High Torque Single-Crystal PMN-PT Driven Motor to Morph Naval Flow Control Surfaces

"High performance motors are in extreme demand for use in navy underwater flow applications. Specifically, compact motors are needed that are conformable to unusual shapes and sizes, and can deliver higher torque and power than a similarly sized EM motor.A direct-drive smart material motor will be developed with significant performance improvements over existing designs. The drastic improvements result directly from taking advantage of the special properties of single-crystal ferroelectrics.The main challenge to use piezoelectric materials as the driving engine for high force, high displacement actuators centers on motion amplification. This is because the micro-level displacements generated with today's conventional piezomaterial must beconverted to macro-level displacements for the device to have practical applications. However, it is well accepted that any motion amplifier design is problematic. With the advent of the high strains observed in single crystals, these new materials canbe used as the direct-driving element in mechanical diode motors, thus greatly simplifying the design and operation. In Phase I of this proposed effort, we will demonstrate the benefit of using single crystal stacks as driving engines for a new generationof smart material motors - more compact, more reliable (fewer moving parts) and with much higher torque and power density than existing designs. Initial commercialization efforts by KCF Technologie