Research on the effect of the corrugated contact surface on an inchworm-type piezoelectric rotary actuator by finite element method

Finite element method (FEM) was used for the design of a piezoelectric rotary actuator by means of inchworm motion. This piezoelectric actuator can achieve large-stroke rotary with a high resolution. The common used cylinder rotor was replaced by one new designed rotor with a regular corrugated surface. The effect of the corrugated contact surface between the rotor and the stator was analyzed by finite element method. The contrastive simulations by the finite element method indicate that the stepping rotary angle can be improved by almost 4 times than the original one. This study will have some significance to the design and application of the inchworm type piezoelectric actuators.