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Design and Modeling of a Simple-Structured Continuously Variable Transmission Utilizing Shape Memory Alloy Superelasticity for Twisted String Actuator

Published: December 23, 2025 | arXiv ID: 2512.20342v1

By: Chanchan Xu, Shuai Dong, Xiaojie Wang

Twisted String Actuators (TSAs) are widely used in robotics but suffer from a limited range of Transmission Ratio (TR) variation, restricting their efficiency under varying loads.To overcome this, we propose a novel lightweight, simple-structured Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) mechanism for TSA utilizing Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) superelasticity. The CVT mechanism consists solely of a pair of highly lightweight superelastic SMA rods connecting the ends of twisted strings. These rods deform under external loads, adjusting the inter-string distance to enable continuous TR variation.We develop a comprehensive theoretical model that integrates three critical nonlinearities

Category
Physics:
Instrumentation and Detectors