DEVELOPMENT OF A POLYMERIC PIEZOELECTRIC C-BLOCK ACTUATOR USING HYBRID OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUE

A new class of polymeric piezoelectric bimorph actuators, called C-blo cks because of their curved shape, has been developed to overcome limi tations of conventional bimorph and stack piezoelectric configurations . Design tradeoffs are investigated in the current research using vari ous performance criteria such as maximum deflection, force, and strain energy, The set of design variables to optimize the C-block actuators , which can be used alone or can be combined in series and/or parallel , includes both continuous and discrete parameters. Therefore, a hybri d optimization technique is developed to address the nonlinear mixed c ontinuous/discrete optimization problem. The results of the optimizati on procedure indicate useful trends toward microscale actuator develop ment for the most efficient implementation of these actuators.