Abstract
Thermal actuators are devices which can generate motion using amplified thermal expansion effects in certain portions of compliant structures, and such can be used in Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). In typical thermal actuators, the temperature increases are achieved by electrical resistive heating or use of external heat sources. This paper proposes a design method for a new kind of thermal actuator using thermoelectric devices as heat control systems. The thermoelectric devices enable us to utilize both heating and cooling effects so that complex actuator motion can be achieved. In this paper, first, the design requirements for thermal actuators using thermoelectric devices are clarified and a topology optimization problem for the thermal actuator design problem is formulated. Next, topology optimization using the level set method is applied to solve the optimization problem. Finally, several numerical examples of thermal actuator design problems using thermoelectric devices are presented to confirm the usefulness of the proposed method.
