A strain-fiber actuator by use of shape memory alloy spring

A strain-fiber actuator by use of shape memory alloy spring is proposed and experimentally investigated. The shape memory alloy actuator with a diameter of 0.3 mm and length of 2 mm was driven by a DC power supply of 7 V to persist for 5 s. The deformation and the strain ratio were found to be 60 μm and 3%, respectively. To apply the actuator to strain a fiber Bragg grating, we obtained a tunable spectrum width of 50 nm around the wavelength of 1550 nm for optical communication.