Stiffness Control of a SMA Actuator

This paper presents a control of stiffness for an actuator that utilizes the properties of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. The control algorithm is developed based on angular position of the SMA actuated arm. The model for calculation of stiffness is prepared in MATLAB/Simulink environment. In this application, a PID controller is designed to regulate the applied voltage of the SMA wire. For all the experiments, dSPACE hardware-in-the-loop solution is used. Simulation and experimental results are collected to validate system model. Result show good performance and control of stiffness through PID control system.