A large stroke, high force paraffin phase transition actuator

• An actuator that uses the volume expansion related to the solid-to-liquid phase transition of paraffin wax has been fabricated and evaluated. The actuator consists of a ring-shaped paraffin cavity confined by two joint silicon diaphragms with rigid centers. When the paraffin is melted, the resulting hydrostatic pressure deflects the joined rigid centers in one direction only. The magnitude of the deflection is primarily a function of the geometrical relation between the two diaphragms, giving the opportunity to tailor the behavior of the actuator in a large range. Conventional IC-processing techniques have been used to fabricate a prototype with a width of 68 mm and a thickness of 825 μm. The prototype attained a maximum deflection of ca. 90 μm. Loaded with 3 N it still exhibits a deflection of ca. 75 μm. The device can be used as a thermal switch.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Materials science

Teknisk materialvetenskap

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