Actuator Classification and SelectionThe Development of a Database**

By Marc Zupan,* Mike F. Ashby, and Norman A. Fleck

Actuators are controllable work-producing devices. They come in many shapes and forms. A strategy for selecting actuators to meet specified design requirements is described here. A number of considerations enter: the type and characteristics of the actuator, the nature of the power-source (the fuel) that is required to drive it, and the possible need of an interface between the two to convert the energy into a form that the actuator can accept. The strategy is demonstrated by software that includes a database for some 220 actuators drawn from 18 families, and an advanced selection engine. Case studies are used to illustrate its use. Actuators are controllable work-producing devices. Here, we limit the discussion to those that produce linear or rotary motion, with position control. There are many types, drawing their energy from chemical, electrical and mechanical sources, or solar radiation. They differ enormously in their performance characteristics. Some are capable of large displacements and forces; others: only very small. Some can be cycled millions of times, others only once. And even if the maximum displacement of an actuator is small, it can produce large power output if it can cycle at high frequency. Clearly, if actuators are to be compared and classified, we must start by identifying their performance attributes. Actuators form the active part of a system. By system we mean not only the actuator itself, but the power source, and, if necessary, the device that converts the source of power into a form that the actuator can accept. For electrically driven, land-based actuators these last two are (usually) irrelevantpower is simply drawn from the national electricity grid. But for a hydraulic actuator for use in space, the picture is different: minimizing the weight of such a system involves not only the weight of the actuator, but also that of the pump providing the hydraulic power and the energy source required to drive it. Thus, beyond the performance of the actuator itself, we must also consider the system performance, and above all, its weight and cost.

It is helpful to record actuator attributes in two complementary ways. First there are the straightforward performance characteristics: physical dimensions, stroke, output force, operating frequency, weight and costthe attributes to be found in a record for commercially available actuators. The characteristics are unique to an individual product; two actuators of the same class can have very different values of stroke, force, frequency and cost. It is useful also to define a second set of normalized attributes, that are, at least approximately, characteristic of an entire class of actuators. The maximum stroke divided by the actuator length parallel to this stroke can be thought of as the actuator strain, and the maximum force it can generate divided by its cross section perpendicular to the stroke as the actuator stress. Actuators re-

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Bicron Solenoid STP 1717-014

Description
Bicron push-pull solenoids offer high forces in a limited space. Can be can be easily modified to include special features or value added assemblies for non-standard applications.

Characteristics
Nominal length Radius Maximum stroke Weight Type of power Voltage required Current consumed Resistance 0.013 6.84e-003 2.98e-003 7.29e-003 Electrical 3 0.206 5.88 0.0135 7.12e-003 3.1e-003 9.52e-003 m m m kg V A Ohms

6.12

Performance
Motion Max linear velocity Max frequency Max force, compression Max force, tension Max power generated Stroke work coefficient Cyclic power coefficient Life Linear 0.0149 *5 13.6 13.6 *1.98e-005 *0.5 *0.25 1e+005 0.248 80 14.2 14.2 8.92e-005 1 0.5 1e+007 m/s Hz N N kW cycles kg/m3 Pa Pa Pa W/m3

Derived Properties
Actuator density Actuator modulus Actuator strain Resolution (strain min) Actuator stress, compr. Actuator stress, tension Max power density Actuator efficiency *3800 3.314e+004 0.22 *1e-004 8.54e+004 8.54e+004 *1e+004 *0.5 4400 3.59e+004 0.24 0.01 9.63e+004 9.63e+004 4e+004 0.8

[*] Dr. M. Zupan, Dr. M. F. Ashby, Dr. N. A. Fleck Cambridge Centre for Micromechanics Cambridge University Engineering Department Cambridge CB2 1PZ (UK)

Manufacturer
Bicron Electronics Co. 50 Barlow Street, Canaan, CT 06018. Phone 1-860-824-5125 Fax 1-860-824-1137 Web Site http://www.bcrn.com/index.htm E-mail info@BicronUSA.com
Fig. 1. Typical data sheet for an electromagnetic solenoid actuator presenting basic characteristics specific to the individual actuator and derived properties representative of the family of actuators.

[**] The authors would like to thank Prof A. G. Evans for helpful discussions. Financial support from DARPA and the ONR is gratefully acknowledged.

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2002 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

1438-1656/02/1212-0933 $ 17.50+.50/0

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Table 1. Normalized actuator attributes.

Actuator attribute Actuation Stress Actuation Strain

Definition The applied force per unit cross-sectional area of an actuator. (The maximum value). The nominal strain produced by an actuator; an actuator of initial strength L extends to a total length of (1 + e) (maximum value). The ratio of a small increment in r to the corresponding small increment in e when the control signal to an actuator is held constant. (In general this differs from the measured modulus, which depends upon the control signal.) The ratio of mass to initial volume of an actuator. (We neglect the contribution to mass from power supplies, external fixtures and peripheral devices. For example, in the mass of a hydraulic cylinder, we include the working fluid and the cylinder, but neglect the compressor, servo-valve, cooling system and mounting fixtures.) The ratio of mechanical work output to energy input during a complete cycle in cyclic operation. The smallest step increment The mechanical power output per unit initial volume in sustainable cyclic operation. The maximum actuation stress (rmax), and maximum actuation strain, emax, are basic characteristics of an actuator. For a given size of actuator they limit the force and displacement. Alternatively, given the design values for the required forces and displacements, the size and shape of a suitable actuator may be estimated. The stress versus strain (re) characteristic of an actuator is not a single curve; it is a family of curves, which depend on the control signal and the external constraints. The maximum work output per cycle. The dimensionless term ranges from zero to unity and is a measure of the shape of the re curve in cyclic operation.

Actuator Modulus

Actuator Density

Efficiency Strain Resolution Volumetric Power Stroke Work Coefficient.

lying on the same operating principle have similar values of these and other normalized properties, listed in Table 1. Figure 1 presents the format of a data-sheet for an actuator, showing both the unique and the normalized attributes. Normalized properties allow for a more generic comparison of actuator types, giving estimates of performance for actuators before they have been manufactured, and it provides a tool for guiding design and selection, as the examples that follow will show. Ultimately, all energy derives from solar radiation, geothermal energy, nuclear or fossil fuels. These can be converted into chemical, electrical and mechanical energy sources that are sufficiently portable for autonomous actuation systems (Table 2). Their attributes, too, can be presented in two formats: as basic characteristics (the size, weight, and energy content of a battery, for instance) or as normalized quantities (energy per unit mass, power per unit cost etc). The sample battery data sheet of Figure 2 shows attributes expressed in both basic characteristic and as normalized

Banner Lead Acid battery

Characteristics
Length Width Height Volume Weight Discharge temperature Operating temperature Cost 0.096 0.024 0.054 1.32e-4 0.30 253 273 9.9 0.097 0.025 0.054 0.31 323 275 9.95 m m m m3 kg K K US $

Cyclic Power Coefficient

Performance
Table 2. Attributes of energy sources.

Energy source Chemical Electrical/ Magnetic Gasoline, Oil Rocket Fuel Capacitors Magnetic fields Advanced batteries Lead-acid batteries Flywheels Pressure vessels Springs Uranium, Plutonium Hydrogen, Deuterium The Sun The Sun

Energy density [kJ/kg]) 20,000 50,000 < 300 (100) < 250 (100) < 1000 (400) < 100 (60) < 350 (200) < 350 (100) < 5 (2) <8.0e10 <3.0e11 <240 (170) <6 (5)

Average voltage Max continuous current Capacity Shelf life

5.99 3.5 1.1 2

6.01 3.7 1.3

V A Ah yrs

Derived Properties
Energy/cost Power/cost Energy density (mass) Energy density (volume) Power density (mass) Power density (volume) 2.57 2.09e-3 82.8 1.94e+5 0.06 158 2.71 2.24e-3 97.2 1.98e+5 0.07 169 kJ/US $ kW/US $ kJ/Kg kJ/m3 kW/kg kW/m3

Mechanical

Manufacturer
Banner Batteries Units 7&8 403 Canal View Business Park Wheelhouse Rd Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 1UZ Phone 01889 57 11 00 Fax 01889 57 73 42 E-mail office.bgb@bannerbatteries.com Website www.bannerbatterien.com
Fig. 2. Data sheet for a lead acid battery, showing representative basic and derived properties contained in the database for power sources.

Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fusion Wind Power Solar

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Zupan et al./Actuator Classification and SelectionThe Development

Table 3. Attributes of conversion devices.

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Data Tables
Converter IC engines and turbines Fuel cells Generators Electrical drives Pumps Resistance heaters Solar cells Nuclear reactor Wind turbine Water turbine Actuating materials (combine conversion + actuation) Conversion Chemical Mechanical Chemical Electrical Mechanical Electrical Electrical Mechanical Mechanical Potential Electrical Thermal Radiation Electrical Nuclear Thermal Electrical Kinetic Electrical Potential Electrical Electrical Mechanical

Power Sources

References & Definitions

Suppliers and Contacts

Actuators and Attributes

Links Tutorials

Applications

Fig. 4. Graphical representation of the database structure displaying the network of links between each of the data tables. The links allow multiple routes to arrive at the same optimal actuator selection.

Solar panel: Description

Silicon Solar LLC is a manufacturer of the newest form of solar panels. New SolarPal solar panels are thin, lightweight, and affordable solar panels. Each solar panel is laminated between two layers of polymer film providing weather resistance and durability. Constructed with the highest quality mono-crystalline solar cells available. SolarPals include two 30 gauge wire leads that can be used to interconnect solar panels together to obtain a higher voltage or current.

Characteristics
Length Width Height Volume Weight Cost 0.058 0.056 5e-003 1.67e-5 4.41e-3 8.82 0.061 0.059 0.01 3.62e-5 4.59e-3 9.18 m m m m3 kg US $

quantities. The first captures information about a single, specific energy source; the second (as before) describes approximately the attributes of a class of sources. Some actuators and energy sources are compatible with each other, without the need of an energy-converting interface. Solenoids, piezoelectric and other electromechanical actuators can be driven directly by a battery; however, if they are to be driven by hydrocarbon fuels an interface, in the form of a fuel cell or internal combustion engine driving a generator, is required. Energy stored in gas pressure can interface directly with pneumatic actuators, but other power sources require pumps to make them compatible. Solar radiation - an energy source with no mass or cost-requires an interfacing solar panel to convert it to a form that can be accepted by most actuators. Table 3 gives examples of conversion devices and represents the final component of the system. Along with the energy sources and actuators, energy converters have attributes that are expressible in a basic form or as normalized quantities, see Figure 3 for a typical energy converter data sheet. The normalized attributes characterize, in an approximate way a method of converting energy.

Performance
Average voltage Max continuous current Power generated 2.20 0.16 3.6e-4 2.2 0.17 3.98e-4 V A kW
Table 4. Actuator types.

Derived Properties
Power density (mass) Power density (volume) 0.08 10.1 0.09 23.8 kW/kg kW/m3

Class of actuator Electromagnetic Electromechanical Fluidic Piezoelectric

Example Solenoid, Magnetostriction Linear Drive, MEMS Comb Drives Hydraulics, Pneumatics Ceramic, Polymer Shape Memory Alloy, Bimetallic Piezoelectric and Electromechanical Human muscle

Manufacturer
Silicon Solar LLC PO Box 436 16 Winkler Rd. Sidney, NY 13838, USA Phone Fax E-mail Website

(607) 369-5363 (607) 563-9553 sales@siliconsolar.com www.siliconsolar.com

Smart materials Hybrid Natural

Fig. 3. Typical data sheet for solar cell converting solar radiation to electric potential utilized by several classes of actuators.

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Zupan et al./Actuator Classification and SelectionThe Development lection engine identifies these and makes the specific actuator records available. Magnetostrictive Magnetostrictive Electric cylinder Piezoelectric Some aspects of actuator performance are Hydraulic Bimetallic strip adjustable by using levers, gears, etc. Thus Moving coil force can be increased at the expense of dis1000 placement by a lever with the actuator attached to the longer arm, and displacement Moving coil increased at the expense of force if it is atPiezoelectric tached to the shorter one, such that the work Electrostatic Electroactive polymer capacity, Fd, remains constant. If lever mech1 Electrostatic anisms are allowed, any actuator with a Pneumatic work-capacity greater than 0.01 Nm can fill Solenoid Shape memory the specification above. The actuators that Piezoelectric Electroactive polymer meet this requirement are those lying above 1e-3 MEMS-Comb-Drive the diagonal line displayed on Figure 5. AcMEMS-Comb-Drive tuation through a lever arm opens up a larger subset of actuators. Levers, gears and screw mechanisms thus greatly extend the Maximum stroke (m) 1e-5 0.1 1e-3 range of application of a given actuator type. Maximum Stroke (m) Suppose now that mass is to be miniFig. 5. A plot of maximum actuator output force versus maximum stroke for all of the actuators in the datamized, adding the additional requirement base. The diagonal line describes a of work capacity of 0.01 Nm. that the actuator be as light as possible. The best choices are those that meet the required work-capacity and have the smallest mass. Figure 6 illustrates The database, shown in Figure 4 has a relational structure. how this is established. It is a plot of work capacity, Fd, against It consists of six linked data tables. The central table contains actuator mass; the horizontal line is set at, Fd = 0.01 Nm, data for some 220 actuators drawn from 18 different classes screening out actuators with inadequate work capacity. The viof working principle, each characterized by a record like that able candidates with the smallest mass are those above the shown in Figure 1. The actuators are chosen to typify the line, at the extreme left: shape memory alloys, bi-metallic strips classes listed in Table 4. Each actuator record is linked to reand electroactive polymers. The method can be adapted to cords in the other five data tables, providing the characterisminimize volume, or to meet constraints on given dimensions. tics of the energy source required to drive it, typical applicaPlots of normalized attributes have the merit that they tions, references for the origin of the data, supplier details, bring out more clearly the fundamental differences between and a brief tutorial explaining the actuator operation; a selection of such sources is included in the reference list of this report.[1-21] The web of links Magnetostrictive Electric cylinder between data tables allows multiple paths to Electroactive polymer-Acrylic 1000 Hydraulic be taken whilst still achieving the same acPneumatic tuator selection. Electroactive polymer Pneumatic Huber et al.[22] suggest a generalized approach to the selection of actuators to per1 form a specific task. The development of the Moving coil Piezoelectric actuator database allows this method to be Solenoid implemented. In this section we illustrate Shape memory how this is done. 1e-3 Figure 5 shows the maximum force and displacement characteristics of the actuators in the database (the software allows plots of Electrostatic Piezoelectric any pair of attributes, or of combinations of 1e-6 them, to be constructed). Consider an application requiring a specified force, F, and Electroactive polymer MEMS-Comb-Drive displacement, d. The two design requireMEMS-Comb-Drive ments can be met by the sub-set of actuators with characteristics that exceed the specified 1e-9 1e-6 W eight (kg) 1e-3 1000 1 values. Thus the requirement of, F > 5N, Weight (kg) and, d > 2, mm is met by all the actuators in Fig. 6. A plot of actuator work capacity, Fd, versus mass. the box at the top right of Figure 5. The se1e+6
1 e +0 0 6

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Muscle

Maximum Output Force- Compression (N)

100000

10000

1000

Maximum output force- compression (N)

100

10

0 .1

0 .0 1

1 e -0 0 3

1 e -0 0 4

1 e -0 0 5

1 e -0 0 5

1 e -0 0 4

1 e -0 0 3

0 .0 1

0 .1

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100

10

Work Capacity (Nm)

0 .1

0 .0 1

Untitled

1 e -0 0 3

1 e -0 0 4

1 e -0 0 5

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1 e -0 0 7

1 e -0 0 8

1 e -0 0 9 1 e -0 0 9

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1e+6

1 e +0 0 6

Piezoelectric

100000

Power to Weight Ratio (kW/kg)

Bimetallic strip
10000

1000

1000

Pneumatic and Air muscles Hybrid

Magnetostrictive

Hydraulic

100

Untitled

10

Electroactive polymer Electrostatic

0 .1

Shape memory Moving coil

0 .0 1

1e-3

1 e -0 0 3

Electroactive polymer
1 e -0 0 4 -0 .1 0 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3 0 .4

MEMS-Comb-Drive
0 .5 0 .6 0 .7 0 .8

Electric cylinder
0 .9 1 1 .1

0.2

0.4 A ctuator efficiency 0.6

0.8

Actuator Efficiency

Fig. 7. Normalized actuator attributes: power to weight ratio versus efficiency of actuators.

actuator families. Figure 7 is one such example. Maximum power output is plotted against actuator efficiency (power out/power in). Members of any one family overlap or superimpose, but the families are widely separated. Bi-metallic and shape-memory actuators are intrinsically inefficient since of they rely on heating and cooling, even though their other characteristics are attractive. Piezo and magnetostrictive actuators can deliver high power outputs even though the displacements of which they are capable are very small. The two achieve high power outputs because they can be cycled at very high frequencies. Plots like Figure 7 bring out the underlying character of each actuator family. The corrugated sandwich structure in Figure 8a is an example of minimum-weight load-bearing design. Combining load bearing with actuation offers potential for multifunctionality: control of curvature for mirrors, reflectors and antennae, manipulation of aerodynamic and hydrodynamic control surfaces, and even locomotion. For these applications it is necessary that the actuator and its power system be integrated to the truss beam. Here, the requirement is for a specified force, displacement, frequency, and life all at low weight. Consider first the choice of an actuator alone. Design calculations for the truss of Figure 8a identifies the requirements listed in Table 5. The first stage of the selection process, as with the earlier simple example, involves selecting an actuator that produces a sufficient level of force and displacement. These are the attributes and limits already used to construct Figure 5. Actuators not meeting the first set of design restrictions are removed reducing the total pool. Human muscles, solenoids, hydraulics, and moving coils all pass the selection criteria whilst piezoelectric and magnetostrictive materials are capable of generating sufficient force but lack the ability to produce the required displacement.

Figure 9 shows the second stage of the selection: frequency and weight. The lower edge of the selection box is set at the desired frequency (50 Hz). The lightest candidates are those that meet all the constraints and lie furthest to the left. This eliminates moving coil and hydraulic actuators because of their weight, and shape memory and bimetallic actuators because of their low frequency. Taking the intersection of the two selection stages results in a group of 5 actuators from the original collection of 220, listed below. A final constraint placed on the actuator is that it must have an adequate design life. The record for each actuator includes this information: all three electroactive polymers have a life of only 1000 cycles, eliminating them. We are left with only two candidates that meet all the constraints and are lighter than any others: a miniature pneumatic and a miniature solenoid actuator.

(c) (b) (a)

10 mm
Fig. 8. a) Photograph of a truss structure. The figure displays integration of b) the pneumatic and c) solenoid actuator arrived at using the selection method. Both actuators provide viable solutions to the design requirements.

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Table 5. Requirements for the actuator.

Force Stroke Frequency Life Mass

5N 2 mm 50 Hz At least 108 cycles As light as possible

M ass m/Power P* (kg/kW )

Shape Memory Alloy Solenoid

1000

Pneumatics

10
Electroactive Polymer Air Muscle

Figures 8b and 8c shows the integration of the two actuators into the truss core. Selection based solely on physical design requirements deems both actuators to be of equal merit in achieving the desired flexural actuation. Consider now a selection minimizing which minimizes the mass of a fully autonomous system. As outlined earlier, the total system mass, m, has three contributions: the mass of the actuator (Act.), that of the energy source (Fuel') and that of converter interface (Convt.') between energy source and actuator, if required. The total mass can then be written as follows

0.1 1 100 10
4

10

M ission time (s)

Fig. 10. Plot of mass/power versus mission time of candidate actuators for the mechatronic device displayed in Figure 8. For short missions the converter and actuator mass terms dominate the total mass. With increased mission length fuel required to power the system eventually dominates the system mass.

(1)

produce the desired power for the active system; dividing this by the power density of the converter, (Power/kg)Convt., gives the mass of the conversion interface. The last term is the mass of the power the source; here, gConvt , is the efficiency of the energy converter, (Power/kg)Fuel, is the power density of the fuel and, tm, is the mission time. Rearranging the above equation results in

m P*
Where P* is the power required by the system. The first term represents the mass of the actuator and is determined by dividing the required power, P*, by the power density, (Power/kg)Act., of the actuator. The second term is the mass of the interface between the power source and the actuator. The efficiency of the actuator, gAct. = power output/power input, determines the input power required by the actuator to
1 e +0 0 8

1 (Power / kg ) Act.

(Power / kg ) Act. 1 1 + Act. (Power / kg ) Convt.

(2)

(Power / kg ) Act. 1 tm Act.Convt. (Power / kg ) Fuel

Here, the term in braces is dimensionless; it is the factor by which the actuator mass must be multiplied to get the full system mass.

Electrostatic
1 e +0 0 7

Magnetostrictive Piezoelectric Moving coil

1e+6

1 e +0 0 6

Maximum Frequency (Hz)

100000

10000

Piezoelectric MEMS-Comb-Drive

1000

Max frequency (Hz)

Hydraulic Pneumatic

1000

Electroactive polymer

100

Shape memory
10

Electromagnetic

Solenoid

0 .1

Bimetallic strip
0 .0 1

Electroactive polymer

Electric cylinder
1 e -0 0 5 1 e -0 0 4 1 e -0 0 3

1e-3

1 e -0 0 3 1 e -0 0 9

1e-8

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1 e -0 0 7

1e-6

1 e -0 0 6

W 1e-4eight (kg)

0.01

0 .0 1

0 .1

10

100

100

Weight (kg)

Fig. 9. Maximum frequency versus mass. The selection identifies actuators that can cycle at 50 Hz or greater and possess low mass. The intersection of this selection and that of Figure 5 (plus the requirement of long life) identifies actuators for the truss structure.

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Zupan et al./Actuator Classification and SelectionThe Development The equation has been evaluated for a number of candidate actuator-systems that might be used with the truss core. Using values from the database for (solenoids, pneumatics, smart materials) and data from Tables 2 and 3 an optimization of the total system mass of the can be performed. For pneumatic actuators all three terms in the equation must be considered, since a device supplying compressed air is required to activate the pneumatic, whilst the solenoid and smart materials can be activated directly by an electrical source such as a battery. Figure 10 shows a plot of the mass/power of different actuating systems for the load bearing locomotive device in Figure 8 as a function of mission time. Mechanisms based on shape memory alloy and pneumatic actuation possess a low actuator and converter mass but demand large quantities of energy. The opposite is true for solenoids where the actuator and converter mass are high whilst energy demands are low. The plot brings to light several interesting scenarios and shows the influential dependence of mission time on the selection. For short missions the converter and actuator mass terms dominate; with increased time the weight of the fuel required to power the system will eventually overshadow the converter and actuator terms. Actuators that do not require a converter may provide large gains over those that do for short mission times. Solar power, which is a renewable source of energy, provides a substantially gain in long missions since the mass of the energy source is independent of mission time. The performance characteristics of actuators show an immense range, differing in their force, displacement, frequency, power and efficiency by many orders of magnitude. Optimized selection requires that actuator characteristics be matched to the needs of the design for all of these and more. Methods for achieving this are described here and demonstrated in a prototype software system. The graphical presentation of actuator attributes presented in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 9 assist in highlighting optimal actuators or actuators. Case studies demonstrate its utility in guiding selection and suggest optimized solutions. Examples based on physical design constraints and total system mass display the critical importance of mission time on actuator selection. Received: June 04, 2002

[1] J. Borwick, Loudspeaker and Headphone Handbook, Butterworth-Heinemann, London 1988. [2] A. Barber, Pneumatic Handbook, 8th ed., Elsevier Science, New York, Oxford 1997. [3] T. Ikeda, Fundamentals of Piezoelectricity, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1990. [4] L. Mcdonald Schetky, Mater. Design 1991, 12, 29-32. [5] T. W. Duerig, Engineering Aspects of Shape Memory Alloys, Butterworth-Heinemann, London 1990. [6] H. M.-H. Shen, Smart Mater. Struct. 1994, 3, 439. [7] W. Bolton, Pneumatic and Hydraulic Systems, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford 1997. [8] D. C. Greenwood, Manual of Electromechanical Devices, McGraw-Hill, New York 1965. [9] J. W. Hart, Plant Tropisms and Other Growth Movements, Unwin Hyman, London 1990. [10] S. A. Nasar, I. Boldea, Linear Motion Electric Machines, Wiley, New York 1976. [11] R. A. McCurrie, Ferromagnetic Materials: Structure and Properties, Academic, London 1994. [12] A. J. Moulson, J. M. Herbert, Electroceramics: Materials, Properties, Applications, Chapman and Hall, London 1990. [13] S. A. Nasar, I. Boldea, Linear Motion Electric Machines, Wiley, New York 1976. [14] Piezo Systems, Inc., Product Catalogue. 186 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. [15] P. Simons, The Action plant: Movement and Nervous Behaviour in Plants, Blackwell, Oxford 1992. [16] C. J. Smithells, Smithells Metals Reference Book, 7th ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, London 1992. [17] T. T. Wang, J. M. Herbert, A. M. Glass, The Applications of Ferroelectric Polymers, Blackie, 1987. [18] M. B Wilkins, Advanced Plant Physiology, Pitman, London 1984. [19] E. P. Wohlfarth, Ferromagnetic Materials: A Handbook on the Properties of Magnetically Ordered Substances, NorthHolland, Oxford 1980. [20] R. C. Woledge, Energetic Aspects of Muscle Contraction, Academic, London 1985. [21] Y. Xu, Ferroelectric Materials and Their Applications, North Holland, Amsterdam 1991 [22] J. E. Huber, N. A. Fleck, M. F. Ashby, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 1997, 453, 21852205.

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