A NEW TYPE OF ELECTROMAGNETICALLY PROPELLED VIBRATION ACTUATOR FOR APPEARANCE INSPECTION OF IRON STRUCTURE.

Due to economic development, many social infrastructures such as various large structures are being constructed around the world. Inspection and maintenance of social infrastructure such as huge bridges and tanks is one of the most important items in the world. In the present study, a new vibration actuator that extends the principle of operation invented by the authors was proposed and tested. New principle of operation for the actuator capable of reciprocating movement by controlling the phase of two vibration components has been considered. The principle of operation for the actuator was established by a very simple analysis. The experimental results indicate that reciprocating motion can be realized by controlling the phase of the vibration of the two vibration components. Experimental results reveal that this vibration actuator is able to pull a load mass of 190 g and the maximum efficiency of the actuator was about 12.5 % for the case with own-weight. The actuator was confirmed to be able to easily control the direction of movement with two-channel function generator and power amplifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]