Version 1
: Received: 15 September 2019 / Approved: 16 September 2019 / Online: 16 September 2019 (10:56:57 CEST)
How to cite:
Burugupally, S.P. Evaluation of a Mesoscale Thermal Actuator in Open and Closed Operating Cycles. Preprints2019, 2019090162. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201909.0162.v1
Burugupally, S.P. Evaluation of a Mesoscale Thermal Actuator in Open and Closed Operating Cycles. Preprints 2019, 2019090162. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201909.0162.v1
Burugupally, S.P. Evaluation of a Mesoscale Thermal Actuator in Open and Closed Operating Cycles. Preprints2019, 2019090162. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201909.0162.v1
APA Style
Burugupally, S.P. (2019). Evaluation of a Mesoscale Thermal Actuator in Open and Closed Operating Cycles. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201909.0162.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Burugupally, S.P. 2019 "Evaluation of a Mesoscale Thermal Actuator in Open and Closed Operating Cycles" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201909.0162.v1
Abstract
Thermal-based actuators are known for generating large force and displacement strokes at mesoscale (millimeter) regime. In particular, two-phase thermal actuators are found to benefit from the scaling laws of physics at mesoscale to offer large force and displacement strokes; but they have low thermal efficiencies. As an alternative, a combustion-based thermal actuator is proposed and its performance is studied in both open and closed cycle operations. Through a physics-based lumped-parameter model, we investigate the behavior and performance of the actuator using a spring-mass-damper analogy and taking an air standard cycle approach. Three observations are reported: (1) the mesoscale actuator can generate peak forces of up to 400 N and displacement strokes of about 16 cm suitable for practical applications; (2) an increase in heat input to the actuator results in increasing the thermal efficiency of the actuator for both open and closed cycles; and (3) for a specific heat input, both the open and closed cycle operations respond differently \textemdash different stroke lengths, peak pressures, and thermal efficiencies.
Keywords
thermal actuator; compliant architecture; open and closed operating cycles; mesoscale
Subject
Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
