velocities of the big bellows-type actuator (BBA) and the small bellows-type actuator (SBA) are 17.24 mu ms-1 mu m s(-1) at 13.9 kHz. The maximum output forces are 0.163 N and 0.044 N, respectively. The self-locking forces of BBA and SBA are 0.059 N and 0.009 N. The characteristics of the actuator are simple structure, large displacement, and self-locking when power is off.

Automated summary

A novel bellows-type piezo-hydraulic actuator with simple structure, large displacement, and self-locking when power is off was proposed, manufactured, and tested in this study. The results show that the actuator has maximum average velocities of 17.24 mu ms-1 and 13.9 kHz, maximum output forces of 0.163 N and 0.044 N, and self-locking forces of 0.059 N and 0.009 N for the big and small bellows-type actuators, respectively.