A bio-inspired piezoelectric motor with simple structured asymmetric stator

Abstract

A new type of micro rotary motor with a single piezoelectric stack actuator has been proposed, developed and tested. The conventional principle of elliptical motion is realized by a proposed mechanism which utilizes a Y-shaped stator and a ring rotor, and the biomimetic gait of an inchworm is achieved by integrating one piezoelectric stack actuator into the stator. The performance of the motor is predicted on the basis of computational simulation. An experimental setup was built to validate the working principles and evaluate the performance. Preliminary results have verified the working principle. Differences between the measured and predicted performances of the motor are analyzed.