NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Miniature Piezoelectric Shaker Mechanism for Autonomous Distribution of Unconsolidated Sample to Instrument CellsTo perform in-situ measurements on Mars or other planetary bodies many instruments require powder produced using some sampling technique (drilling/coring) or sample processing technique (core crushing) to be placed in measurement cells. This usually requires filling a small sample cell using an inlet funnel. In order to minimize cross contamination with future samples and ensure the sample is transferred from the funnel to the test cell with minimal residual powder the funnel is shaken. The shaking assists gravity by fluidizing the powder and restoring flow of the material. In order to counter cross contamination or potential clogging due to settling during autonomous handling a piezoelectric shaking mechanism was designed for the deposition of sample fines in instrument inlet funnels. This device was designed to be lightweight, consume low power and demonstrated to be a resilient solid state actuator that can be mechanically and electrically tuned to shake the inlet funnel. In the final design configuration tested under nominal Mars Ambient conditions the funnel mechanism is driven by three symmetrically mounted piezoelectric flexure actuators that are out of the funnel support load path. The frequency of the actuation can be electrically controlled and monitored and mechanically tuned by the addition of tuning mass on the free end of the actuator. Unlike conventional electromagnetic motors these devices are solid state and can be designed with no macroscopically moving parts. This paper will discuss the design and testing results of these shaking mechanisms.
Document ID
20150008324
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Sherrit, Stewart
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Frankovich, Kent
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Bao, Xiaoqi
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Tucker, Curtis
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
May 18, 2015
Publication Date
March 9, 2009
Subject Category
Solid-State Physics
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Annual International Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring
Location: San Diego, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: March 9, 2009
End Date: March 12, 2009
Sponsors: International Society for Optical Engineering
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
powder movement
vibration
fluidizaton

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available