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Actuators

There are five main types of actuators: hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, thermal or magnetic, and mechanical. An actuator is a type of motor that converts a source of energy into motion. Hydraulic actuators use pressurized liquids to produce movement, pneumatic actuators use compressed air, and electric actuators convert electrical energy into torque. Thermal and magnetic actuators are compact and use shape memory materials, while mechanical actuators convert rotary motion into linear motion using gears and other mechanisms.

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2K views

Actuators

There are five main types of actuators: hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, thermal or magnetic, and mechanical. An actuator is a type of motor that converts a source of energy into motion. Hydraulic actuators use pressurized liquids to produce movement, pneumatic actuators use compressed air, and electric actuators convert electrical energy into torque. Thermal and magnetic actuators are compact and use shape memory materials, while mechanical actuators convert rotary motion into linear motion using gears and other mechanisms.

Uploaded by

elavarasan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Types of actuators

There are five main types of actuators hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, Thermal or Magnetic
and Mechanical. An actuator is a type of motor that is responsible for moving or controlling a
mechanism or system.
It is operated by a source of energy, typically electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure, or
pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into motion. An actuator is the mechanism by
which a control system acts upon an environment. The control system can be simple (a fixed
mechanical or electronic system), software-based (e.g. a printer driver, robot control system), a
human, or any other input.

Hydraulic

A hydraulic actuator consists of a cylinder or fluid motor that uses hydraulic power to facilitate
mechanical operation. The mechanical motion gives an output in terms of linear, rotary or
oscillatory motion. Because liquids are nearly impossible to compress, a hydraulic actuator can
exert considerable force. The drawback of this approach is its limited acceleration.
The hydraulic cylinder consists of a hollow cylindrical tube along which a piston can slide. The
term single acting is used when the fluid pressure is applied to just one side of the piston. The
piston can move in only one direction, a spring being frequently used to give the piston a
return stroke. The term double acting is used when pressure is applied on each side of the
piston; any difference in pressure between the two side of the piston moves the piston to one
side or the other.

Pneumatic

Pneumatic rack and pinion actuators for valve controls of water pipes
A pneumatic actuator converts energy formed by vacuum or compressed air at high pressure
into either linear or rotary motion. Pneumatic energy is desirable for main engine controls
because it can quickly respond in starting and stopping as the power source does not need to
be stored in reserve for operation.
Pneumatic actuators enable large forces to be produced from relatively small pressure
changes. These forces are often used with valves to move diaphragms to affect the flow of
liquid through the valve. It is responsible for converting pressure into force.

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Electric

An electric actuator is powered by a motor that converts electrical energy into mechanical
torque. The electrical energy is used to actuate equipment such as multi-turn valves. It is one
of the cleanest and most readily available forms of actuator because it does not involve oil.

Thermal or magnetic (shape memory alloys)


Actuators which can be actuated by applying thermal or magnetic energy have been used in
commercial applications. They tend to be compact, lightweight, economical and with high
power density. These actuators use shape memory materials (SMMs), such as shape memory
alloys (SMAs) or magnetic shape-memory alloys (MSMAs).[1] Some popular manufacturers of
these devices are Finnish Modti Inc. and American Dynalloy.

Thermal or magnetic (shape memory alloys)

Actuators which can be actuated by applying thermal or magnetic energy have been used in
commercial applications. They tend to be compact, lightweight, economical and with high
power density. These actuators use shape memory materials (SMMs), such as shape memory
alloys (SMAs) or magnetic shape-memory alloys (MSMAs).[1] Some popular manufacturers of
these devices are Finnish Modti Inc. and American Dynalloy.

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Mechanical

A mechanical actuator functions by converting rotary motion into linear motion to execute
movement. It involves gears, rails, pulleys, chains and other devices to operate. An example is a
rack and pinion.

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