A Bionic Type Piezoelectric Actuator Based on Walking Motion and Asymmetrical L-Shaped Flexure Mechanisms

A bionic type piezoelectric actuator based on the walking motion of L-shaped flexure mechanisms has been proposed. By mimicking the walking motion of “human legs,” the proposed actuator is able to not only eliminate the backward motion to improve the motion efficiency, but also achieve the large working stroke with high output load easily. The special L-shaped flexure mechanism is employed as the “leg,” and the bionic walking motion is realized by applying two L-shaped flexure mechanisms alternately. The driving principle of the proposed piezoelectric actuator is discussed in detail, and the simulation is carried out to study the feasibility. An experimental system has been set up to investigate the actual working performance. According to the experimental results, the suitable phase difference between the two L-shaped flexure mechanisms to eliminate the backward motion is around θ = 5°, the maximum speed is V = 1887.3 μ m/s, the minimum stepping distance is 0.084 μ m, and the maximum load is more than F_v = 1100 g. The motion speed and the maximum load under the proposed bionic walking motion (two flexure mechanisms work together as “legs”) could be improved greatly for almost 3.7 and 1.7 times, respectively, compared with that of the traditional friction–inertial motion (only one flexure mechanism works). By eliminating the backward motion, the motion efficiency is improved about 52.9% under the condition of 120 V and 1 Hz. This article shows the feasibility of applying the bionic motion to improve the performance of piezoelectric actuators, which may be instructive for the design of piezoelectric actuators with large working stroke. In the future, it may be helpful for the real application of piezoelectric actuators in the fields of ultraprecision machining, optical engineering, and aerospace technology.