Development and Characterisation of a Novel Piezoelectric Walking Motor for Small Satellite Applications

During deployment of a structure from a small spacecraft, often a traditional rotating motor with permanent magnets and rotating coils is used. This requires the generation of a magnetic field. This induced field can interfere with sensitive actuation or sensing equipment onboard the spacecraft and therefore disrupt the mission. This paper discusses the ongoing development of a piezoelectric based walking motor designed to ‘walk’ the deployable from a coiled state to a deployed state. The choice of using piezoelectric elements significantly reduces the magnetic field generated. The motor has been characterised by its actuation velocity, with actuation velocity measurements presented for varying operating modes.