Development of an Antagonistic SMA Actuator for Instar Rifle Stabilization System

Shape memory alloys are notoriously slow and suffer from creep and controllability issues [1,2]. This paper presents three methods to address these issues: a high-stress cyclic conditioning regime to reduce creep to operationally insignificant levels, an unconventional pulse-width-modulated duty cycle with heatsink to increase frequency to the ten hertz range, and simple position feedback control strategy for motion control. These methods are discussed within the context of a simple antagonistic leveraged SMA actuation system developed for an INertially STAbilized Rifle (INSTAR). An overview of design and basic parameter models for the L-Lever is provided along with benchtop experimental characterization of the quasistatic and dynamic behavior. The actuator was integrated into a one degree of freedom INSTAR platform to demonstrate the insitu methods via barrel control. The methods discussed in this paper led to a fast, low-creep, controllable actuator with outstanding authority resulting in precise barrel control with capabilities to greatly increase shooter accuracy.