M.S. student Moustafa Raslan presented a paper, co-authored with Dr. Robert Balog, entitled “Bi-stable Shape Memory Alloy Actuated Switch for PV Skin” at the SGRE 2019 Conference in Doha, Qatar on 20th November 2019.
In this paper, a design concept for a bi-stable shape memory alloy actuated switch is proposed for smart non-planar photovoltaic applications. The proposed design concept provides the potential for miniaturization and overcomes common drawbacks of SMA actuators (e.g. relaxation). A detailed design model for the proposed concept in addition to a functional macro-scale proof-of-concept prototype made of the proposed concept is presented in this paper.