A piezoelectric linear actuator formed from a multitude of bimorphs

This paper describes the design, construction, and testing of a linear actuator using a multitude of cantilever bimorphs. Each beam is vibrated both in the fundamental axial mode and a high-order flexural mode using piezoelectric material with a specific electroding pattern to obtain both axial and flexural motion from each bimorph. Bidirectional linear sliding velocities and forces reached 27.7cm/s and 0.09N, respectively, from a single bimorph, while up to 17.6cm/s velocity and 0.15N in either direction, at approximately 1% efficiency, were obtained from an actuator composed of four closely-matched bimorphs.