Dynamic Drive Performances of the Bionic Suction Cup Actuator Based on Shape Memory Alloy

This paper proposes a design of SMA-based bionic suction cup actuator, the core of which is that the bias spring cooperates with the SMA spring to produce a displacement at the varying temperature caused by the drive current. To characterize the dynamic drive performance of the actuator, the thermody‐ namic model is established by the constitutive model of SMA material of Tanaka series. The simulation model for the bias SMA spring actuator in MATLAB/ SIMULINK is built. Moreover, the effects of different load and different driving environment on the displacement of SMA actuator as well as the corresponding reaction time are investigated. The steady displacement response enlarge with the drive current increasing, while the load readjusts the initial deformation of the actuator and also enlarges the final steady shearing displacement. Further, based on the actuator driving performance, the adsorption characteristics of the bionic suction cup are studied and verified experimentally.