The AICTE Research Promotion Scheme (RPS) has sanctioned Rs. 18,98,333/- for the project titled “Development of Novel Metal Hydride Thermal Actuators and Their Performance Evaluation.” The project focuses on exploring the potential of metal hydrides as self-sensing, self-actuating materials for thermal control applications. The key objectives include conducting a numerical study of metal hydride–based actuators, fabricating a metal hydride spring actuator, and performing a detailed experimental investigation to evaluate actuation characteristics. Initial numerical studies using LaNi₅ alloy have provided valuable insights into the behaviour of both spring-type and bellows-type actuator configurations, while a dedicated experimental setup has been developed to validate the performance of the fabricated prototypes.

The research has demonstrated that metal hydrides can serve as effective thermal actuators in applications where rapid response is not critical. A significant finding is the strong influence of heat transfer on the hydrogenation process, with enhancements—such as the incorporation of fins—leading to notable improvements in sorption performance. Additionally, metal hydride–polymer composite–embedded bellows actuators were found to deliver superior actuation due to improved thermal characteristics. The project introduces an innovative concept of metal hydride–based bellows actuators as self-sensing thermal actuators, offering integrated sensing capability along with enhanced actuation performance, thereby contributing to the development of next-generation thermally driven smart devices.