Design and experimental study of a SMA motor with low speed and continuous rotation

A continuously rotating motor actuated by shape memory alloys (SMA) wires was designed, which rotates with a low speed and high torque. Liang-Roger constitutive model was used to design the SMA wire-spring actuator. Based on the actuator, the mechanical structure and control system were designed. Finally the motor was tested and it shows that: the SMA motor can rotate continuously with the speed of 0.03rad/min under 6V constant power supply at 27°C. It is concluded that the new motor, which is actuated by SMA wires owning the characteristics of low rotating speed, high torque and high power density, has a potential use in industry application.