Menger Sponge-Based Photostrictive Actuator
摘要
A piezoelectric actuator requires voltage for actuation purpose. In certain applications, like space, a source of voltage is not available. Recently, researchers have proposed the photostrictive actuator. This paper explores a composite material composed of piezoceramic menger sponge fractal shapes with square and circular cavity-based fibers of various orders, which are embedded within a soft and non-piezoelectric matrix. Numerical analysis is conducted to determine the effective properties of different hierarchical orders with circular and square-shaped cavities using the finite element method. The average volume method is used to simulate all modes of overall deformation resulting from arbitrary combinations of electrical and mechanical loading. Numerical study shows that menger sponge-based photostrictive composite provides higher actuation than the simple photostrictive composite.