A comparative analysis of Piezoelectric and Magnetostrictive actuators in Smart Structures

OpenAIRE

Pons Rovira, José Luis

2005-01-01

[EN] This paper introduces a comparative analysis of Piezoelectric (PZ) and Magnetostrictive (MS) actuators as components in smart structures. There is an increasing interest in functional structures which are able to adapt to external or internal perturbations, i.e. changes in loading conditions or ageing. Actuator technologies must perform concomitantly as sensors and actuators to be applicable in smart structures. In this paper we will comparatively analyze the possibility of usin...

Identifiability of Additive Actuator and Sensor Faults by State Augmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Joshi, Suresh; Gonzalez, Oscar R.; Upchurch, Jason M.

2014-01-01

A class of fault detection and identification (FDI) methods for bias-type actuator and sensor faults is explored in detail from the point of view of fault identifiability. The methods use state augmentation along with banks of Kalman-Bucy filters for fault detection, fault pattern determination, and fault value estimation. A complete characterization of conditions for identifiability of bias-type actuator faults, sensor faults, and simultaneous actuator and sensor faults is presented. It is shown that FDI of simultaneous actuator and sensor faults is not possible using these methods when all sensors have unknown biases. The fault identifiability conditions are demonstrated via numerical examples. The analytical and numerical results indicate that caution must be exercised to ensure fault identifiability for different fault patterns when using such methods.

Decentralized coverage control problems for mobile robotic sensor and actuator networks

CERN Document Server

Savkin, A; Xi, Z; Javed, F; Matveev, A; Nguyen, H

2015-01-01

This book introduces various coverage control problems for mobile sensor networks including barrier, sweep and blanket. Unlike many existing algorithms, all of the robotic sensor and actuator motion algorithms developed in the book are fully decentralized or distributed, computationally efficient, easily implementable in engineering practice and based only on information on the closest neighbours of each mobile sensor and actuator and local information about the environment. Moreover, the mobile robotic sensors have no prior information about the environment in which they operation. These various types of coverage problems have never been covered before by a single book in a systematic way. Another topic of this book is the study of mobile robotic sensor and actuator networks. Many modern engineering applications include the use of sensor and actuator networks to provide efficient and effective monitoring and control of industrial and environmental processes. Such mobile sensor and actuator networks are abl...

Optimal Sensor and Actuator Location for Unstable Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shaker, Hamid Reza; Tahavori, Maryamsadat

2013-01-01

on the processes. Dually the problem of placing actuators on the processes is equally important. In this paper, the problem of determining optimal sensor and actuator locations for the linear systems is addressed. The problem of the sensor locations is viewed as the problem of maximizing the output energy...... generated by a given state and for the actuator locations is viewed as the problem of minimizing the input energy required to reach a given state. Such design problems occur in many applications, and therefore have been studied extensively. Unfortunately, the results in this context, which have been...

A comparative analysis of Piezoelectric and Magnetostrictive actuators in Smart Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pons, J. L.

2005-06-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces a comparative analysis of Piezoelectric (PZ and Magnetostrictive (MS actuators as components in smart structures. There is an increasing interest in functional structures which are able to adapt to external or internal perturbations, i.e. changes in loading conditions or ageing. Actuator technologies must perform concomitantly as sensors and actuators to be applicable in smart structures. In this paper we will comparatively analyze the possibility of using PZ and MS actuators in smart structures and in so doing their capability to act concomitantly as sensors and of modifying their material characteristics. We will also focus on the analysis of how them can be integrated in structures and on the analysis of the most appropriate structures for each actuator. The operational performance of PZ (Stacks and MS actuators will be compared and eventually some conclusions will be drawn.

Este artículo presenta un estudio comparativo de actuadores Piezoeléctricos (PZ y Magnetoestrictivos (MS como elementos integrantes de estructuras inteligentes. Existe un interés creciente en estructuras activas que puedan adaptarse a perturbaciones tanto internas como externas, por ejemplo, ante cambios en carga estructural o ante su envejecimiento. Para que un actuador forme parte de una estructura inteligente, debe poder actuar también como sensor. Este artículo presenta un estudio comparativo del uso de actuadores PZ y MS en estructuras inteligentes y, como consecuencia, de su habilidad para actuar y medir simultáneamente así cómo para modificar sus características mecánicas. Nos centraremos también en el análisis de como pueden integrase en estructuras y cuales son las más indicadas para cada actuador. Se compararán las características operacionales de los actuadors PZ multicapa y los MS.

Propagation Modeling and Defending of a Mobile Sensor Worm in Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tian; Wu, Qun; Wen, Sheng; Cai, Yiqiao; Tian, Hui; Chen, Yonghong; Wang, Baowei

2017-01-13

WSANs (Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks) are derived from traditional wireless sensor networks by introducing mobile actuator elements. Previous studies indicated that mobile actuators can improve network performance in terms of data collection, energy supplementation, etc. However, according to our experimental simulations, the actuator's mobility also causes the sensor worm to spread faster if an attacker launches worm attacks on an actuator and compromises it successfully. Traditional worm propagation models and defense strategies did not consider the diffusion with a mobile worm carrier. To address this new problem, we first propose a microscopic mathematical model to describe the propagation dynamics of the sensor worm. Then, a two-step local defending strategy (LDS) with a mobile patcher (a mobile element which can distribute patches) is designed to recover the network. In LDS, all recovering operations are only taken in a restricted region to minimize the cost. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that our model estimations are rather accurate and consistent with the actual spreading scenario of the mobile sensor worm. Moreover, on average, the LDS outperforms other algorithms by approximately 50% in terms of the cost.

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

Smart Sensors and Actuators: A Question of Discipline

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hoel IRIS

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Low power consumption and reliability are two important properties in the wireless sensor network area. The approach presented here to improve these aspects is to use a rule-based middleware enforcing a coordination protocol on top of the communication protocols imposed by the different wireless sensor networks. In addition, we move the callee side of this protocol from the gateway to the sensors/actuators in order to make them able to directly respond to this protocol. Then, it is possible to control from the application side the control (sleep/awake of the sensors and the transactional processing of operations involving a group of sensors/actuators. This has a positive impact both on the consumption and the reliability. Examples illustrating our approach are presented.

Modal analysis of beam with piezoelectric sensors a actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zemčík R.

2007-10-01

Full Text Available One dimensional finite element is developed for the analysis of structures with applied piezoelectric sensors and actuators, i.e. smart structures, mechanical behavior of which can be controlled in real-time. The element is based on Euler-Bernoulli theory and it assumes bilinear distribution of electric field potential. Mathematical model was implemented in MATLAB environment. Sensitivity analysis is carried out for the case of modal analysis with and without piezo patches.

Soft Pneumatic Bending Actuator with Integrated Carbon Nanotube Displacement Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim Giffney

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The excellent compliance and large range of motion of soft actuators controlled by fluid pressure has lead to strong interest in applying devices of this type for biomimetic and human-robot interaction applications. However, in contrast to soft actuators fabricated from stretchable silicone materials, conventional technologies for position sensing are typically rigid or bulky and are not ideal for integration into soft robotic devices. Therefore, in order to facilitate the use of soft pneumatic actuators in applications where position sensing or closed loop control is required, a soft pneumatic bending actuator with an integrated carbon nanotube position sensor has been developed. The integrated carbon nanotube position sensor presented in this work is flexible and well suited to measuring the large displacements frequently encountered in soft robotics. The sensor is produced by a simple soft lithography process during the fabrication of the soft pneumatic actuator, with a greater than 30% resistance change between the relaxed state and the maximum displacement position. It is anticipated that integrated resistive position sensors using a similar design will be useful in a wide range of soft robotic systems.

MEMS Sensors and Actuators Laboratory (MSAL)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The MEMS Sensors and Actuators Laboratory (MSAL) in the A.J. Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD) was established in January 2000. Our lab...

MEMS actuators and sensors: observations on their performance and selection for purpose

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, D. J.; Lu, T. J.; Fleck, N. A.; Spearing, S. M.

2005-07-01

This paper presents an exercise in comparing the performance of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuators and sensors as a function of operating principle. Data have been obtained from the literature for the mechanical performance characteristics of actuators, force sensors and displacement sensors. On-chip and off-chip actuators and sensors are each sub-grouped into families, classes and members according to their principle of operation. The performance of MEMS sharing common operating principles is compared with each other and with equivalent macroscopic devices. The data are used to construct performance maps showing the capability of existing actuators and sensors in terms of maximum force and displacement capability, resolution and frequency. These can also be used as a preliminary design tool, as shown in a case study on the design of an on-chip tensile test machine for materials in thin-film form.

Vibration control of a flexible structure with electromagnetic actuators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gruzman, Maurício; Santos, Ilmar

2016-01-01

This work presents the model of a shear-frame-type structure composed of six flexible beams and three rigid masses. Fixed on the ground, outside the structure, two voltage-controlled electromagnetic actuators are used for vibration control. To model the flexible beams, unidimensional finite...... elements were used. Nonlinear equations for the actuator electromagnetic force, noise in the position sensor, time delays for the control signal update and voltage saturation were also considered in the model. For controlling purposes, a discrete linear quadratic regulator combined with a predictive full......-order discrete linear observer was employed. Results of numerical simulations, where the structure is submitted to an impulsive disturbance force and to a harmonic force, show that the oscillations can be significantly reduced with the use of the electromagnetic actuators....

Distributed sensor and actuator reconfiguration for fault-tolerant networked control systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Herdeiro Teixeira, A.M.; Araujo, Jose; Sandberg, Henrik; Johansson, Karl H.

2017-01-01

In this paper, we address the problem of distributed reconfiguration of networked control systems upon the removal of misbehaving sensors and actuators. In particular, we consider systems with redundant sensors and actuators cooperating to recover from faults. Reconfiguration is performed while

Sensors and actuators inherent in biological species

Science.gov (United States)

Taya, Minoru; Stahlberg, Rainer; Li, Fanghong; Zhao, Ying Joyce

2007-04-01

This paper addresses examples of sensing and active mechanisms inherent in some biological species where both plants and animals cases are discussed: mechanosensors and actuators in Venus Fly Trap and cucumber tendrils, chemosensors in insects, two cases of interactions between different kingdoms, (i) cotton plant smart defense system and (ii) bird-of-paradise flower and hamming bird interaction. All these cases lead us to recognize how energy-efficient and flexible the biological sensors and actuators are. This review reveals the importance of integration of sensing and actuation functions into an autonomous system if we make biomimetic design of a set of new autonomous systems which can sense and actuate under a number of different stimuli and threats.

Finite Element Modelling and Analysis of Damage Detection Methodology in Piezo Electric Sensor and Actuator Integrated Sandwich Cantilever Beam

Science.gov (United States)

Pradeep, K. R.; Thomas, A. M.; Basker, V. T.

2018-03-01

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is an essential component of futuristic civil, mechanical and aerospace structures. It detects the damages in system or give warning about the degradation of structure by evaluating performance parameters. This is achieved by the integration of sensors and actuators into the structure. Study of damage detection process in piezoelectric sensor and actuator integrated sandwich cantilever beam is carried out in this paper. Possible skin-core debond at the root of the cantilever beam is simulated and compared with undamaged case. The beam is actuated using piezoelectric actuators and performance differences are evaluated using Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensors. The methodology utilized is the voltage/strain response of the damaged versus undamaged beam against transient actuation. Finite element model of piezo-beam is simulated in ANSYSTM using 8 noded coupled field element, with nodal degrees of freedoms are translations in the x, y directions and voltage. An aluminium sandwich beam with a length of 800mm, thickness of core 22.86mm and thickness of skin 0.3mm is considered. Skin-core debond is simulated in the model as unmerged nodes. Reduction in the fundamental frequency of the damaged beam is found to be negligible. But the voltage response of the PVDF sensor under transient excitation shows significantly visible change indicating the debond. Piezo electric based damage detection system is an effective tool for the damage detection of aerospace and civil structural system having inaccessible/critical locations and enables online monitoring possibilities as the power requirement is minimal.

Optical Force Sensor for the DEXMART Hand Twisted String Actuation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianluca PALLI

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the force sensor developed for the twisted string actuation system of the DEXMART Hand is described. The proposed solution makes use of optoelectronic components for measuring the deformation of the properly designed motor module structure caused by the force applied to the tendon transmission system. The paper reports the working principle, the calibration and the characterization of the sensor in terms of sensitivity, repeatability, full-scale and Signal-to-Noise ratio.

Development of a Meso-Scale Fiberoptic Rotation Sensor for a Torsion Actuator.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Jun; Desai, Jaydev P

2018-01-01

This paper presents the development of a meso-scale fiberoptic rotation sensor for a shape memory alloy (SMA) torsion actuator for neurosurgical applications. Within the sensor, a rotary head with a reflecting surface is capable of modulating the light intensity collected by optical fibers when the rotary head is coupled to the torsion actuator. The mechanism of light intensity modulation is modeled, followed by experimental model verification. Meanwhile, working performances for different rotary head designs, optical fibers, and fabrication materials are compared. After the calibration of the fiberoptic rotation sensor, the sensor is capable of precisely measuring rotary motion and controlling the SMA torsion actuator with feedback control.

Actuator and sensor selection for an active vehicle suspension aimed at robust performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wal, van de M.M.J.; Philips, P.P.H.H.; Jager, de A.G.

1998-01-01

A recently presented method for actuator and sensor selection for linear control systems is applied and evaluated for an active vehicle suspension control problem. The aim is to eliminate the actuator/sensor combinations for which no controller exists that achieves a specified level of robust

30 CFR 75.1107-4 - Automatic fire sensors and manual actuators; installation; minimum requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors and manual actuators... § 75.1107-4 Automatic fire sensors and manual actuators; installation; minimum requirements. (a)(1... sensors or equivalent shall be installed for each 50 square feet of top surface area, or fraction thereof...

Numerical simulation of mechatronic sensors and actuators

CERN Document Server

Kaltenbacher, Manfred

2007-01-01

Focuses on the physical modeling of mechatronic sensors and actuators and their precise numerical simulation using the Finite Element Method (FEM). This book discusses the physical modeling as well as numerical computation. It also gives a comprehensive introduction to finite elements, including their computer implementation.

Nanomechanical and electrical characterization of a new cellular electret sensor-actuator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Windmill, J F C; Zorab, A; Bedwell, D J; Robert, D

2008-01-01

Electrically charged cellular polymers are known to display pseudo-piezoelectric effects that endow them with interesting mechano-electrical characteristics. When a film of such a polymer is compressed, charge is generated across its thickness, and conversely, applying an oscillatory or static potential elicits mechanical motions. This dual sensor-actuator behaviour can be embedded in one material and presents distinct advantages of functional integration. A novel electroactive foam is presented here that embeds such a sensor-actuator function. The foam has a sensitivity constant (d 33 ) of 330 pC N -1 . Interestingly, the resonant behaviour of the cellular film can be altered by variation in the DC offset across the material. Such adaptive capacity could be of great advantage for tuning polymer-based mechanical devices to be either efficient sound radiators and mechanical actuators, or sensitive and coherent sensors. Possible applications in microfluidics are also discussed

Actuation stability test of the LISA pathfinder inertial sensor front-end electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Mance, Davor; Gan, Li; Weber, Bill; Weber, Franz; Zweifel, Peter

In order to limit the residual stray forces on the inertial sensor test mass in LISA pathfinder, √ it is required that the fluctuation of the test mass actuation voltage is within 2ppm/ Hz. The actuation voltage stability test on the flight hardware of the inertial sensor front-end electronics (IS FEE) is presented in this paper. This test is completed during the inertial sensor integration at EADS Astrium Friedrichshafen, Germany. The standard measurement method using voltmeter is not sufficient for verification, since the instrument low frequency √ fluctuation is higher than the 2ppm/ Hz requirement. In this test, by using the differential measurement method and the lock-in amplifier, the actuation stability performance is verified and the quality of the IS FEE hardware is confirmed by the test results.

Modelling of coulometric sensor-actuator systems based on ISFETs with a porous actuator covering the gate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luo, J.; Luo, J.; Olthuis, Wouter; Bergveld, Piet; Bos, M.; van der Linden, W.E.

1993-01-01

The ion-selective field effect transistor (ISFET)-based coulometric sensor¿actuator systems have found applications in acid¿base titration and in the construction of a low-drift carbon dioxide and a pH-static enzyme sensor. In this paper a brief review is given of the previously developed

The optimal location of piezoelectric actuators and sensors for vibration control of plates

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, K. Ramesh; Narayanan, S.

2007-12-01

This paper considers the optimal placement of collocated piezoelectric actuator-sensor pairs on a thin plate using a model-based linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller. LQR performance is taken as objective for finding the optimal location of sensor-actuator pairs. The problem is formulated using the finite element method (FEM) as multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) model control. The discrete optimal sensor and actuator location problem is formulated in the framework of a zero-one optimization problem. A genetic algorithm (GA) is used to solve the zero-one optimization problem. Different classical control strategies like direct proportional feedback, constant-gain negative velocity feedback and the LQR optimal control scheme are applied to study the control effectiveness.

Numerical and Experimental Characterization of Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Composite Structures with Embedded Piezoelectric Sensor-Actuator Arrays for Ultrasonic Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klaudiusz Holeczek

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The paper presents preliminary numerical and experimental studies of active textile-reinforced thermoplastic composites with embedded sensor-actuator arrays. The goal of the investigations was the assessment of directional sound wave generation capability using embedded sensor-actuator arrays and developed a wave excitation procedure for ultrasound measurement tasks. The feasibility of the proposed approach was initially confirmed in numerical investigations assuming idealized mechanical and geometrical conditions. The findings were validated in real-life conditions on specimens of elementary geometry. Herein, the technological aspects of unique automated assembly of thermoplastic films containing adapted thermoplastic-compatible piezoceramic modules and conducting paths were described.

Active vibration reduction by optimally placed sensors and actuators with application to stiffened plates by beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daraji, A H; Hale, J M

2014-01-01

This study concerns new investigation of active vibration reduction of a stiffened plate bonded with discrete sensor/actuator pairs located optimally using genetic algorithms based on a developed finite element modeling. An isotropic plate element stiffened by a number of beam elements on its edges and having a piezoelectric sensor and actuator pair bonded to its surfaces is modeled using the finite element method and Hamilton’s principle, taking into account the effects of piezoelectric mass, stiffness and electromechanical coupling. The modeling is based on the first order shear deformation theory taking into account the effects of bending, membrane and shear deformation for the plate, the stiffening beam and the piezoelectric patches. A Matlab finite element program has been built for the stiffened plate model and verified with ANSYS and also experimentally. Optimal placement of ten piezoelectric sensor/actuator pairs and optimal feedback gain for active vibration reduction are investigated for a plate stiffened by two beams arranged in the form of a cross. The genetic algorithm was set up for optimization of sensor/actuator placement and feedback gain based on the minimization of the optimal linear quadratic index as an objective function to suppress the first six modes of vibration. Comparison study is presented for active vibration reduction of a square cantilever plate stiffened by crossed beams with two sensor/actuator configurations: firstly, ten piezoelectric sensor/actuator pairs are located in optimal positions; secondly, a piezoelectric layer of single sensor/actuator pair covering the whole of the stiffened plate as a SISO system. (paper)

Directly Printable Flexible Strain Sensors for Bending and Contact Feedback of Soft Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khaled Elgeneidy

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a fully printable sensorized bending actuator that can be calibrated to provide reliable bending feedback and simple contact detection. A soft bending actuator following a pleated morphology, as well as a flexible resistive strain sensor, were directly 3D printed using easily accessible FDM printer hardware with a dual-extrusion tool head. The flexible sensor was directly welded to the bending actuator’s body and systematically tested to characterize and evaluate its response under variable input pressure. A signal conditioning circuit was developed to enhance the quality of the sensory feedback, and flexible conductive threads were used for wiring. The sensorized actuator’s response was then calibrated using a vision system to convert the sensory readings to real bending angle values. The empirical relationship was derived using linear regression and validated at untrained input conditions to evaluate its accuracy. Furthermore, the sensorized actuator was tested in a constrained setup that prevents bending, to evaluate the potential of using the same sensor for simple contact detection by comparing the constrained and free-bending responses at the same input pressures. The results of this work demonstrated how a dual-extrusion FDM printing process can be tuned to directly print highly customizable flexible strain sensors that were able to provide reliable bending feedback and basic contact detection. The addition of such sensing capability to bending actuators enhances their functionality and reliability for applications such as controlled soft grasping, flexible wearables, and haptic devices.

Structural Load Analysis of a Wind Turbine under Pitch Actuator and Controller Faults

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Etemaddar, Mahmoud; Gao, Zhen; Moan, Torgeir

2014-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the characteristics of a wind turbine under blade pitch angle and shaft speed sensor faults as well as pitch actuator faults. A land-based NREL 5MW variable speed pitch reg- ulated wind turbine is considered as a reference. The conventional collective blade pitch angle controller strategy with independent pitch actuators control is used for load reduction. The wind turbine class is IEC-BII. The main purpose is to investigate the severity of end effects on structural loads and responses and consequently identify the high-risk components according to the type and amplitude of fault using a servo-aero-elastic simulation code, HAWC2. Both transient and steady state effects of faults are studied. Such information is useful for wind turbine fault detection and identification as well as system reliability analysis. Results show the effects of faults on wind turbine power output and responses. Pitch sensor faults mainly affects the vibration of shaft main bearing, while generator power and aerodynamic thrust are not changed significantly, due to independent pitch actuator control of three blades. Shaft speed sensor faults can seriously affect the generator power and aerodynamic thrust. Pitch actuator faults can result in fully pitching of the blade, and consequently rotor stops due to negative aerodynamic torque

Time response for sensor sensed to actuator response for mobile robotic system

Science.gov (United States)

Amir, N. S.; Shafie, A. A.

2017-11-01

Time and performance of a mobile robot are very important in completing the tasks given to achieve its ultimate goal. Tasks may need to be done within a time constraint to ensure smooth operation of a mobile robot and can result in better performance. The main purpose of this research was to improve the performance of a mobile robot so that it can complete the tasks given within time constraint. The problem that is needed to be solved is to minimize the time interval between sensor detection and actuator response. The research objective is to analyse the real time operating system performance of sensors and actuators on one microcontroller and on two microcontroller for a mobile robot. The task for a mobile robot for this research is line following with an obstacle avoidance. Three runs will be carried out for the task and the time between the sensors senses to the actuator responses were recorded. Overall, the results show that two microcontroller system have better response time compared to the one microcontroller system. For this research, the average difference of response time is very important to improve the internal performance between the occurrence of a task, sensors detection, decision making and actuator response of a mobile robot. This research helped to develop a mobile robot with a better performance and can complete task within the time constraint.

Development of a metal-based composite actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Asanuma, Hiroshi; Haga, Osamu; Ishii, Toshio; Kurihara, Haruki; Ohira, Junichiro; Hakoda, Genji

2000-06-01

This paper describes a basic concept and elemental developments to realize a metal based composite actuator to be used for smart structures. In this study, CFRP prepreg was laminated on aluminum plate to develop an actuator and this laminate could perform unidirectional actuation. SiC continuous fiber/Al composite thin plate could also be used for form a modified type of actuator instead of using CFRP. As sensors to be embedded in this actuator, the following ones wee developed. (1) A pre-notched optical fiber filament could be embedded in aluminum matrix without fracture by the interphase forming/bonding method with copper insert and could be fractured in it at the notch, which enabled forming of an optical interference type strain sensor. (2) Nickel wire could be uniformly oxidized and embedded in aluminum matrix without fracture, which could successfully work as a temperature sensor and a strain sensor.

Wireless Sensor/Actuator Network Design for Mobile Control Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youxian Sung

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Wireless sensor/actuator networks (WSANs are emerging as a new generationof sensor networks. Serving as the backbone of control applications, WSANs will enablean unprecedented degree of distributed and mobile control. However, the unreliability ofwireless communications and the real-time requirements of control applications raise greatchallenges for WSAN design. With emphasis on the reliability issue, this paper presents anapplication-level design methodology for WSANs in mobile control applications. Thesolution is generic in that it is independent of the underlying platforms, environment,control system models, and controller design. To capture the link quality characteristics interms of packet loss rate, experiments are conducted on a real WSAN system. From theexperimental observations, a simple yet efficient method is proposed to deal withunpredictable packet loss on actuator nodes. Trace-based simulations give promisingresults, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Low-Power Silicon-based Thermal Sensors and Actuators for Chemical Applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vereshchagina, E.

2011-01-01

In the Hot Silicon project low and ultra-low-power Si-based hot surface devices have been developed, i.e. thermal sensors and actuators, for application in catalytic gas micro sensors, micro- and nano- calorimeters. This work include several scientific and technological aspects: • Design and

Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs) as Biomimetic Sensors, Actuators and Artificial Muscles: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Shahinpoor, M.; Bar-Cohen, Y.; Simpson, J. O.; Smith, J.

1998-01-01

This paper presents an introduction to ionic polymer-metal composites and some mathematical modeling pertaining to them. It further discusses a number of recent findings in connection with ion-exchange polymer-metal composites (IPMCS) as biomimetic sensors and actuators. Strips of these composites can undergo large bending and flapping displacement if an electric field is imposed across their thickness. Thus, in this sense they are large motion actuators. Conversely by bending the composite strip, either quasi-statically or dynamically, a voltage is produced across the thickness of the strip. Thus, they are also large motion sensors. The output voltage can be calibrated for a standard size sensor and correlated to the applied loads or stresses. They can be manufactured and cut in any size and shape. In this paper first the sensing capability of these materials is reported. The preliminary results show the existence of a linear relationship between the output voltage and the imposed displacement for almost all cases. Furthermore, the ability of these IPMCs as large motion actuators and robotic manipulators is presented. Several muscle configurations are constructed to demonstrate the capabilities of these IPMC actuators. This paper further identifies key parameters involving the vibrational and resonance characteristics of sensors and actuators made with IPMCS. When the applied signal frequency varies, so does the displacement up to a critical frequency called the resonant frequency where maximum deformation is observed, beyond which the actuator response is diminished. A data acquisition system was used to measure the parameters involved and record the results in real time basis. Also the load characterizations of the IPMCs were measured and it was shown that these actuators exhibit good force to weight characteristics in the presence of low applied voltages. Finally reported are the cryogenic properties of these muscles for potential utilization in an outer space

Quantitative Modeling of Coupled Piezo-Elastodynamic Behavior of Piezoelectric Actuators Bonded to an Elastic Medium for Structural Health Monitoring: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guoliang Huang

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Elastic waves, especially guided waves, generated by a piezoelectric actuator/sensor network, have shown great potential for on-line health monitoring of advanced aerospace, nuclear, and automotive structures in recent decades. Piezoelectric materials can function as both actuators and sensors in these applications due to wide bandwidth, quick response and low costs. One of the most fundamental issues surrounding the effective use of piezoelectric actuators is the quantitative evaluation of the resulting elastic wave propagation by considering the coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior between the actuator and the host medium. Accurate characterization of the local interfacial stress distribution between the actuator and the host medium is the key issue for the problem. This paper presents a review of the development of analytical, numerical and hybrid approaches for modeling of the coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior. The resulting elastic wave propagation for structural health monitoring is also summarized.

Quantitative Modeling of Coupled Piezo-Elastodynamic Behavior of Piezoelectric Actuators Bonded to an Elastic Medium for Structural Health Monitoring: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Guoliang; Song, Fei; Wang, Xiaodong

2010-01-01

Elastic waves, especially guided waves, generated by a piezoelectric actuator/sensor network, have shown great potential for on-line health monitoring of advanced aerospace, nuclear, and automotive structures in recent decades. Piezoelectric materials can function as both actuators and sensors in these applications due to wide bandwidth, quick response and low costs. One of the most fundamental issues surrounding the effective use of piezoelectric actuators is the quantitative evaluation of the resulting elastic wave propagation by considering the coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior between the actuator and the host medium. Accurate characterization of the local interfacial stress distribution between the actuator and the host medium is the key issue for the problem. This paper presents a review of the development of analytical, numerical and hybrid approaches for modeling of the coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior. The resulting elastic wave propagation for structural health monitoring is also summarized. PMID:22319319

Autonomous Vehicle Coordination with Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marin Perianu, Mihai; Bosch, S.; Marin Perianu, Raluca; Scholten, Johan; Havinga, Paul J.M.

2010-01-01

A coordinated team of mobile wireless sensor and actuator nodes can bring numerous benefits for various applications in the field of cooperative surveillance, mapping unknown areas, disaster management, automated highway and space exploration. This article explores the idea of mobile nodes using

Monolithic micro-electro-thermal actuator integrated with a lateral displacement sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yan; Choi, Young-Soo; Lee, Dong-Weon

2010-01-01

This paper presents monolithically fabricated horizontal thermal actuators integrated with piezoresistive sensors for in situ displacement sensing. The great advantage of a hybrid system is the use of closed feedback control for improving the transient response of a thermal actuator and positioning accuracy. It consists of two 'hot arms' made of doped silicon for Joule heating-induced thermal expansion when a current flow passes through them. The piezoresistor is embedded in the base of the 'cold arm' flexure for monitoring the tip deflection and for performance characterization. This 'cold arm' is not a part of the electrical circuit, which further improves the heat power efficiency and the measurement accuracy. Optimization is achieved mainly through modification of the geometry as well as the fabrication process. The fabricated micro-electro-thermal actuator with an integrated sensor is intended for use as a scanning cantilever in atomic force microscope or as a sample holder to drive the moving object through arrays configuration.

Power supply for wireless sensor or actuator systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reindl, L. M.

2011-01-01

Portable wireless sensor or actuator systems, like portable phones, remote control, or ID cards play an ever growing role in our industrialized environment. Those systems and many more were enabled due to the steady decreasing power consumption of high integrated ICs. Most such systems are powered by batteries or inductive coupling. In this presentation several concepts for an alternative power supply of wireless sensor or actuator systems are discussed in detail. Batteries, although today mostly used, suffer from a limited storage capacity, which induce a labour and sometimes cost-intensive periodic maintenance, and a problematic ecological impact. The operating range of inductive coupling systems is due to the near ?eld limited to the aperture of the coupling coil. UHF systems operate in the far field and reach higher distances. Their operating range is limited by the distance where the voltage at the feeding point of the antenna becomes too low to drive the rectifier circuit. Larger read out ranges become feasible by omitting the rectifier stage. In this case we need either a passive frequency modulating device to shift the read out signal to a side band, or a resonator with a high quality factor, like a SAW or BAW device, to store the energy until all environmental echoes are feed away. For many applications, both indoor and outdoor, energy harvesting system become feasible which convert ambient power densities like light, RF fields, special or temporal thermal gradients, or mechanical vibrations into electrical supply power of the wireless system. All those systems strongly suffer from a lack of energy. Thus new concepts for low-ering the power consumption of a wireless sensor or actuator system by keeping their features remain extreme important. Herby, a new wake up receiver is presented which operates on a current requirement as low as 3 micro A.

Grippers for the micro assembly containing shape memory actuators and sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mertmann, M.; Hornbogen, E.

1997-01-01

Shape memory alloys (SMA) show a high ratio of work capacity per material volume. This makes the application of SMA especially useful in micron-sized systems. The development of robotic grippers is one important prerequisite for the successful automation of the assembly of micro systems. Therefore the SMA may also play a role, for example, as actuators in micron-sized grippers. This paper presents the development of micron-sized grippers. Due to a special relation between the electrical resistance and the shape change of a NiTi-wire the actuator may also be used simultaneously as a sensor. Besides these functional properties a superelastic SMA may be used for structural purposes, i.e. as solid-state flexure hinges. The sensoric features of binary and ternary NiTi-based alloys are investigated using different Ti 50 Ni 50-x Cu x alloys with 0 50 Ni 50-x Cu x alloys and their influence on the functional properties are compared. The effect of the TMT on the amount and the stability of the shape memory effect has to be taken into account if the optimum alloy and condition for the use in grippers for micro assembly are investigated. The function and the properties of the developped gripping devices are demonstrated by prototypes. (orig.)

Improving control and estimation for distributed parameter systems utilizing mobile actuator-sensor network.

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, Wenying; Cui, Baotong; Li, Wen; Jiang, Zhengxian

2014-07-01

This paper proposes a scheme for non-collocated moving actuating and sensing devices which is unitized for improving performance in distributed parameter systems. By Lyapunov stability theorem, each moving actuator/sensor agent velocity is obtained. To enhance state estimation of a spatially distributes process, two kinds of filters with consensus terms which penalize the disagreement of the estimates are considered. Both filters can result in the well-posedness of the collective dynamics of state errors and can converge to the plant state. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the effectiveness of such a moving actuator-sensor network in enhancing system performance and the consensus filters converge faster to the plant state when consensus terms are included. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Humidity Responsive Photonic Sensor based on a Carboxymethyl Cellulose Mechanical Actuator

OpenAIRE

Hartings, Matthew; Douglass, Kevin O.; Neice, Claire; Ahmed, Zeeshan

2017-01-01

We describe an intuitive and simple method for exploiting humidity-driven volume changes in carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to fabricate a humidity responsive actuator on a glass fiber substrate. We optimize this platform to generate a photonic-based humidity sensor where CMC coated on a fiber optic containing a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) actuates a mechanical strain in response to humidity changes. The humidity-driven mechanical deformation of the FBG results in a large lin...

A Uniform Energy Consumption Algorithm for Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks Based on Dynamic Polling Point Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shuo; Peng, Jun; Liu, Weirong; Zhu, Zhengfa; Lin, Kuo-Chi

2014-01-01

Recent research has indicated that using the mobility of the actuator in wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSANs) to achieve mobile data collection can greatly increase the sensor network lifetime. However, mobile data collection may result in unacceptable collection delays in the network if the path of the actuator is too long. Because real-time network applications require meeting data collection delay constraints, planning the path of the actuator is a very important issue to balance the prolongation of the network lifetime and the reduction of the data collection delay. In this paper, a multi-hop routing mobile data collection algorithm is proposed based on dynamic polling point selection with delay constraints to address this issue. The algorithm can actively update the selection of the actuator's polling points according to the sensor nodes' residual energies and their locations while also considering the collection delay constraint. It also dynamically constructs the multi-hop routing trees rooted by these polling points to balance the sensor node energy consumption and the extension of the network lifetime. The effectiveness of the algorithm is validated by simulation. PMID:24451455

A single sensor and single actuator approach to performance tailoring over a prescribed frequency band.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jiqiang

2016-03-01

Restricted sensing and actuation control represents an important area of research that has been overlooked in most of the design methodologies. In many practical control engineering problems, it is necessitated to implement the design through a single sensor and single actuator for multivariate performance variables. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed for the solution to the single sensor and single actuator control problem where performance over any prescribed frequency band can also be tailored. The results are obtained for the broad band control design based on the formulation for discrete frequency control. It is shown that the single sensor and single actuator control problem over a frequency band can be cast into a Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem. An optimal controller can then be obtained via the convex optimization over LMIs. Even remarkable is that robustness issues can also be tackled in this framework. A numerical example is provided for the broad band attenuation of rotor blade vibration to illustrate the proposed design procedures. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soft pneumatic actuator skin with piezoelectric sensors for vibrotactile feedback

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harshal Arun Sonar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The latest wearable technologies demand more intuitive and sophisticated interfaces for communication, sensing, and feedback closer to the body. Evidently, such interfaces require flexibility and conformity without losing their functionality even on rigid surfaces. Although there has been various research efforts in creating tactile feedback to improve various haptic interfaces and master-slave manipulators, we are yet to see a comprehensive device that can both supply vibratory actuation and tactile sensing. This paper describes a soft pneumatic actuator (SPA based, SPA-skin prototype that allows bidirectional tactile information transfer to facilitate simpler and responsive wearable interface. We describe the design and fabrication of a 1.4 mm-thick vibratory SPA - skin that is integrated with piezoelectric sensors. We examine in detail the mechanical performance compared to the SPA model and the sensitivity of the sensors for the application in vibrotactile feedback. Experimental findings show that this ultra-thin SPA and the unique integration process of the discrete lead zirconate titanate (PZT based piezoelectric sensors achieve high resolution of soft contact sensing as well as accurate control on vibrotactile feedback by closing the control loop.

Sensor and Actuator Fault-Hiding Reconfigurable Control Design for a Four-Tank System Benchmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hameed, Ibrahim; El-Madbouly, Esam I; Abdo, Mohamed I

2015-01-01

Invariant (LTI) system where virtual sensors and virtual actuators are used to correct faulty performance through the use of a pre-fault performance. Simulation results showed that the developed approach can handle different types of faults and able to completely and instantly recover the original system......Fault detection and compensation plays a key role to fulfill high demands for performance and security in today's technological systems. In this paper, a fault-hiding (i.e., tolerant) control scheme that detects and compensates for actuator and sensor faults in a four-tank system benchmark...

Interactive green street enhancement using light dependent sensors and actuators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouters, Ivo; Chen, W.; Oorschot, van B.; Smeenk, W.

2008-01-01

We propose and demonstrate a design of an interactive green street facility using light dependent sensors and actuators for enhancing the social cohesion of people. We show that electronics and green design can have positive effect on social interaction in a neighbourhood by a design example, called

Experimental/analytical determination of optimal piezoelectric actuator locations on complex structures based on the actuator power factor

OpenAIRE

Bhargava, Adesh

1995-01-01

The actuator power factor is defined as the ratio of the total dissipative mechanical power of a PZT actuator to the total supplied electrical power to the PZT actuator. If measured experimentally, it can be used to optinlize the actuator location and configuration for complex structures. The concept of actuator power factor is based on the ability of an integrated induced strain actuator such as a PZT actuator to transfer supplied electrical energy into structural mechanical energy. For a gi...

Indirect adaptive fuzzy fault-tolerant tracking control for MIMO nonlinear systems with actuator and sensor failures.

Science.gov (United States)

Bounemeur, Abdelhamid; Chemachema, Mohamed; Essounbouli, Najib

2018-05-10

In this paper, an active fuzzy fault tolerant tracking control (AFFTTC) scheme is developed for a class of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) unknown nonlinear systems in the presence of unknown actuator faults, sensor failures and external disturbance. The developed control scheme deals with four kinds of faults for both sensors and actuators. The bias, drift, and loss of accuracy additive faults are considered along with the loss of effectiveness multiplicative fault. A fuzzy adaptive controller based on back-stepping design is developed to deal with actuator failures and unknown system dynamics. However, an additional robust control term is added to deal with sensor faults, approximation errors, and external disturbances. Lyapunov theory is used to prove the stability of the closed loop system. Numerical simulations on a quadrotor are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Active Fault-Tolerant Control for Wind Turbine with Simultaneous Actuator and Sensor Faults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to show a novel fault-tolerant tracking control (FTC strategy with robust fault estimation and compensating for simultaneous actuator sensor faults. Based on the framework of fault-tolerant control, developing an FTC design method for wind turbines is a challenge and, thus, they can tolerate simultaneous pitch actuator and pitch sensor faults having bounded first time derivatives. The paper’s key contribution is proposing a descriptor sliding mode method, in which for establishing a novel augmented descriptor system, with which we can estimate the state of system and reconstruct fault by designing descriptor sliding mode observer, the paper introduces an auxiliary descriptor state vector composed by a system state vector, actuator fault vector, and sensor fault vector. By the optimized method of LMI, the conditions for stability that estimated error dynamics are set up to promote the determination of the parameters designed. With this estimation, and designing a fault-tolerant controller, the system’s stability can be maintained. The effectiveness of the design strategy is verified by implementing the controller in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s 5-MW nonlinear, high-fidelity wind turbine model (FAST and simulating it in MATLAB/Simulink.

MEMS fluidic actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Kholwadwala, Deepesh K [Albuquerque, NM; Johnston, Gabriel A [Trophy Club, TX; Rohrer, Brandon R [Albuquerque, NM; Galambos, Paul C [Albuquerque, NM; Okandan, Murat [Albuquerque, NM

2007-07-24

The present invention comprises a novel, lightweight, massively parallel device comprising microelectromechanical (MEMS) fluidic actuators, to reconfigure the profile, of a surface. Each microfluidic actuator comprises an independent bladder that can act as both a sensor and an actuator. A MEMS sensor, and a MEMS valve within each microfluidic actuator, operate cooperatively to monitor the fluid within each bladder, and regulate the flow of the fluid entering and exiting each bladder. When adjacently spaced in a array, microfluidic actuators can create arbitrary surface profiles in response to a change in the operating environment of the surface. In an embodiment of the invention, the profile of an airfoil is controlled by independent extension and contraction of a plurality of actuators, that operate to displace a compliant cover.

Actuating movement in refined wearables

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Toeters, M.J.; Feijs, L.M.G.

2014-01-01

Nowadays it is quite possible to deploy textiles as sensors and avoid traditional hard sensors. Actuation (movement) turns out more difficult. It is advantageous to combine sensing and actuation, similar to ecological perception theory. Although several actuators are known: SMA, voice coil, motors,

Improved control of distributed parameter systems using wireless sensor and actuator networks: An observer-based method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Zheng-Xian; Cui Bao-Tong; Lou Xu-Yang; Zhuang Bo

2017-01-01

In this paper, the control problem of distributed parameter systems is investigated by using wireless sensor and actuator networks with the observer-based method. Firstly, a centralized observer which makes use of the measurement information provided by the fixed sensors is designed to estimate the distributed parameter systems. The mobile agents, each of which is affixed with a controller and an actuator, can provide the observer-based control for the target systems. By using Lyapunov stability arguments, the stability for the estimation error system and distributed parameter control system is proved, meanwhile a guidance scheme for each mobile actuator is provided to improve the control performance. A numerical example is finally used to demonstrate the effectiveness and the advantages of the proposed approaches. (paper)

Note: Hybrid active/passive force feedback actuator using hydrostatic transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Yea-Seok; Lee, Juwon; Kim, Kyung-Soo; Kim, Soohyun

2017-12-01

A hybrid actuator for haptic devices is proposed in this paper. The actuator is composed of a DC motor and a magneto-rheological (MR) brake to realize transparency and stable force control. Two piston cylinders are connected with a flexible tube to lighten the weight of the structures on the endpoint that interacts with an operator. Also, the MR brake is designed to be suitable for hydraulic transmission. For the proposed hybrid actuator, a cooperative force control method using a pressure sensor instead of a force sensor is proposed. To verify the proposed control algorithm, a virtual wall collision experiment was conducted using a developed prototype of the hybrid actuator.

Note: Hybrid active/passive force feedback actuator using hydrostatic transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Yea-Seok; Lee, Juwon; Kim, Kyung-Soo; Kim, Soohyun

2017-12-01

A hybrid actuator for haptic devices is proposed in this paper. The actuator is composed of a DC motor and a magneto-rheological (MR) brake to realize transparency and stable force control. Two piston cylinders are connected with a flexible tube to lighten the weight of the structures on the endpoint that interacts with an operator. Also, the MR brake is designed to be suitable for hydraulic transmission. For the proposed hybrid actuator, a cooperative force control method using a pressure sensor instead of a force sensor is proposed. To verify the proposed control algorithm, a virtual wall collision experiment was conducted using a developed prototype of the hybrid actuator.

Structural integrated sensor and actuator systems for active flow control

Science.gov (United States)

Behr, Christian; Schwerter, Martin; Leester-Schädel, Monika; Wierach, Peter; Dietzel, Andreas; Sinapius, Michael

2016-04-01

An adaptive flow separation control system is designed and implemented as an essential part of a novel high-lift device for future aircraft. The system consists of MEMS pressure sensors to determine the flow conditions and adaptive lips to regulate the mass flow and the velocity of a wall near stream over the internally blown Coanda flap. By the oscillating lip the mass flow in the blowing slot changes dynamically, consequently the momentum exchange of the boundary layer over a high lift flap required mass flow can be reduced. These new compact and highly integrated systems provide a real-time monitoring and manipulation of the flow conditions. In this context the integration of pressure sensors into flow sensing airfoils of composite material is investigated. Mechanical and electrical properties of the integrated sensors are investigated under mechanical loads during tensile tests. The sensors contain a reference pressure chamber isolated to the ambient by a deformable membrane with integrated piezoresistors connected as a Wheatstone bridge, which outputs voltage signals depending on the ambient pressure. The composite material in which the sensors are embedded consists of 22 individual layers of unidirectional glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) prepreg. The results of the experiments are used for adapting the design of the sensors and the layout of the laminate to ensure an optimized flux of force in highly loaded structures primarily for future aeronautical applications. It can be shown that the pressure sensor withstands the embedding process into fiber composites with full functional capability and predictable behavior under stress.

An application of neural network for Structural Health Monitoring of an adaptive wing with an array of FBG sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mieloszyk, Magdalena; Skarbek, Lukasz; Ostachowicz, Wieslaw; Krawczuk, Marek

2011-01-01

This paper presents an application of neural networks to determinate the level of activation of shape memory alloy actuators of an adaptive wing. In this concept the shape of the wing can be controlled and altered thanks to the wing design and the use of integrated shape memory alloy actuators. The wing is assumed as assembled from a number of wing sections that relative positions can be controlled independently by thermal activation of shape memory actuators. The investigated wing is employed with an array of Fibre Bragg Grating sensors. The Fibre Bragg Grating sensors with combination of a neural network have been used to Structural Health Monitoring of the wing condition. The FBG sensors are a great tool to control the condition of composite structures due to their immunity to electromagnetic fields as well as their small size and weight. They can be mounted onto the surface or embedded into the wing composite material without any significant influence on the wing strength. The paper concentrates on analysis of the determination of the twisting moment produced by an activated shape memory alloy actuator. This has been analysed both numerically using the finite element method by a commercial code ABAQUS (registered) and experimentally using Fibre Bragg Grating sensor measurements. The results of the analysis have been then used by a neural network to determine twisting moments produced by each shape memory alloy actuator.

Topological design of compliant smart structures with embedded movable actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yiqiang; Zhang, Xiaopeng; Kang, Zhan; Luo, Zhen

2014-01-01

In the optimal configuration design of piezoelectric smart structures, it is favorable to use actuation elements with certain predefined geometries from the viewpoint of manufacturability of fragile piezoelectric ceramics in practical applications. However, preserving the exact shape of these embedded actuators and tracking their dynamic motions presents a more challenging research task than merely allowing them to take arbitrary shapes. This paper proposes an integrated topology optimization method for the systematic design of compliant smart structures with embedded movable PZT (lead zirconate titanate) actuators. Compared with most existing studies, which either optimize positions/sizes of the actuators in a given host structure or design the host structure with pre-determined actuator locations, the proposed method simultaneously optimizes the positions of the movable PZT actuators and the topology of the host structure, typically a compliant mechanism for amplifying the small strain stroke. A combined topological description model is employed in the optimization, where the level set model is used to track the movements of the PZT actuators and the independent point-wise density interpolation (iPDI) approach is utilized to search for the optimal topology of the host structure. Furthermore, we define an integral-type constraint function to prevent overlaps between the PZT actuators and between the actuators and the external boundaries of the design domain. Such a constraint provides a unified and explicit mathematical statement of the non-overlap condition for any number of arbitrarily shaped embedded actuators. Several numerical examples are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization method. (paper)

Sustainable Multi-Modal Sensing by a Single Sensor Utilizing the Passivity of an Elastic Actuator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takashi Takuma

2014-05-01

Full Text Available When a robot equipped with compliant joints driven by elastic actuators contacts an object and its joints are deformed, multi-modal information, including the magnitude and direction of the applied force and the deformation of the joint, is used to enhance the performance of the robot such as dexterous manipulation. In conventional approaches, some types of sensors used to obtain the multi-modal information are attached to the point of contact where the force is applied and at the joint. However, this approach is not sustainable for daily use in robots, i.e., not durable or robust, because the sensors can undergo damage due to the application of excessive force and wear due to repeated contacts. Further, multiple types of sensors are required to measure such physical values, which add to the complexity of the device system of the robot. In our approach, a single type of sensor is used and it is located at a point distant from the contact point and the joint, and the information is obtained indirectly by the measurement of certain physical parameters that are influenced by the applied force and the joint deformation. In this study, we employ the McKibben pneumatic actuator whose inner pressure changes passively when a force is applied to the actuator. We derive the relationships between information and the pressures of a two-degrees-of-freedom (2-DoF joint mechanism driven by four pneumatic actuators. Experimental results show that the multi-modal information can be obtained by using the set of pressures measured before and after the force is applied. Further, we apply our principle to obtain the stiffness values of certain contacting objects that can subsequently be categorized by using the aforementioned relationships.

Cylindrical Piezoelectric Fiber Composite Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, Sidney G.; Shams, Qamar A.; Fox, Robert L.

2008-01-01

The use of piezoelectric devices has become widespread since Pierre and Jacques Curie discovered the piezoelectric effect in 1880. Examples of current applications of piezoelectric devices include ultrasonic transducers, micro-positioning devices, buzzers, strain sensors, and clocks. The invention of such lightweight, relatively inexpensive piezoceramic-fiber-composite actuators as macro fiber composite (MFC) actuators has made it possible to obtain strains and displacements greater than those that could be generated by prior actuators based on monolithic piezoceramic sheet materials. MFC actuators are flat, flexible actuators designed for bonding to structures to apply or detect strains. Bonding multiple layers of MFC actuators together could increase force capability, but not strain or displacement capability. Cylindrical piezoelectric fiber composite (CPFC) actuators have been invented as alternatives to MFC actuators for applications in which greater forces and/or strains or displacements may be required. In essence, a CPFC actuator is an MFC or other piezoceramic fiber composite actuator fabricated in a cylindrical instead of its conventional flat shape. Cylindrical is used here in the general sense, encompassing shapes that can have circular, elliptical, rectangular or other cross-sectional shapes in the planes perpendicular to their longitudinal axes.

Interfacial durability and electrical properties of CNT or ITO/PVDF nanocomposites for self-sensor and micro actuator applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Joung-Man; Gu, Ga-Young; Wang, Zuo-Jia; Kwon, Dong-Jun; DeVries, K. Lawrence

2013-01-01

Interfacial durability and electrical properties of CNT (carbon nanotube) or ITO (indium tin oxide) coated PVDF (poly(vinylidene fluoride)) nanocomposites were investigated for self-sensor and micro-actuator applications. The electrical resistivity of nanocomposites and the durability of interfacial adhesion were measured using a four points method during cyclic fatigue loading. Although the CNT/PVDF nanocomposites exhibited lower electrical resistivity due to the inherently low resistivity of CNT, both composite types showed good self-sensing performance. The durability of the adhesion at the interface was also good for both CNT and ITO/PVDF nanocomposites. Static contact angle, surface energy, work of adhesion, and spreading coefficient between either CNT or ITO and PVDF were determined as checks to verify the durability of the interfacial adhesion. The actuation performance of CNT or ITO coated PVDF specimens was determined through measurements of the induced displacement using a laser displacement sensor, while both the frequency and voltage were changed. The displacement of these actuated nanocomposites increased with increasing voltage and decreased with increasing frequency. CNT/PVDF nanocomposites exhibited better performance as self-sensors and micro-actuators than did ITO/PVDF nanocomposites.

A finite element model of rigid body structures actuated by dielectric elastomer actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Simone, F.; Linnebach, P.; Rizzello, G.; Seelecke, S.

2018-06-01

This paper presents on finite element (FE) modeling and simulation of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) coupled with articulated structures. DEAs have proven to represent an effective transduction technology for the realization of large deformation, low-power consuming, and fast mechatronic actuators. However, the complex dynamic behavior of the material, characterized by nonlinearities and rate-dependent phenomena, makes it difficult to accurately model and design DEA systems. The problem is further complicated in case the DEA is used to activate articulated structures, which increase both system complexity and implementation effort of numerical simulation models. In this paper, we present a model based tool which allows to effectively implement and simulate complex articulated systems actuated by DEAs. A first prototype of a compact switch actuated by DEA membranes is chosen as reference study to introduce the methodology. The commercially available FE software COMSOL is used for implementing and coupling a physics-based dynamic model of the DEA with the external structure, i.e., the switch. The model is then experimentally calibrated and validated in both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Finally, preliminary results on how to use the simulation tool to optimize the design are presented.

Cyclic degradation of antagonistic shape memory actuated structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sofla, A Y N; Elzey, D M; Wadley, H N G

2008-01-01

Antagonistic shape memory actuated structures exploit opposing pairs of one-way shape memory alloy (SMA) linear actuators to create devices capable of a fully reversible response. Unlike many conventional reversible SMA devices they do not require bias force components (springs) to return them to their pre-actuated configuration. However, the repeated use of SMA antagonistic devices results in the accumulation of plastic strain in the actuators which can diminish their actuation stroke. We have investigated this phenomenon and the effect of shape memory alloy pre-strain upon it for near equi-atomic NiTi actuators. We find that the degradation eventually stabilizes during cycling. A thermomechanical treatment has been found to significantly reduce degradation in cyclic response of the actuators

Active aeroelastic flutter analysis and vibration control of supersonic beams using the piezoelectric actuator/sensor pairs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Zhi-Guang; Li, Feng-Ming

2011-01-01

The active vibration control of all kinds of structures by using the piezoelectric material has been extensively investigated. In this paper, the active aeroelastic flutter characteristics and vibration control of supersonic beams applying the piezoelectric material are studied further. The piezoelectric materials are bonded on the top and bottom surfaces of the beams to act as the actuator and sensor so that the active aeroelastic flutter suppression for the supersonic beams can be conducted. The supersonic piston theory is adopted to evaluate the aerodynamic pressure. Hamilton's principle with the assumed mode method is used to develop the dynamical model of the structural systems. By using the standard eigenvalue methodology, the solutions for the complex eigenvalue problem are obtained. A negative velocity feedback control strategy is used to obtain active damping. The aeroelastic flutter bounds are calculated and the active aeroelastic flutter characteristics are analyzed. The impulse responses of the structural system are obtained by using the Houbolt numerical algorithm to study the active aeroelastic vibration control. The influences of the non-dimensional aerodynamic pressure on the active flutter control are analyzed. From the numerical results it is observed that the aeroelastic flutter characteristics of the supersonic beams can be significantly improved and that the aeroelastic vibration amplitudes can be remarkably reduced, especially at the flutter points, by using the piezoelectric actuator/sensor pairs which can provide an active damping. Within a certain value of the feedback control gain, with the increase of it, the flutter aerodynamic pressure (or flutter velocity) can be increased and the control results are also improved

Parallel kinematic mechanisms for distributed actuation of future structures

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, G.; Plummer, A. R.; Cleaver, D. J.; Zhou, H.

2016-09-01

Future machines will require distributed actuation integrated with load-bearing structures, so that they are lighter, move faster, use less energy, and are more adaptable. Good examples are shape-changing aircraft wings which can adapt precisely to the ideal aerodynamic form for current flying conditions, and light but powerful robotic manipulators which can interact safely with human co-workers. A 'tensegrity structure' is a good candidate for this application due to its potentially excellent stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio and a multi-element structure into which actuators could be embedded. This paper presents results of an analysis of an example practical actuated tensegrity structure consisting of 3 ‘unit cells’. A numerical method is used to determine the stability of the structure with varying actuator length, showing how four actuators can be used to control movement in three degrees of freedom as well as simultaneously maintaining the structural pre-load. An experimental prototype has been built, in which 4 pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are embedded in one unit cell. The PAMs are controlled antagonistically, by high speed switching of on-off valves, to achieve control of position and structure pre-load. Experimental and simulation results are presented, and future prospects for the approach are discussed.

Iterative process control and sensor evaluation for deep drawing tools with integrated piezoelectric actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bäume Tobias

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Due to the design-driven increase in complexity of forming car body parts, it becomes more difficult to ensure a stable forming process. Piezoelectric actuators can influence the material flow of stamping parts effectively. In this article the implementation of piezoelectric actuators in a large scale sheet metal forming tool of a car manufacturer is described. Additionally, it is shown that part quality can be assessed with the help of triangulation laser sensors, which are mounted on the blankholder. The resulting flange draw-in signals were processed and used to adopt the applying actuator force iteratively to reduce the occurrence of cracks. It was shown that process control helped to improve the quality of the stamping parts significantly.

Piezo-sensor self-diagnostics using electrical impedance measurements.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, G. H. (Gyu Hae); Farrar, C. R. (Charles R.); Rutherford, A. C. (Amanda C.); Robertson, A. N. (Amy N.)

2004-01-01

This paper present the piezoelectric sensor self-diagnostic procedure that performs in-situ monitoring of the operational status of piezoelectric materials (PZT) used for sensors and actuators in structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. The use of active-sensing piezoelectric materials has received considerable attention in the SHM community. A critical aspect of the piezoelectric active-sensing technologies is that usually large numbers of distributed sensors and actuators are needed to perform the required monitoring process. The sensor/actuator self-diagnostic procedure, where the sensors/actuators are confirmed to be functioning properly during operation, is therefore a critical component to successfully complete the SHM process and to minimize the false indication regarding the structural health. The basis of this procedure is to track the changes in the capacitive value of piezoelectric materials resulting from the sensor failure, which is manifested in the imaginary part of the measured electrical admittances. Furthermore, through the analytical and experimental investigation, it is confirmed that the bonding layer between the PZT and a host structure significantly contributes to the measured capacitive values. Therefore, by monitoring the imaginary part of the admittances, one can quantitatively assess the degradation of the mechanical/electrical properties of the PZT and its attachment to a host structure. This paper concludes with an experimental example to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed sensor-diagnostic procedure.

Wireless sensor networks for active vibration control in automobile structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mieyeville, Fabien; Navarro, David; Du, Wan; Ichchou, Mohamed; Scorletti, Gérard

2012-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are nowadays widely used in monitoring and tracking applications. This paper presents the feasibility of using WSNs in active vibration control strategies. The method employed here involves active-structural acoustic control using piezoelectric sensors distributed on a car structure. This system aims at being merged with a WSN whose head node collects data and processes control laws so as to command piezoelectric actuators wisely placed on the structure. We will study the feasibility of implementing WSNs in active vibration control and introduce a complete design methodology to optimize hardware/software and control law synergy in mechatronic systems. A design space exploration will be conducted so as to identify the best WSN platform and the resulting impact on control. (paper)

Modeling, fabrication and plasma actuator coupling of flexible pressure sensors for flow separation detection and control in aeronautical applications

Science.gov (United States)

Francioso, L.; De Pascali, C.; Pescini, E.; De Giorgi, M. G.; Siciliano, P.

2016-06-01

Preventing the flow separation could enhance the performance of propulsion systems and future civil aircraft. To this end, a fast detection of boundary layer separation is mandatory for a sustainable and successful application of active flow control devices, such as plasma actuators. The present work reports on the design, fabrication and functional tests of low-cost capacitive pressure sensors coupled with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators to detect and then control flow separation. Finite element method (FEM) simulations were used to obtain information on the deflection and the stress distribution in different-shaped floating membranes. The sensor sensitivity as a function of the pressure load was also calculated by experimental tests. The results of the calibration of different capacitive pressure sensors are reported in this work, together with functional tests in a wind tunnel equipped with a curved wall plate on which a DBD plasma actuator was mounted to control the flow separation. The flow behavior was experimentally investigated by particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Statistical and spectral analysis, applied to the output signals of the pressure sensor placed downstream of the profile leading edge, demonstrated that the sensor is able to discriminate different ionic wind velocity and turbulence conditions. The sensor sensitivity in the 0-100 Pa range was experimentally measured and it ranged between 0.0030 and 0.0046 pF Pa-1 for the best devices.

The Influence of PZT Actuators Positioning in Active Structural Acoustic Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Švec

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the effect of secondary actuator positioning in an active structural acoustics control (ASAC experiment. The ASAC approach is based on minimizing the sound radiation from structures to the far field by controlling the structural vibrations. In this article a rectangular steel plate structure was assumed with one secondary actuator attached to it. As a secondary actuator, a specially designed piezoelectric stripe actuator was used. We studied the effect of the position of the actuator on the pattern and on the radiated sound field of the structural vibration, with and without active control. The total radiated power was also measured. The experimental data was confronted with the results obtained by a numerical solution of the mathematical model used. For the solution, the finite element method in the ANSYS software package was used. 

Coherent structures induced by dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xin; Li, Huaxing; Choi, Kwing So; Song, Longfei

2017-11-01

The structures of a flow field induced by a plasma actuator were investigated experimentally in quiescent air using high-speed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technology. The motivation behind was to figure out the flow control mechanism of the plasma technique. A symmetrical Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuator was mounted on the suction side of the SC (2)-0714 supercritical airfoil. The results demonstrated that the plasma jet had some coherent structures in the separated shear layer and these structures were linked to a dominant frequency of f0 = 39 Hz when the peak-to-peak voltage of plasma actuator was 9.8 kV. The high speed PIV measurement of the induced airflow suggested that the plasma actuator could excite the flow instabilities which lead to production of the roll-up vortex. Analysis of transient results indicated that the roll-up vortices had the process of formation, movement, merging and breakdown. This could promote the entrainment effect of plasma actuator between the outside airflow and boundary layer flow, which is very important for flow control applications.

Energy Efficient Wireless Vehicular-Guided Actuator Network

KAUST Repository

Boudellioua, Imene

2013-06-09

In this paper, we present an energy-efficient vehicular guided system for environmental disaster management using wireless sensor/actuator networks. Sensor nodes within clusters are controlled by a master node that is dynamically selected. Actuators support mobility for every sensor node in the area of interest. The system maintains energy efficiency using statistical, correlation, and confidence for determining actuator actions and implements an adaptive energy scheme to prolong the system lifespan. Experimental results show that the system is capable of saving up to 2.7Watt for every 28KByte of data exchanged. We also show that actuator actions are correct with a 90% confidence.

Active joint mechanism driven by multiple actuators made of flexible bags: a proposal of dual structural actuator.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Hitoshi; Matsuzaki, Takuya; Kataoka, Mokutaro; Inou, Norio

2013-01-01

An actuator is required to change its speed and force depending on the situation. Using multiple actuators for one driving axis is one of the possible solutions; however, there is an associated problem of output power matching. This study proposes a new active joint mechanism using multiple actuators. Because the actuator is made of a flexible bag, it does not interfere with other actuators when it is depressurized. The proposed joint achieved coordinated motion of multiple actuators. This report also discusses a new actuator which has dual cylindrical structure. The cylinders are composed of flexible bags with different diameters. The joint torque is estimated based on the following factors: empirical formula for the flexible actuator torque, geometric relationship between the joint and the actuator, and the principle of virtual work. The prototype joint mechanism achieves coordinated motion of multiple actuators for one axis. With this motion, small inner actuator contributes high speed motion, whereas large outer actuator generates high torque. The performance of the prototype joint is examined by speed and torque measurements. The joint showed about 30% efficiency at 2.0 Nm load torque under 0.15 MPa air input.

Modeling, fabrication and plasma actuator coupling of flexible pressure sensors for flow separation detection and control in aeronautical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francioso, L; De Pascali, C; Siciliano, P; Pescini, E; De Giorgi, M G

2016-01-01

Preventing the flow separation could enhance the performance of propulsion systems and future civil aircraft. To this end, a fast detection of boundary layer separation is mandatory for a sustainable and successful application of active flow control devices, such as plasma actuators. The present work reports on the design, fabrication and functional tests of low-cost capacitive pressure sensors coupled with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators to detect and then control flow separation. Finite element method (FEM) simulations were used to obtain information on the deflection and the stress distribution in different-shaped floating membranes. The sensor sensitivity as a function of the pressure load was also calculated by experimental tests. The results of the calibration of different capacitive pressure sensors are reported in this work, together with functional tests in a wind tunnel equipped with a curved wall plate on which a DBD plasma actuator was mounted to control the flow separation. The flow behavior was experimentally investigated by particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Statistical and spectral analysis, applied to the output signals of the pressure sensor placed downstream of the profile leading edge, demonstrated that the sensor is able to discriminate different ionic wind velocity and turbulence conditions. The sensor sensitivity in the 0–100 Pa range was experimentally measured and it ranged between 0.0030 and 0.0046 pF Pa −1 for the best devices. (paper)

Evaluation of linear DC motor actuators for control of large space structures

OpenAIRE

Ide, Eric Nelson

1988-01-01

This thesis examines the use of a linear DC motor as a proof mass actuator for the control of large space structures. A model for the actuator, including the current and force compensation used, is derived. Because of the force compensation, the actuator is unstable when placed on a structure. Relative position feedback is used for actuator stabilization. This method of compensation couples the actuator to the mast in a feedback configuration. Three compensator designs are prop...

Towards holonomic electro-elastomer actuators with six degrees of freedom

Science.gov (United States)

Conn, A. T.; Rossiter, J.

2012-03-01

Functionally efficient six degree of freedom (DOF) actuators have not yet been developed in a scale-invariant and inherently compliant unified form. This has primarily been due to the use of conventional serial or parallel kinematical configurations and electromagnetic motors, pneumatics and hydraulics. Contrary to traditional technologies, utilizing electro-active elastomers enables multi-DOF actuation and holonomic operation with minimal structural complexity. Conical dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are compact multi-DOF actuator-sensors that are scalable and can be entirely polymeric, making them suitable for a variety of applications including minimally invasive medical devices. In this paper, cone DEAs are developed towards integrated 6-DOF actuation with muscle-like performance from a single structure. This is achieved by demonstrating the feasibility of holonomic 6-DOF actuation and through experimental characterization of a 5-DOF prototype. The 5-DOF prototype (50 mm length, 60 mm diameter) produced rotational actuation outputs of ±21.7° and ±9.42 mN m and linear actuation outputs of ±4.45 mm (±9.1%) and ±0.55 N. Finally, combined multi-DOF actuation is demonstrated as part of development towards scalable holonomic electro-active elastomer actuators.

Temperature sensitive self-actuated scram mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giuggio, N.; Noyes, R.C.; Zaman, S.U.

1980-01-01

A self-actuated mechanism within a safety assembly in a liquid metal nuclear reactor comprising sensor fuel pins located in a reactor coolant flow path, a sensor bulb containing NaK located near the upper end of the sensor fuel pins and in the reactor coolant flow path, and a sensor tube connecting the sensor bulb to a metal bellows and push rod. The motion of the push rod resulting from the temperature dependent change in the NaK volume actuates a safety rod release mechanism when a predetermined coolant temperature is reached

Towards holonomic electro-elastomer actuators with six degrees of freedom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conn, A T; Rossiter, J

2012-01-01

Functionally efficient six degree of freedom (DOF) actuators have not yet been developed in a scale-invariant and inherently compliant unified form. This has primarily been due to the use of conventional serial or parallel kinematical configurations and electromagnetic motors, pneumatics and hydraulics. Contrary to traditional technologies, utilizing electro-active elastomers enables multi-DOF actuation and holonomic operation with minimal structural complexity. Conical dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are compact multi-DOF actuator–sensors that are scalable and can be entirely polymeric, making them suitable for a variety of applications including minimally invasive medical devices. In this paper, cone DEAs are developed towards integrated 6-DOF actuation with muscle-like performance from a single structure. This is achieved by demonstrating the feasibility of holonomic 6-DOF actuation and through experimental characterization of a 5-DOF prototype. The 5-DOF prototype (50 mm length, 60 mm diameter) produced rotational actuation outputs of ±21.7° and ±9.42 mN m and linear actuation outputs of ±4.45 mm (±9.1%) and ±0.55 N. Finally, combined multi-DOF actuation is demonstrated as part of development towards scalable holonomic electro-active elastomer actuators. (paper)

Method for Reading Sensors and Controlling Actuators Using Audio Interfaces of Mobile Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Aroca, Rafael V.; Burlamaqui, Aquiles F.; Gonçalves, Luiz M. G.

2012-01-01

This article presents a novel closed loop control architecture based on audio channels of several types of computing devices, such as mobile phones and tablet computers, but not restricted to them. The communication is based on an audio interface that relies on the exchange of audio tones, allowing sensors to be read and actuators to be controlled. As an application example, the presented technique is used to build a low cost mobile robot, but the system can also be used in a variety of mechatronics applications and sensor networks, where smartphones are the basic building blocks. PMID:22438726

Method for reading sensors and controlling actuators using audio interfaces of mobile devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Aroca, Rafael V; Burlamaqui, Aquiles F; Gonçalves, Luiz M G

2012-01-01

This article presents a novel closed loop control architecture based on audio channels of several types of computing devices, such as mobile phones and tablet computers, but not restricted to them. The communication is based on an audio interface that relies on the exchange of audio tones, allowing sensors to be read and actuators to be controlled. As an application example, the presented technique is used to build a low cost mobile robot, but the system can also be used in a variety of mechatronics applications and sensor networks, where smartphones are the basic building blocks.

Micromachined sensor and actuator research at Sandia`s Microelectronics Development Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, J.H.

1996-11-01

An overview of the surface micromachining program at the Microelectronics Development Laboratory of Sandia National Laboratories is presented. Development efforts are underway for a variety of surface micromachined sensors and actuators for both defense and commercial applications. A technology that embeds micromechanical devices below the surface of the wafer prior to microelectronics fabrication has been developed for integrating microelectronics with surface-micromachined micromechanical devices. The application of chemical-mechanical polishing to increase the manufacturability of micromechanical devices is also presented.

Toward Self-Control Systems for Neurogenic Underactive Bladder: A Triboelectric Nanogenerator Sensor Integrated with a Bistable Micro-Actuator.

Science.gov (United States)

Arab Hassani, Faezeh; Mogan, Roshini P; Gammad, Gil G L; Wang, Hao; Yen, Shih-Cheng; Thakor, Nitish V; Lee, Chengkuo

2018-04-24

Aging, neurologic diseases, and diabetes are a few risk factors that may lead to underactive bladder (UAB) syndrome. Despite all of the serious consequences of UAB, current solutions, the most common being ureteric catheterization, are all accompanied by serious shortcomings. The necessity of multiple catheterizations per day for a physically able patient not only reduces the quality of life with constant discomfort and pain but also can end up causing serious complications. Here, we present a bistable actuator to empty the bladder by incorporating shape memory alloy components integrated on flexible polyvinyl chloride sheets. The introduction of two compression and restoration phases for the actuator allows for repeated actuation for a more complete voiding of the bladder. The proposed actuator exhibits one of the highest reported voiding percentages of up to 78% of the bladder volume in an anesthetized rat after only 20 s of actuation. This amount of voiding is comparable to the common catheterization method, and its one time implantation onto the bladder rectifies the drawbacks of multiple catheterizations per day. Furthermore, the scaling of the device for animal models larger than rats can be easily achieved by adjusting the number of nitinol springs. For neurogenic UAB patients with degraded nerve function as well as degenerated detrusor muscle, we integrate a flexible triboelectric nanogenerator sensor with the actuator to detect the fullness of the bladder. The sensitivity of this sensor to the filling status of the bladder shows its capability for defining a self-control system in the future that would allow autonomous micturition.

Fault Detection for Diesel Engine Actuator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blanke, M.; Bøgh, S.A.; Jørgensen, R.B.

1994-01-01

Feedback control systems are vulnerable to faults in control loop sensors and actuators, because feedback actions may cause abrupt responses and process damage when faults occur.......Feedback control systems are vulnerable to faults in control loop sensors and actuators, because feedback actions may cause abrupt responses and process damage when faults occur....

Identifiability of Additive, Time-Varying Actuator and Sensor Faults by State Augmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Upchurch, Jason M.; Gonzalez, Oscar R.; Joshi, Suresh M.

2014-01-01

Recent work has provided a set of necessary and sucient conditions for identifiability of additive step faults (e.g., lock-in-place actuator faults, constant bias in the sensors) using state augmentation. This paper extends these results to an important class of faults which may affect linear, time-invariant systems. In particular, the faults under consideration are those which vary with time and affect the system dynamics additively. Such faults may manifest themselves in aircraft as, for example, control surface oscillations, control surface runaway, and sensor drift. The set of necessary and sucient conditions presented in this paper are general, and apply when a class of time-varying faults affects arbitrary combinations of actuators and sensors. The results in the main theorems are illustrated by two case studies, which provide some insight into how the conditions may be used to check the theoretical identifiability of fault configurations of interest for a given system. It is shown that while state augmentation can be used to identify certain fault configurations, other fault configurations are theoretically impossible to identify using state augmentation, giving practitioners valuable insight into such situations. That is, the limitations of state augmentation for a given system and configuration of faults are made explicit. Another limitation of model-based methods is that there can be large numbers of fault configurations, thus making identification of all possible configurations impractical. However, the theoretical identifiability of known, credible fault configurations can be tested using the theorems presented in this paper, which can then assist the efforts of fault identification practitioners.

A multi-electrode and pre-deformed bilayer spring structure electrostatic attractive MEMS actuator with large stroke at low actuation voltage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Fangrong; Li, Zhi; Xiong, Xianming; Niu, Junhao; Peng, Zhiyong; Qian, Yixian; Yao, Jun

2012-01-01

This paper presents a multi-electrode and pre-deformed bilayer spring structure electrostatic attractive microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuator; it has large stroke at relatively low actuation voltage. Generally, electrostatic-attractive-force-based actuators have small stroke due to the instability resulted from the electrostatic ‘pull-in’ phenomenon. However, in many applications, the electrostatic micro-actuator with large stroke at low voltage is more preferred. By introducing a multi-electrode and a pre-deformed bilayer spring structure, an electrostatic attractive MEMS actuator with large stroke at very low actuation voltage has been successfully demonstrated in this paper. The actuator contains a central plate with a size of 300 µm × 300 µm × 1.5 µm and it is supported by four L-shaped bilayer springs which are pre-deformed due to residual stresses. Each bilayer spring is simultaneously attracted by three adjacent fixed electrodes, and the factors affecting the electrostatic attractive force are analyzed by a finite element analysis method. The prototype of the actuator is fabricated by poly-multi-user-MEMS-process (PolyMUMP) and the static performance is tested using a white light interferometer. The measured stroke of the actuator reaches 2 µm at 13 V dc, and it shows a good agreement with the simulation. (paper)

AWARE: Platform for Autonomous self-deploying and operation of Wireless sensor-actuator networks cooperating with unmanned AeRial vehiclEs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ollero, Anibal; Bernard, Markus; La Civita, Marco; van Hoesel, L.F.W.; Marron, Pedro J.; Lepley, Jason; de Andres, Eduardo

This paper presents the AWARE platform that seeks to enable the cooperation of autonomous aerial vehicles with ground wireless sensor-actuator networks comprising both static and mobile nodes carried by vehicles or people. Particularly, the paper presents the middleware, the wireless sensor network,

Bio-inspired wooden actuators for large scale applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Rüggeberg, Markus; Burgert, Ingo

2015-01-01

Implementing programmable actuation into materials and structures is a major topic in the field of smart materials. In particular the bilayer principle has been employed to develop actuators that respond to various kinds of stimuli. A multitude of small scale applications down to micrometer size have been developed, but up-scaling remains challenging due to either limitations in mechanical stiffness of the material or in the manufacturing processes. Here, we demonstrate the actuation of wooden bilayers in response to changes in relative humidity, making use of the high material stiffness and a good machinability to reach large scale actuation and application. Amplitude and response time of the actuation were measured and can be predicted and controlled by adapting the geometry and the constitution of the bilayers. Field tests in full weathering conditions revealed long-term stability of the actuation. The potential of the concept is shown by a first demonstrator. With the sensor and actuator intrinsically incorporated in the wooden bilayers, the daily change in relative humidity is exploited for an autonomous and solar powered movement of a tracker for solar modules.

Smart film actuators using biomass plastic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoneyama, Satoshi; Tanaka, Nobuo

2011-01-01

This paper presents a novel smart film actuator based on the use of a biomass plastic as a piezoelectric film. Conventional polymeric smart sensors and actuators have been based upon synthetic piezoelectric polymer films such as PVDF. Almost all synthetic polymers are made from nearly depleted oil resources. In addition combustion of their materials releases carbon dioxide, thereby contributing to global warming. Thus at least two important sustainability principles are violated when employing synthetic polymers: avoiding depletable resources and avoiding ecosystem destruction. To overcome such problems, industrial plastic products made from synthetic polymers were developed to replace oil-based plastics with biomass plastics. This paper applies a biomass plastic with piezoelectricity such as poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA). As a result, PLLA film becomes a distributed parameter actuator per se, hence an environmentally conscious smart film actuator is developed. Firstly, this paper overviews the fundamental properties of piezoelectric synthetic polymers and biopolymers. The concept of carbon neutrality using biopolymers is mentioned. Then a two-dimensional modal actuator for exciting a specific structural mode is proposed. Furthermore, a biomass plastic-based cantilever beam with the capability of modal actuation is developed, the validity of the proposed smart film actuator based upon a biomass plastic being analytically as well as experimentally verified

Micro-mechanics of ionic electroactive polymer actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Punning, Andres; Põldsalu, Inga; Kaasik, Friedrich; Vunder, Veiko; Aabloo, Alvo

2015-04-01

Commonly, modeling of the bending behavior of the ionic electroactive polymer (IEAP) actuators is based on the classical mechanics of cantilever beam. It is acknowledged, that the actuation of the ionic electroactive polymer (IEAP) actuators is symmetric about the centroid - the convex side of the actuator is expanding and the concave side is contracting for exactly the same amount, while the thickness of the actuator remains invariant. Actuating the IEAP actuators and sensors under scanning electron microscope (SEM), in situ, reveals that for some types of them this approach is incorrect. Comparison of the SEM micrographs using the Digital Image Correction (DIC) method results with the precise strain distribution of the IEAP actuators in two directions: in the axial direction, and in the direction of thickness. This information, in turn, points to the physical processes taking place within the electrodes as well as membrane of the trilayer laminate of sub-millimeter thickness. Comparison of the EAP materials, engaged as an actuator as well as a sensor, reveals considerable differences between the micro-mechanics of the two modes.

Flytrap-inspired robot using structurally integrated actuation based on bistability and a developable surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seung-Won; Koh, Je-Sung; Lee, Jong-Gu; Ryu, Junghyun; Cho, Maenghyo; Cho, Kyu-Jin

2014-09-01

The Venus flytrap uses bistability, the structural characteristic of its leaf, to actuate the leaf's rapid closing motion for catching its prey. This paper presents a flytrap-inspired robot and novel actuation mechanism that exploits the structural characteristics of this structure and a developable surface. We focus on the concept of exploiting structural characteristics for actuation. Using shape memory alloy (SMA), the robot actuates artificial leaves made from asymmetrically laminated carbon fiber reinforced prepregs. We exploit two distinct structural characteristics of the leaves. First, the bistability acts as an implicit actuator enabling rapid morphing motion. Second, the developable surface has a kinematic constraint that constrains the curvature of the artificial leaf. Due to this constraint, the curved artificial leaf can be unbent by bending the straight edge orthogonal to the curve. The bending propagates from one edge to the entire surface and eventually generates an overall shape change. The curvature change of the artificial leaf is 18 m(-1) within 100 ms when closing. Experiments show that these actuation mechanisms facilitate the generation of a rapid and large morphing motion of the flytrap robot by one-way actuation of the SMA actuators at a local position.

Composite multi-modal vibration control for a stiffened plate using non-collocated acceleration sensor and piezoelectric actuator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Shengquan; Li, Juan; Mo, Yueping; Zhao, Rong

2014-01-01

A novel active method for multi-mode vibration control of an all-clamped stiffened plate (ACSP) is proposed in this paper, using the extended-state-observer (ESO) approach based on non-collocated acceleration sensors and piezoelectric actuators. Considering the estimated capacity of ESO for system state variables, output superposition and control coupling of other modes, external excitation, and model uncertainties simultaneously, a composite control method, i.e., the ESO based vibration control scheme, is employed to ensure the lumped disturbances and uncertainty rejection of the closed-loop system. The phenomenon of phase hysteresis and time delay, caused by non-collocated sensor/actuator pairs, degrades the performance of the control system, even inducing instability. To solve this problem, a simple proportional differential (PD) controller and acceleration feed-forward with an output predictor design produce the control law for each vibration mode. The modal frequencies, phase hysteresis loops and phase lag values due to non-collocated placement of the acceleration sensor and piezoelectric patch actuator are experimentally obtained, and the phase lag is compensated by using the Smith Predictor technology. In order to improve the vibration control performance, the chaos optimization method based on logistic mapping is employed to auto-tune the parameters of the feedback channel. The experimental control system for the ACSP is tested using the dSPACE real-time simulation platform. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed composite active control algorithm is an effective approach for suppressing multi-modal vibrations. (paper)

An Intelligent Sensor Array Distributed System for Vibration Analysis and Acoustic Noise Characterization of a Linear Switched Reluctance Actuator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Calado

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a distributed system for analysis and monitoring (DSAM of vibrations and acoustic noise, which consists of an array of intelligent modules, sensor modules, communication bus and a host PC acting as data center. The main advantages of the DSAM are its modularity, scalability, and flexibility for use of different type of sensors/transducers, with analog or digital outputs, and for signals of different nature. Its final cost is also significantly lower than other available commercial solutions. The system is reconfigurable, can operate either with synchronous or asynchronous modes, with programmable sampling frequencies, 8-bit or 12-bit resolution and a memory buffer of 15 kbyte. It allows real-time data-acquisition for signals of different nature, in applications that require a large number of sensors, thus it is suited for monitoring of vibrations in Linear Switched Reluctance Actuators (LSRAs. The acquired data allows the full characterization of the LSRA in terms of its response to vibrations of structural origins, and the vibrations and acoustic noise emitted under normal operation. The DSAM can also be used for electrical machine condition monitoring, machine fault diagnosis, structural characterization and monitoring, among other applications.

An intelligent sensor array distributed system for vibration analysis and acoustic noise characterization of a linear switched reluctance actuator.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvado, José; Espírito-Santo, António; Calado, Maria

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a distributed system for analysis and monitoring (DSAM) of vibrations and acoustic noise, which consists of an array of intelligent modules, sensor modules, communication bus and a host PC acting as data center. The main advantages of the DSAM are its modularity, scalability, and flexibility for use of different type of sensors/transducers, with analog or digital outputs, and for signals of different nature. Its final cost is also significantly lower than other available commercial solutions. The system is reconfigurable, can operate either with synchronous or asynchronous modes, with programmable sampling frequencies, 8-bit or 12-bit resolution and a memory buffer of 15 kbyte. It allows real-time data-acquisition for signals of different nature, in applications that require a large number of sensors, thus it is suited for monitoring of vibrations in Linear Switched Reluctance Actuators (LSRAs). The acquired data allows the full characterization of the LSRA in terms of its response to vibrations of structural origins, and the vibrations and acoustic noise emitted under normal operation. The DSAM can also be used for electrical machine condition monitoring, machine fault diagnosis, structural characterization and monitoring, among other applications.

Integration of fluidic jet actuators in composite structures

Science.gov (United States)

Schueller, Martin; Lipowski, Mathias; Schirmer, Eckart; Walther, Marco; Otto, Thomas; Geßner, Thomas; Kroll, Lothar

2015-04-01

Fluidic Actuated Flow Control (FAFC) has been introduced as a technology that influences the boundary layer by actively blowing air through slots or holes in the aircraft skin or wind turbine rotor blade. Modern wing structures are or will be manufactured using composite materials. In these state of the art systems, AFC actuators are integrated in a hybrid approach. The new idea is to directly integrate the active fluidic elements (such as SJAs and PJAs) and their components in the structure of the airfoil. Consequently, the integration of such fluidic devices must fit the manufacturing process and the material properties of the composite structure. The challenge is to integrate temperature-sensitive active elements and to realize fluidic cavities at the same time. The transducer elements will be provided for the manufacturing steps using roll-to-roll processes. The fluidic parts of the actuators will be manufactured using the MuCell® process that provides on the one hand the defined reproduction of the fluidic structures and, on the other hand, a high light weight index. Based on the first design concept, a demonstrator was developed in order to proof the design approach. The output velocity on the exit was measured using a hot-wire anemometer.

Flytrap-inspired robot using structurally integrated actuation based on bistability and a developable surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seung-Won; Koh, Je-Sung; Cho, Kyu-Jin; Lee, Jong-Gu; Ryu, Junghyun; Cho, Maenghyo

2014-01-01

The Venus flytrap uses bistability, the structural characteristic of its leaf, to actuate the leaf's rapid closing motion for catching its prey. This paper presents a flytrap-inspired robot and novel actuation mechanism that exploits the structural characteristics of this structure and a developable surface. We focus on the concept of exploiting structural characteristics for actuation. Using shape memory alloy (SMA), the robot actuates artificial leaves made from asymmetrically laminated carbon fiber reinforced prepregs. We exploit two distinct structural characteristics of the leaves. First, the bistability acts as an implicit actuator enabling rapid morphing motion. Second, the developable surface has a kinematic constraint that constrains the curvature of the artificial leaf. Due to this constraint, the curved artificial leaf can be unbent by bending the straight edge orthogonal to the curve. The bending propagates from one edge to the entire surface and eventually generates an overall shape change. The curvature change of the artificial leaf is 18 m −1  within 100 ms when closing. Experiments show that these actuation mechanisms facilitate the generation of a rapid and large morphing motion of the flytrap robot by one-way actuation of the SMA actuators at a local position. (paper)

Self-organizing sensing and actuation for automatic control

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, George Shu-Xing

2017-07-04

A Self-Organizing Process Control Architecture is introduced with a Sensing Layer, Control Layer, Actuation Layer, Process Layer, as well as Self-Organizing Sensors (SOS) and Self-Organizing Actuators (SOA). A Self-Organizing Sensor for a process variable with one or multiple input variables is disclosed. An artificial neural network (ANN) based dynamic modeling mechanism as part of the Self-Organizing Sensor is described. As a case example, a Self-Organizing Soft-Sensor for CFB Boiler Bed Height is presented. Also provided is a method to develop a Self-Organizing Sensor.

Investigating the performance and properties of dielectric elastomer actuators as a potential means to actuate origami structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, S; Ounaies, Z; Frecker, M

2014-01-01

Origami engineering aims to combine origami principles with advanced materials to yield active origami shapes, which fold and unfold in response to external stimuli. This paper explores the potential and limitations of dielectric elastomers (DEs) as the enabling material in active origami engineering. DEs are compliant materials in which the coupled electro-mechanical actuation takes advantage of their low modulus and high breakdown strength. Until recently, prestraining of relatively thick DE materials was necessary in order to achieve the high electric fields needed to trigger electrostatic actuation without inducing a dielectric breakdown. Although prestrain improves the breakdown strength of the DE films and reduces the voltage required for actuation, the need for a solid frame to retain the prestrain state is a limitation for the practical implementation of DEs, especially for active origami structures. However, the recent availability of thinner DE materials (50 μm, 130 μm, 260 μm) has made DEs a likely medium for active origami. In this work, the folding and unfolding of DE multilayered structures, along with the realization of origami-inspired 3D shapes, are explored. In addition, an exhaustive study on the fundamentals of DE actuation is done by directly investigating the thickness actuation mechanism and comparing their performance using different electrode types. Finally, changes in dielectric permittivity as a function of strain, electrode type and applied electric field are assessed and analyzed. These fundamental studies are key to obtaining more dramatic folding and to realizing active origami structures using DE materials. (paper)

Bio-inspired wooden actuators for large scale applications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Rüggeberg

Full Text Available Implementing programmable actuation into materials and structures is a major topic in the field of smart materials. In particular the bilayer principle has been employed to develop actuators that respond to various kinds of stimuli. A multitude of small scale applications down to micrometer size have been developed, but up-scaling remains challenging due to either limitations in mechanical stiffness of the material or in the manufacturing processes. Here, we demonstrate the actuation of wooden bilayers in response to changes in relative humidity, making use of the high material stiffness and a good machinability to reach large scale actuation and application. Amplitude and response time of the actuation were measured and can be predicted and controlled by adapting the geometry and the constitution of the bilayers. Field tests in full weathering conditions revealed long-term stability of the actuation. The potential of the concept is shown by a first demonstrator. With the sensor and actuator intrinsically incorporated in the wooden bilayers, the daily change in relative humidity is exploited for an autonomous and solar powered movement of a tracker for solar modules.

Piezoelectric line moment actuator for active radiation control from light-weight structures

Science.gov (United States)

Jandak, Vojtech; Svec, Petr; Jiricek, Ondrej; Brothanek, Marek

2017-11-01

This article outlines the design of a piezoelectric line moment actuator used for active structural acoustic control. Actuators produce a dynamic bending moment that appears in the controlled structure resulting from the inertial forces when the attached piezoelectric stripe actuators start to oscillate. The article provides a detailed theoretical analysis necessary for the practical realization of these actuators, including considerations concerning their placement, a crucial factor in the overall system performance. Approximate formulas describing the dependency of the moment amplitude on the frequency and the required electric voltage are derived. Recommendations applicable for the system's design based on both theoretical and empirical results are provided.

Towards Sensor-Actuator Coupling in an Automated Order Picking System by Detecting Sealed Seams on Pouch Packed Goods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Weichert

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a novel concept of coupling the actuators of an automated order picking system for pouch packed goods with an embedded CCD camera sensor by means of image processing and machine learning is presented. The picking system mechanically combines the conveyance and singularization of a still-connected chain of pouch packed goods in a single machinery. The proposed algorithms perform a per-frame processing of the captured images in real-time to detect the sealed seams of the ongoing pouches. The detections are used to deduce cutting decisions in order to control the system’s actuators, namely the drive pulley for conveyance and the cutting device for the separation. Within this context, two controlling strategies are presented as well which specify the interaction of the sensor and the actuators. The detection is carried out by two different marker detection strategies: enhanced Template Matching as a heuristic and Support Vector Machines as a supervised classification based concept. Depending on the employed marker, detection rates of almost 100% with a calculation time of less than 40 ms are possible. From a logistic point of view, sealed seam widths of 20 mm prove feasible.

Experimental verification of distributed piezoelectric actuators for use in precision space structures

Science.gov (United States)

Crawley, E. F.; De Luis, J.

1986-01-01

An analytic model for structures with distributed piezoelectric actuators is experimentally verified for the cases of both surface-bonded and embedded actuators. A technique for the selection of such piezoelectric actuators' location has been developed, and is noted to indicate that segmented actuators are always more effective than continuous ones, since the output of each can be individually controlled. Manufacturing techniques for the bonding or embedding of segmented piezoelectric actuators are also developed which allow independent electrical contact to be made with each actuator. Static tests have been conducted to determine how the elastic properties of the composite are affected by the presence of an embedded actuator, for the case of glass/epoxy laminates.

Mobile point sensors and actuators in the controllability theory of partial differential equations

CERN Document Server

Khapalov, Alexander Y

2017-01-01

This book presents a concise study of controllability theory of partial differential equations when they are equipped with actuators and/or sensors that are finite dimensional at every moment of time. Based on the author’s extensive research in the area of controllability theory, this monograph specifically focuses on the issues of controllability, observability, and stabilizability for parabolic and hyperbolic partial differential equations. The topics in this book also cover related applied questions such as the problem of localization of unknown pollution sources based on information obtained from point sensors that arise in environmental monitoring. Researchers and graduate students interested in controllability theory of partial differential equations and its applications will find this book to be an invaluable resource to their studies.

Design of integrated systems for control and detection of actuator/sensor faults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stoustrup, J.; Grimble, M.J.; Niemann, Hans Henrik

1997-01-01

Consider control systems operating under potentially faulty conditions. Discusses the problems of designing a single unit which not only handle the required control but also identified faults occuring in actuators and sensors. In common practice, unites for control and for diagnosis are designed......-integrated design of control and diagnosis unit. Shows how a combined module for control and diagnosis can be designed which is able to follow references and reject disturbances robustly, control the system so that the undertected faults do not have disastrous effect, reduce the number of false alarams and indetify...

Towards a model-based development approach for wireless sensor-actuator network protocols

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kumar S., A. Ajith; Simonsen, Kent Inge

2014-01-01

Model-Driven Software Engineering (MDSE) is a promising approach for the development of applications, and has been well adopted in the embedded applications domain in recent years. Wireless Sensor Actuator Networks consisting of resource constrained hardware and platformspecific operating system...... induced due to manual translations. With the use of formal semantics in the modeling approach, we can further ensure the correctness of the source model by means of verification. Also, with the use of network simulators and formal modeling tools, we obtain a verified and validated model to be used...

Plastic Muscles TM as lightweight, low voltage actuators and sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Matthew; Leo, Donald; Duncan, Andrew

2008-03-01

Using proprietary technology, Discover Technologies has developed ionomeric polymer transducers that are capable of long-term operation in air. These "Plastic Muscle TM" transducers are useful as soft distributed actuators and sensors and have a wide range of applications in the aerospace, robotics, automotive, electronics, and biomedical industries. Discover Technologies is developing novel fabrication methods that allow the Plastic Muscles TM to be manufactured on a commercial scale. The Plastic Muscle TM transducers are capable of generating more than 0.5% bending strain at a peak strain rate of over 0.1 %/s with a 3 V input. Because the Plastic Muscles TM use an ionic liquid as a replacement solvent for water, they are able to operate in air for long periods of time. Also, the Plastic Muscles TM do not exhibit the characteristic "back relaxation" phenomenon that is common in water-swollen devices. The elastic modulus of the Plastic Muscle TM transducers is estimated to be 200 MPa and the maximum generated stress is estimated to be 1 MPa. Based on these values, the maximum blocked force at the tip of a 6 mm wide, 35 mm long actuator is estimated to be 19 mN. Modeling of the step response with an exponential series reveals nonlinearity in the transducers' behavior.

Tunable smart digital structure (SDS) to modularly assemble soft actuators with layered adhesive bonding

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Hu; Dong, Erbao; Xu, Min; Xia, Qirong; Liu, Shuai; Li, Weihua; Yang, Jie

2018-01-01

Many shape memory alloy (SMA)-based soft actuators have specific composite structures and manufacture processes, and are therefore unique. However, these exclusive characteristics limit their capabilities and applications, so in this article a soft and smart digital structure (SDS) is proposed that acts like a modular unit to assemble soft actuators by a layered adhesive bonding process. The SDS is a fully soft structure that encapsulates a digital skeleton consisting of four groups of parallel and independently actuated SMA wires capable of outputting a four-channel tunable force. The layered adhesive bonding process modularly bonds several SDSs with an elastic backbone to fabricate a layered soft actuator where the elastic backbone is used to recover the SDSs in a cooling process using the SMA wires. Two kinds of SDS-based soft actuators were modularly assembled, an actuator, SDS-I, with a two-dimensional reciprocal motion, and an actuator, SDS-II, capable of bi-directional reciprocal motion. The thermodynamics and phase transformation modeling of the SDS-based actuator were analyzed. Several extensional soft actuators were also assembled by bonding the SDS with an anomalous elastic backbone or modularly assembling the SDS-Is and SDS-IIs. These modularly assembled soft actuators delivered more output channels and a complicated motion, e.g., an actinomorphic soft actuator with four SDS-Is jumps in a series of hierarchical heights and directional movement by tuning the input channels of the SDSs. This result showed that the SDS can modularly assemble multifarious soft actuators with diverse capabilities, steerability and tunable outputs.

Thermo-Electro-Mechanical Analysis of a Curved Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Actuator with Sandwich Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liying Jiang

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In this work, the problem of a curved functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP actuator with sandwich structure under electrical and thermal loads is investigated. The middle layer in the sandwich structure is functionally graded with the piezoelectric coefficient g31 varying continuously along the radial direction of the curved actuator. Based on the theory of linear piezoelectricity, analytical solutions are obtained by using Airy stress function to examine the effects of material gradient and heat conduction on the performance of the curved actuator. It is found that the material gradient and thermal load have significant influence on the electroelastic fields and the mechanical response of the curved FGP actuator. Without the sacrifice of actuation deflection, smaller internal stresses are generated by using the sandwich actuator with functionally graded piezoelectric layer instead of the conventional bimorph actuator. This work is very helpful for the design and application of curved piezoelectric actuators under thermal environment.

Thermo-Electro-Mechanical Analysis of a Curved Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Actuator with Sandwich Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Zhi; Zaman, Mostafa; Jiang, Liying

2011-12-12

In this work, the problem of a curved functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) actuator with sandwich structure under electrical and thermal loads is investigated. The middle layer in the sandwich structure is functionally graded with the piezoelectric coefficient g 31 varying continuously along the radial direction of the curved actuator. Based on the theory of linear piezoelectricity, analytical solutions are obtained by using Airy stress function to examine the effects of material gradient and heat conduction on the performance of the curved actuator. It is found that the material gradient and thermal load have significant influence on the electroelastic fields and the mechanical response of the curved FGP actuator. Without the sacrifice of actuation deflection, smaller internal stresses are generated by using the sandwich actuator with functionally graded piezoelectric layer instead of the conventional bimorph actuator. This work is very helpful for the design and application of curved piezoelectric actuators under thermal environment.

The effect of time synchronization of wireless sensors on the modal analysis of structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnamurthy, V; Sazonov, E; Fowler, K

2008-01-01

Driven by the need to reduce the installation cost and maintenance cost of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are becoming increasingly popular. Perfect time synchronization amongst the wireless sensors is a key factor enabling the use of low-cost, low-power WSNs for structural health monitoring applications based on output-only modal analysis of structures. In this paper we present a theoretical framework for analysis of the impact created by time delays in the measured system response on the reconstruction of mode shapes using the popular frequency domain decomposition (FDD) technique. This methodology directly estimates the change in mode shape values based on sensor synchronicity. We confirm the proposed theoretical model by experimental validation in modal identification experiments performed on an aluminum beam. The experimental validation was performed using a wireless intelligent sensor and actuator network (WISAN) which allows for close time synchronization between sensors (0.6–10 µs in the tested configuration) and guarantees lossless data delivery under normal conditions. The experimental results closely match theoretical predictions and show that even very small delays in output response impact the mode shapes

An orientation measurement method based on Hall-effect sensors for permanent magnet spherical actuators with 3D magnet array.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Liang; Zhu, Bo; Jiao, Zongxia; Chen, Chin-Yin; Chen, I-Ming

2014-10-24

An orientation measurement method based on Hall-effect sensors is proposed for permanent magnet (PM) spherical actuators with three-dimensional (3D) magnet array. As there is no contact between the measurement system and the rotor, this method could effectively avoid friction torque and additional inertial moment existing in conventional approaches. Curved surface fitting method based on exponential approximation is proposed to formulate the magnetic field distribution in 3D space. The comparison with conventional modeling method shows that it helps to improve the model accuracy. The Hall-effect sensors are distributed around the rotor with PM poles to detect the flux density at different points, and thus the rotor orientation can be computed from the measured results and analytical models. Experiments have been conducted on the developed research prototype of the spherical actuator to validate the accuracy of the analytical equations relating the rotor orientation and the value of magnetic flux density. The experimental results show that the proposed method can measure the rotor orientation precisely, and the measurement accuracy could be improved by the novel 3D magnet array. The study result could be used for real-time motion control of PM spherical actuators.

Plant-inspired adaptive structures and materials for morphing and actuation: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Suyi; Wang, K W

2016-12-20

Plants exhibit a variety of reversible motions, from the slow opening of pine cones to the impulsive closing of Venus flytrap leaves. These motions are achieved without muscles and they have inspired a wide spectrum of engineered materials and structures. This review summarizes the recent developments of plant-inspired adaptive structures and materials for morphing and actuation. We begin with a brief overview of the actuation strategies and physiological features associated to these plant movements, showing that different combinations of these strategies and features can lead to motions with different deformation characteristics and response speeds. Then we offer a comprehensive survey of the plant-inspired morphing and actuation systems, including pressurized cellular structures, osmotic actuation, anisotropic hygroscopic materials, and bistable systems for rapid movements. Although these engineered systems are vastly different in terms of their size scales and intended applications, their working principles are all related to the actuation strategies and physiological features in plants. This review is to promote future cross-disciplinary studies between plant biology and engineering, which can foster new solutions for many applications such as morphing airframes, soft robotics and kinetic architectures.

Theoretical and experimental study on active sound transmission control based on single structural mode actuation using point force actuators.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanada, Akira; Tanaka, Nobuo

2012-08-01

This study deals with the feedforward active control of sound transmission through a simply supported rectangular panel using vibration actuators. The control effect largely depends on the excitation method, including the number and locations of actuators. In order to obtain a large control effect at low frequencies over a wide frequency, an active transmission control method based on single structural mode actuation is proposed. Then, with the goal of examining the feasibility of the proposed method, the (1, 3) mode is selected as the target mode and a modal actuation method in combination with six point force actuators is considered. Assuming that a single input single output feedforward control is used, sound transmission in the case minimizing the transmitted sound power is calculated for some actuation methods. Simulation results showed that the (1, 3) modal actuation is globally effective at reducing the sound transmission by more than 10 dB in the low-frequency range for both normal and oblique incidences. Finally, experimental results also showed that a large reduction could be achieved in the low-frequency range, which proves the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

Predicting the Deflections of Micromachined Electrostatic Actuators Using Artificial Neural Network (ANN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hing Wah LEE

2009-03-01

Full Text Available In this study, a general purpose Artificial Neural Network (ANN model based on the feed-forward back-propagation (FFBP algorithm has been used to predict the deflections of a micromachined structures actuated electrostatically under different loadings and geometrical parameters. A limited range of simulation results obtained via CoventorWare™ numerical software will be used initially to train the neural network via back-propagation algorithm. The micromachined structures considered in the analyses are diaphragm, fixed-fixed beams and cantilevers. ANN simulation results are compared with results obtained via CoventorWare™ simulations and existing analytical work for validation purpose. The proposed ANN model accurately predicts the deflections of the micromachined structures with great reduction of simulation efforts, establishing the method superiority. This method can be extended for applications in other sensors particularly for modeling sensors applying electrostatic actuation which are difficult in nature due to the inherent non-linearity of the electro-mechanical coupling response.

Active vibration control of smart hull structure using piezoelectric composite actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohn, Jung Woo; Choi, Seung-Bok; Lee, Chul-Hee

2009-01-01

In this paper, active vibration control performance of the smart hull structure with macro-fiber composite (MFC) is evaluated. MFC is an advanced piezoelectric composite which has great flexibility and increased actuating performance compared to a monolithic piezoelectric ceramic patch. The governing equations of motion of the hull structure with MFC actuators are derived based on the classical Donnell–Mushtari shell theory. The actuating model for the interaction between hull structure and MFC is included in the governing equations. Subsequently, modal characteristics are investigated and compared with the results obtained from experiment. The governing equations of the vibration control system are then established and expressed in the state space form. A linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control algorithm is designed in order to effectively and actively control the imposed vibration. The controller is experimentally realized and vibration control performances are evaluated

Carbohydrate-actuated nanofluidic diode: switchable current rectification in a nanopipette.

Science.gov (United States)

Vilozny, Boaz; Wollenberg, Alexander L; Actis, Paolo; Hwang, Daniel; Singaram, Bakthan; Pourmand, Nader

2013-10-07

Nanofluidic structures share many properties with ligand-gated ion channels. However, actuating ion conductance in artificial systems is a challenge. We have designed a system that uses a carbohydrate-responsive polymer to modulate ion conductance in a quartz nanopipette. The cationic polymer, a poly(vinylpyridine) quaternized with benzylboronic acid groups, undergoes a transition from swollen to collapsed upon binding to monosaccharides. As a result, the current rectification in nanopipettes can be reversibly switched depending on the concentration of monosaccharides. Such molecular actuation of nanofluidic conductance may be used in novel sensors and drug delivery systems.

Bio-inspired passive actuator simulating an abalone shell mechanism for structural control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Henry T Y; Lin, Chun-Hung; Bridges, Daniel; Randall, Connor J; Hansma, Paul K

2010-01-01

An energy dispersion mechanism called 'sacrificial bonds and hidden length', which is found in some biological systems, such as abalone shells and bones, is the inspiration for new strategies for structural control. Sacrificial bonds and hidden length can substantially increase the stiffness and enhance energy dissipation in the constituent molecules of abalone shells and bone. Having been inspired by the usefulness and effectiveness of such a mechanism, which has evolved over millions of years and countless cycles of evolutions, the authors employ the conceptual underpinnings of this mechanism to develop a bio-inspired passive actuator. This paper presents a fundamental method for optimally designing such bio-inspired passive actuators for structural control. To optimize the bio-inspired passive actuator, a simple method utilizing the force–displacement–velocity (FDV) plots based on LQR control is proposed. A linear regression approach is adopted in this research to find the initial values of the desired parameters for the bio-inspired passive actuator. The illustrative examples, conducted by numerical simulation with experimental validation, suggest that the bio-inspired passive actuator based on sacrificial bonds and hidden length may be comparable in performance to state-of-the-art semi-active actuators

Bio-inspired passive actuator simulating an abalone shell mechanism for structural control

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Henry T. Y.; Lin, Chun-Hung; Bridges, Daniel; Randall, Connor J.; Hansma, Paul K.

2010-10-01

An energy dispersion mechanism called 'sacrificial bonds and hidden length', which is found in some biological systems, such as abalone shells and bones, is the inspiration for new strategies for structural control. Sacrificial bonds and hidden length can substantially increase the stiffness and enhance energy dissipation in the constituent molecules of abalone shells and bone. Having been inspired by the usefulness and effectiveness of such a mechanism, which has evolved over millions of years and countless cycles of evolutions, the authors employ the conceptual underpinnings of this mechanism to develop a bio-inspired passive actuator. This paper presents a fundamental method for optimally designing such bio-inspired passive actuators for structural control. To optimize the bio-inspired passive actuator, a simple method utilizing the force-displacement-velocity (FDV) plots based on LQR control is proposed. A linear regression approach is adopted in this research to find the initial values of the desired parameters for the bio-inspired passive actuator. The illustrative examples, conducted by numerical simulation with experimental validation, suggest that the bio-inspired passive actuator based on sacrificial bonds and hidden length may be comparable in performance to state-of-the-art semi-active actuators.

a New ER Fluid Based Haptic Actuator System for Virtual Reality

Science.gov (United States)

Böse, H.; Baumann, M.; Monkman, G. J.; Egersdörfer, S.; Tunayar, A.; Freimuth, H.; Ermert, H.; Khaled, W.

The concept and some steps in the development of a new actuator system which enables the haptic perception of mechanically inhomogeneous virtual objects are introduced. The system consists of a two-dimensional planar array of actuator elements containing an electrorheological (ER) fluid. When a user presses his fingers onto the surface of the actuator array, he perceives locally variable resistance forces generated by vertical pistons which slide in the ER fluid through the gaps between electrode pairs. The voltage in each actuator element can be individually controlled by a novel sophisticated switching technology based on optoelectric gallium arsenide elements. The haptic information which is represented at the actuator array can be transferred from a corresponding sensor system based on ultrasonic elastography. The combined sensor-actuator system may serve as a technology platform for various applications in virtual reality, like telemedicine where the information on the consistency of tissue of a real patient is detected by the sensor part and recorded by the actuator part at a remote location.

Active Structural Acoustic Control in an Original A400M Aircraft Structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koehne, C; Sachau, D; Renger, K

2016-01-01

Low frequency noise has always been a challenge in propeller driven aircraft. At low frequencies passive noise treatments are not as efficient as active noise reduction systems. The Helmut-Schmidt-University has built up a full-scale test rig with an original A400M aircraft structure. This provides a good opportunity to develop and test active noise reduction systems in a realistic environment. The currently installed system consists of mechanical actuators and acoustical sensors. The actuators are called TVAs (Tuneable Vibration Absorber) and contain two spring-mass systems whose natural frequencies are adjusted to the BPFs (Blade Passage Frequency) of the propellers. The TVAs are mounted to the frames and the force direction is normal to the skin. The sensors are condenser microphones which are attached to the primary structure of the airframe. The TVAs are equipped with signal processing devices. These components carry out Fourier transforms and signal amplification for the sensor data and actuator signals. The communication between the TVAs and the central control unit is implemented by the CAN Bus protocol and mainly consists of complex coefficients for the sensor and actuator data. This paper describes the basic structure of the system, the hardware set-up and function tests of the controller. (paper)

Active Structural Acoustic Control in an Original A400M Aircraft Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Koehne, C.; Sachau, D.; Renger, K.

2016-09-01

Low frequency noise has always been a challenge in propeller driven aircraft. At low frequencies passive noise treatments are not as efficient as active noise reduction systems. The Helmut-Schmidt-University has built up a full-scale test rig with an original A400M aircraft structure. This provides a good opportunity to develop and test active noise reduction systems in a realistic environment. The currently installed system consists of mechanical actuators and acoustical sensors. The actuators are called TVAs (Tuneable Vibration Absorber) and contain two spring-mass systems whose natural frequencies are adjusted to the BPFs (Blade Passage Frequency) of the propellers. The TVAs are mounted to the frames and the force direction is normal to the skin. The sensors are condenser microphones which are attached to the primary structure of the airframe. The TVAs are equipped with signal processing devices. These components carry out Fourier transforms and signal amplification for the sensor data and actuator signals. The communication between the TVAs and the central control unit is implemented by the CAN Bus protocol and mainly consists of complex coefficients for the sensor and actuator data. This paper describes the basic structure of the system, the hardware set-up and function tests of the controller.

Accuracy assessment of an industrial actuator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalla Costa, Giuseppe; Genta, Gianfranco; Barbato, Giulio

2016-01-01

A commercial linear actuator equipped with a 0.1 μm resolution encoder was used as a contact displacement sensor with adjustable force. The accuracy of the position reading of the actuator was evaluated from experimental data taking into account the uncertainty contributions. The tests consisted ...

The effect of actuator bending on Lamb wave displacement fields generated by a piezoelectric patch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, H; Pamphile, T; Derriso, M

2008-01-01

A Lamb wave is a special type of elastic wave that is widely employed in structural health monitoring systems for damage detection. Recently, piezoelectric (piezo) patches have become popular for Lamb wave excitation and sensing because one piezo patch can serve as both the actuator and the sensor. All published work has assumed that the Lamb wave displacement field generated by a piezo patch actuator is axi-symmetric. However, we observed that piezo sensors placed at equal distances from the piezo patch actuator displayed different responses. In order to understand this phenomenon, we used a laser vibrometer to measure the full-field displacements around a circular piezo actuator noncontactly. The displacement fields excited by the piezo patch actuator are found to be directional, and this directionality is also frequency dependent, indicating that the out-of-plane bending dynamics of the piezo actuator may play an important role in the Lamb wave displacement fields. A simulation model that incorporates the bending deformation of the piezo patch into the calculations of the Lamb wave generation is then developed. The agreement between the simulated and measured displacement fields confirmed that the directionality of the Lamb wave displacement fields is governed by the bending deformation of the piezo patch actuator

Soft buckling actuators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Dian; Whitesides, George M.

2017-12-26

A soft actuator is described, including: a rotation center having a center of mass; a plurality of bucklable, elastic structural components each comprising a wall defining an axis along its longest dimension, the wall connected to the rotation center in a way that the axis is offset from the center of mass in a predetermined direction; and a plurality of cells each disposed between two adjacent bucklable, elastic structural components and configured for connection with a fluid inflation or deflation source; wherein upon the deflation of the cell, the bucklable, elastic structural components are configured to buckle in the predetermined direction. A soft actuating device including a plurality of the soft actuators and methods of actuation using the soft actuator or soft actuating device disclosed herein are also described.

Integration of Sensor and Actuator Networks and the SCADA System to Promote the Migration of the Legacy Flexible Manufacturing System towards the Industry 4.0 Concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio José Calderón Godoy

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Networks of sensors and actuators in automated manufacturing processes are implemented using industrial fieldbuses, where automation units and supervisory systems are also connected to exchange operational information. In the context of the incoming fourth industrial revolution, called Industry 4.0, the management of legacy facilities is a paramount issue to deal with. This paper presents a solution to enhance the connectivity of a legacy Flexible Manufacturing System, which constitutes the first step in the adoption of the Industry 4.0 concept. Such a system includes the fieldbus PROcess FIeld BUS (PROFIBUS around which sensors, actuators, and controllers are interconnected. In order to establish effective communication between the sensors and actuators network and a supervisory system, a hardware and software approach including Ethernet connectivity is implemented. This work is envisioned to contribute to the migration of legacy systems towards the challenging Industry 4.0 framework. The experimental results prove the proper operation of the FMS and the feasibility of the proposal.

Advances in Lead-Free Piezoelectric Materials for Sensors and Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacob L. Jones

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectrics have widespread use in today’s sensor and actuator technologies. However, most commercially available piezoelectric materials, e.g., Pb [ZrxTi1-x] O3 (PZT,are comprised of more than 60 weight percent lead (Pb. Dueto its harmful effects, there is a strong impetus to identify new lead-free replacement materials with comparable properties to those of PZT. This review highlights recent developments in several lead-free piezoelectric materials including BaTiO3, Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3, K0.5Bi0.5TiO3, Na0.5K0.5NbO3, and their solid solutions. The factors that contribute to strong piezoelectric behavior are described and a summary of the properties for the various systems is provided.

A bio-inspired high-authority actuator for shape morphing structures

Science.gov (United States)

Elzey, Dana M.; Sofla, Aarash Y. N.; Wadley, Haydn N. G.

2003-08-01

Lightweight structures capable of changing their shape on demand are of interest for a number of applications, including aerospace, power generation, and undersea vehicles. This paper describes a bio-inspired cellular metal vertebrate structure which relies on shape memory alloy (SMA) faces to achieve fully reversing shape change. The resulting vertebrate actuators can be combined with flexible face sheets to create a load-bearing, shape morphing panel. Performance of the vertebrate actuator in terms of maximum curvature and moment is analyzed and discussed. A recently constructed, prototype shape morphing airfoil is used to illustrate the concept.

A high resolution pneumatic stepping actuator for harsh reactor environments

Science.gov (United States)

Tippetts, Thomas B.; Evans, Paul S.; Riffle, George K.

1993-01-01

A reactivity control actuator for a high-power density nuclear propulsion reactor must be installed in close proximity to the reactor core. The energy input from radiation to the actuator structure could exceed hundreds of W/cc unless low-cross section, low-absorptivity materials are chosen. Also, for post-test handling and subsequent storage, materials should not be used that are activated into long half-life isotopes. Pneumatic actuators can be constructed from various reactor-compatible materials, but conventional pneumatic piston actuators generally lack the stiffness required for high resolution reactivity control unless electrical position sensors and compensated electronic control systems are used. To overcome these limitations, a pneumatic actuator is under development that positions an output shaft in response to a series of pneumatic pulses, comprising a pneumatic analog of an electrical stepping motor. The pneumatic pulses are generated remotely, beyond the strong radiation environment, and transmitted to the actuator through tubing. The mechanically simple actuator uses a nutating gear harmonic drive to convert motion of small pistons directly to high-resolution angular motion of the output shaft. The digital nature of this actuator is suitable for various reactor control algorithms but is especially compatible with the three bean salad algorithm discussed by Ball et al. (1991).

Reliable actuators for twin rotor MIMO system

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Vidya S.; V. I, George; Kamath, Surekha; Shreesha, C.

2017-11-01

Twin Rotor MIMO System (TRMS) is a bench mark system to test flight control algorithms. One of the perturbations on TRMS which is likely to affect the control system is actuator failure. Therefore, there is a need for a reliable control system, which includes H infinity controller along with redundant actuators. Reliable control refers to the design of a control system to tolerate failures of a certain set of actuators or sensors while retaining desired control system properties. Output of reliable controller has to be transferred to the redundant actuator effectively to make the TRMS reliable even under actual actuator failure.

Asymmetric actuating structure generates negligible influence on the supporting base for high performance scanning probe microscopies

Science.gov (United States)

Yi Yan, Gang; Bin Liu, Yong; Hua Feng, Zhi

2014-02-01

An asymmetric actuating structure generating negligible influence on the supporting base for high performance scanning probe microscopies is proposed in this paper. The actuator structure consists of two piezostacks, one is used for actuating while the other is for counterbalancing. In contrast with balanced structure, the two piezostacks are installed at the same side of the supporting base. The effectiveness of the structure is proved by some experiments with the actuators fixed to the free end of a cantilever. Experimental results show that almost all of the vibration modes of the cantilever are suppressed effectively at a wide frequency range of 90 Hz-10 kHz.

Paper Actuators Made with Cellulose and Hybrid Materials

OpenAIRE

Kim, Jaehwan; Yun, Sungryul; Mahadeva, Suresha K.; Yun, Kiju; Yang, Sang Yeol; Maniruzzaman, Mohammad

2010-01-01

Recently, cellulose has been re-discovered as a smart material that can be used as sensor and actuator materials, which is termed electro-active paper (EAPap). This paper reports recent advances in paper actuators made with cellulose and hybrid materials such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes, conducting polymers and ionic liquids. Two distinct actuator principles in EAPap actuators are demonstrated: piezoelectric effect and ion migration effect in cellulose. Piezoelectricity of cellulose EAPa...

Modelling and characterization of inflated dielectric elastomer actuators with tubular configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Chi; Chen, Hualing; Liu, Lei; Li, Dichen

2015-01-01

A dielectric elastomer undergoes large and fast deformation subject to external electric stimuli, making it a promising artificial muscle for various kinds of actuators, sensors and energy generators. This paper presents an actuator fabricated by (1) rolling a dielectric elastomer membrane, (2) pre-stretching the membrane along the radial direction and fixing the edges with rigid cylindrical plastic ends, and (3) applying a force to the end along the longitudinal direction and pumping air into the tube for inflation. Subject to a voltage, the structure works as an actuator with a large linear stroke. Governing equations of this actuator are established and simulation results are found to agree well with experimental results. We examine four modes of failure, namely loss of tension, electrical breakdown, snap-through instability and tensile rupture, with a variation in applied pressure. The actuating voltage is greatly reduced by applying pressure, providing the possibility of low-voltage driving. By regulating the applied pressure, large actuation strain and displacement are obtained simultaneously and the distributions of stretch, true stress and the true electric field become more homogeneous. (paper)

Aircraft Engine Sensor/Actuator/Component Fault Diagnosis Using a Bank of Kalman Filters

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Takahisa; Simon, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

In this report, a fault detection and isolation (FDI) system which utilizes a bank of Kalman filters is developed for aircraft engine sensor and actuator FDI in conjunction with the detection of component faults. This FDI approach uses multiple Kalman filters, each of which is designed based on a specific hypothesis for detecting a specific sensor or actuator fault. In the event that a fault does occur, all filters except the one using the correct hypothesis will produce large estimation errors, from which a specific fault is isolated. In the meantime, a set of parameters that indicate engine component performance is estimated for the detection of abrupt degradation. The performance of the FDI system is evaluated against a nonlinear engine simulation for various engine faults at cruise operating conditions. In order to mimic the real engine environment, the nonlinear simulation is executed not only at the nominal, or healthy, condition but also at aged conditions. When the FDI system designed at the healthy condition is applied to an aged engine, the effectiveness of the FDI system is impacted by the mismatch in the engine health condition. Depending on its severity, this mismatch can cause the FDI system to generate incorrect diagnostic results, such as false alarms and missed detections. To partially recover the nominal performance, two approaches, which incorporate information regarding the engine s aging condition in the FDI system, will be discussed and evaluated. The results indicate that the proposed FDI system is promising for reliable diagnostics of aircraft engines.

Deflection control of functionally graded material beams with bonded piezoelectric sensors and actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gharib, Ahmad; Salehi, Manouchehr; Fazeli, Saeed

2008-01-01

An analytical solution is developed for analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) beams containing two layers of piezoelectric material, used as sensor and actuator. The properties of FGM layer are functionally graded in the thickness direction according to the volume fraction power law distribution. The equations of motion are derived by using Hamilton's principle, based on the first-order shear deformation theory. By using a displacement potential function, and assumption of harmonic vibration, the equations of motion have been solved analytically. Finally, the effects of FGM constituent volume fraction in the peak responses for various volume fraction indexes have been graphically illustrated

Active control of sound transmission through a rectangular panel using point-force actuators and piezoelectric film sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanada, Akira; Higashiyama, Kouji; Tanaka, Nobuo

2015-01-01

This study deals with the active control of sound transmission through a rectangular panel, based on single input, single output feedforward vibration control using point-force actuators and piezoelectric film sensors. It focuses on the phenomenon in which the sound power transmitted through a finite-sized panel drops significantly at some frequencies just below the resonance frequencies of the panel in the low-frequency range as a result of modal coupling cancellation. In a previous study, it was shown that when point-force actuators are located on nodal lines for the frequency at which this phenomenon occurs, a force equivalent to the incident sound wave can act on the panel. In this study, a practical method for sensing volume velocity using a small number of piezoelectric film strips is investigated. It is found that two quadratically shaped piezoelectric film strips, attached at the same nodal lines as those where the actuators were placed, can sense the volume velocity approximately in the low-frequency range. Results of simulations show that combining the proposed actuation method and the sensing method can achieve a practical control effect at low frequencies over a wide frequency range. Finally, experiments are carried out to demonstrate the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

Fabrication and actuation of electro-active polymer actuator based on PSMI-incorporated PVDF

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jun; Kim, Sang-Gyun; Lee, Sunwoo; Oh, Il-Kwon

2008-08-01

In this study, an ionic networking membrane (INM) of poly(styrene-alt-maleimide) (PSMI)-incorporated poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was applied to fabricate electro-active polymer. Based on the same original membrane of PSMI-incorporated PVDF, various samples of INM actuator were prepared for different reduction times with the electroless-plating technique. The as-prepared INM actuators were tested in terms of surface resistance, platinum morphology, resonance frequency, tip displacement, current and blocked force, and their performances were compared to those of the widely used traditional Nafion actuator. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that much smaller and more uniform platinum particles were formed on the surfaces of the INM actuators as well as within their polymer matrix. Although excellent harmonic responses were observed for the newly developed INM actuators, they were found to be sensitive to the applied reduction times during the fabrication. The mechanical displacement of the INM actuator fabricated after the optimum reduction times was much larger than that of its Nafion counterpart of comparable thickness under the stimulus of constant and alternating current voltage. The PSMI-incorporated PVDF actuator can become a promising smart material to be used in the fields of biomimetic robots, biomedical devices, sensors and actuator, haptic interfaces, energy harvesting and so on.

Fabrication and actuation of electro-active polymer actuator based on PSMI-incorporated PVDF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Jun; Oh, Il-Kwon; Kim, Sang-Gyun; Lee, Sunwoo

2008-01-01

In this study, an ionic networking membrane (INM) of poly(styrene-alt-maleimide) (PSMI)-incorporated poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was applied to fabricate electro-active polymer. Based on the same original membrane of PSMI-incorporated PVDF, various samples of INM actuator were prepared for different reduction times with the electroless-plating technique. The as-prepared INM actuators were tested in terms of surface resistance, platinum morphology, resonance frequency, tip displacement, current and blocked force, and their performances were compared to those of the widely used traditional Nafion actuator. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that much smaller and more uniform platinum particles were formed on the surfaces of the INM actuators as well as within their polymer matrix. Although excellent harmonic responses were observed for the newly developed INM actuators, they were found to be sensitive to the applied reduction times during the fabrication. The mechanical displacement of the INM actuator fabricated after the optimum reduction times was much larger than that of its Nafion counterpart of comparable thickness under the stimulus of constant and alternating current voltage. The PSMI-incorporated PVDF actuator can become a promising smart material to be used in the fields of biomimetic robots, biomedical devices, sensors and actuator, haptic interfaces, energy harvesting and so on

Synthesis and Development of Gold Polypyrrole Actuator for Underwater Application

Science.gov (United States)

Panda, S. K.; Bandopadhya, D.

2018-02-01

Electro-active polymer (EAP) such as Polypyrrole has gained much attention in the category of functional materials for fabrication of both active actuator and sensor. Particularly, PPy actuator has shown potential in fluid medium application because of high strain, large bending displacement and work density. This paper focuses on developing a low cost active actuator promising in delivering high performance in underwater environment. The proposed Au-pyrrole actuator is synthesized by adopting the layer-by-layer electrochemical polymerization technique and is fabricated as strip actuator from aqueous solution of Pyrrole and NaDBS in room temperature. In the follow-up, topographical analysis has been carried out using SEM and FESEM instruments showing surface morphology and surface integrity of chemical components of the structure. Several experiments have been conducted under DC input voltage evaluating performance effectiveness such as underwater bending displacement and tip force etc. This is observed that the actuator exhibits quite similar stress profile as of natural muscle, endowed with high modulus makes them effective in working nearly 10,000 cycles underwater environment. In addition, the bending displacement up to 5.4 mm with a low input voltage 1.3 V makes the actuator suitable for underwater micro-robotics applications.

Design and analysis of EI core structured transverse flux linear reluctance actuator

OpenAIRE

FENERCİOĞLU, AHMET; AVŞAR, YUSUF

2015-01-01

In this study, an EI core linear actuator is proposed for horizontal movement systems. It is a transverse flux linear switched reluctance motor designed with an EI core structure geometrically. The actuator is configured into three phases and at a 6/4 pole ratio, and it has a stationary active stator along with a sliding passive translator. The stator consists of E cores and the translator consists of I cores. The actuator has a yokeless design because the stator and translator have no back i...

Large-Deformation Curling Actuators Based on Carbon Nanotube Composite: Advanced-Structure Design and Biomimetic Application.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Luzhuo; Weng, Mingcen; Zhou, Zhiwei; Zhou, Yi; Zhang, Lingling; Li, Jiaxin; Huang, Zhigao; Zhang, Wei; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan

2015-12-22

In recent years, electroactive polymers have been developed as actuator materials. As an important branch of electroactive polymers, electrothermal actuators (ETAs) demonstrate potential applications in the fields of artificial muscles, biomimetic devices, robotics, and so on. Large-shape deformation, low-voltage-driven actuation, and ultrafast fabrication are critical to the development of ETA. However, a simultaneous optimization of all of these advantages has not been realized yet. Practical biomimetic applications are also rare. In this work, we introduce an ultrafast approach to fabricate a curling actuator based on a newly designed carbon nanotube and polymer composite, which completely realizes all of the above required advantages. The actuator shows an ultralarge curling actuation with a curvature greater than 1.0 cm(-1) and bending angle larger than 360°, even curling into a tubular structure. The driving voltage is down to a low voltage of 5 V. The remarkable actuation is attributed not only to the mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion but also to the mechanical property changes of materials during temperature change. We also construct an S-shape actuator to show the possibility of building advanced-structure actuators. A weightlifting walking robot is further designed that exhibits a fast-moving motion while lifting a sample heavier than itself, demonstrating promising biomimetic applications.

Wearable E-Textile Technologies: A Review on Sensors, Actuators and Control Elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Gonçalves

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Wearable e-textiles are able to perform electronic functions and are perceived as a way to add features into common wearable textiles, building competitive market advantages. The e-textile production has become not only a research effort but also an industrial production challenge. It is important to know how to use existing industrial processes or to develop new ones that are able to scale up production, ensuring the behavior and performance of prototypes. Despite the technical challenges, there are already some examples of wearable e-textiles where sensors, actuators, and production techniques were used to seamlessly embed electronic features into traditional wearable textiles, which allow for daily use without a bionic stigma.

Implementasi Prototype Alat Uji Flight Control Actuator Pesawat Berbasis Mikrokontroller Arduino Uno

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NANDANG TARYANA

2017-07-01

Full Text Available ABSTRAKFlight control system merupakan suatu sistem di pesawat udara yang digunakan untuk manuver dari satu kondisi terbang ke kondisi terbang lainnya. Alat uji flight control actuator pesawat ini dirancang berupa prototype yang dikendalikan dengan menggunakan mikrokontroller arduino uno, yang terdiri dari input dan output. Input tersebut adalah sensor load cell yang berfungsi untuk mengetahui beban yang diterima dari aktuator pesawat, serta input sensor ping berfungsi untuk mengetahui jarak ataupun sudut dari pergerakan aktuator pesawat. Sedangkan output yang dihasilkan berupa data dari hasil pembacaan sensor load cell dan sensor ping. Alat uji flight control sistem aktuator pesawat yang telah direalisasikan mampu menggerakkan 2 buah double acting cylinder untuk bekerja naik dan turun secara bergantian serta mampu menggerakkan motor servo dengan jarak pergerakkan 3 cm – 4 cm.Kata kunci: Flight control system, Arduino Uno, double acting cylinder, Sensor Ping, Load Cell, Motor ServoABSTRACTFlight control system is a system in which aircraft are used to maneuver from one condition to fly to other flight conditions. Testing instruments aircraft flight control actuator designed a prototype of which is controlled by using microcontroller arduino uno, which consists of input and output. The input is a load cell sensor that serves to determine the load received from aircraft actuators, as well as ping sensor input is used to determine the distance or angle of the aircraft actuator movement . While the output of the data from the load cell sensor readings and sensor ping . Test equipment aircraft flight control actuator system that has been realized is able to move two pieces of double acting cylinder to work up and down alternately and able to drive the servo motor with the movement distance of 3 cm – 4 cm . Keywords: Flight control system , Arduino Uno , double acting cylinder , Ping Sensor, Load Cell, Servo Motor 

Implementasi Prototype Alat Uji Flight Control Actuator Pesawat Berbasis Mikrokontroller Arduino Uno

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NANDANG TARYANA

2018-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRAK Flight control system merupakan suatu sistem di pesawat udara yang digunakan untuk manuver dari satu kondisi terbang ke kondisi terbang lainnya. Alat uji flight control actuator pesawat ini dirancang berupa prototype yang dikendalikan dengan menggunakan mikrokontroller arduino uno, yang terdiri dari input dan output. Input tersebut adalah sensor load cell yang berfungsi untuk mengetahui beban yang diterima dari aktuator pesawat, serta input sensor ping berfungsi untuk mengetahui jarak ataupun sudut dari pergerakan aktuator pesawat. Sedangkan output yang dihasilkan berupa data dari hasil pembacaan sensor load cell dan sensor ping. Alat uji flight control sistem aktuator pesawat yang telah direalisasikan mampu menggerakkan 2 buah double acting cylinder untuk bekerja naik dan turun secara bergantian serta mampu menggerakkan motor servo dengan jarak pergerakkan 3 cm – 4 cm. Kata kunci: Flight control system, Arduino Uno, double acting cylinder, Sensor Ping, Load Cell, Motor Servo ABSTRACT Flight control system is a system in which aircraft are used to maneuver from one condition to fly to other flight conditions. Testing instruments aircraft flight control actuator designed a prototype of which is controlled by using microcontroller arduino uno, which consists of input and output. The input is a load cell sensor that serves to determine the load received from aircraft actuators, as well as ping sensor input is used to determine the distance or angle of the aircraft actuator movement . While the output of the data from the load cell sensor readings and sensor ping . Test equipment aircraft flight control actuator system that has been realized is able to move two pieces of double acting cylinder to work up and down alternately and able to drive the servo motor with the movement distance of 3 cm – 4 cm . Keywords: Flight control system , Arduino Uno , double acting cylinder , Ping Sensor, Load Cell, Servo Motor

DEVELOPMENT OF SIGNAL PROCESSING TOOLS AND HARDWARE FOR PIEZOELECTRIC SENSOR DIAGNOSTIC PROCESSES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

OVERLY, TIMOTHY G. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; PARK, GYUHAE [Los Alamos National Laboratory; FARRAR, CHARLES R. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2007-02-09

This paper presents a piezoelectric sensor diagnostic and validation procedure that performs in -situ monitoring of the operational status of piezoelectric (PZT) sensor/actuator arrays used in structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. The validation of the proper function of a sensor/actuator array during operation, is a critical component to a complete and robust SHM system, especially with the large number of active sensors typically involved. The method of this technique used to obtain the health of the PZT transducers is to track their capacitive value, this value manifests in the imaginary part of measured electrical admittance. Degradation of the mechanical/electric properties of a PZT sensor/actuator as well as bonding defects between a PZT patch and a host structure can be identified with the proposed procedure. However, it was found that temperature variations and changes in sensor boundary conditions manifest themselves in similar ways in the measured electrical admittances. Therefore, they examined the effects of temperature variation and sensor boundary conditions on the sensor diagnostic process. The objective of this study is to quantify and classify several key characteristics of temperature change and to develop efficient signal processing techniques to account for those variations in the sensor diagnostis process. In addition, they developed hardware capable of making the necessary measurements to perform the sensor diagnostics and to make impedance-based SHM measurements. The paper concludes with experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

Independent motion control of a tower crane through wireless sensor and actuator networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Koumboulis, Fotis N; Kouvakas, Nikolaos D; Giannaris, George L; Vouyioukas, Demosthenes

2016-01-01

The problem of independent control of the performance variables of a tower crane through a wireless sensor and actuator network is investigated. The complete nonlinear mathematical model of the tower crane is developed. Based on appropriate data driven norms an accurate linear approximant of the system, including an upper bound of the communication delays, is derived. Using this linear approximant, a dynamic measurable output multi delay controller for independent control of the performance outputs of the system is proposed. The controller performs satisfactory despite the nonlinearities of the model and the communication delays of the wireless network. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electromechanical actuation of buckypaper actuator: Material properties and performance relationships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cottinet, P.-J.; Souders, C.; Tsai, S.-Y.; Liang, R.; Wang, B.; Zhang, C.

2012-01-01

Carbon nanotubes can be assembled into macroscopic thin film materials called buckypapers. To incorporate buckypaper actuators into engineering systems, it is of high importance to understand their material property-actuation performance relationships in order to model and predict the behavior of these actuators. The electromechanical actuation of macroscopic buckypaper structures and their actuators, including single and multi-walled carbon nanotube buckypapers and aligned single-walled nanotube buckypapers, were analyzed and compared. From the experimental evidence, this Letter discusses the effects of the fundamental material properties, including Young modulus and electrical double layer properties, on actuation performance of the resultant actuators. -- Highlights: ► In this study we identified the figure of merit of the electromechanical conversion. ► Different type of buckypaper was realized and characterized for actuation properties. ► The results demonstrated the potential of Buckypapers/Nafion for actuation

Self-Sensing Ionic Polymer Actuators: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karl Kruusamäe

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Ionic electromechanically active polymers (IEAP are laminar composites that can be considered attractive candidates for soft actuators. Their outstanding properties such as low operating voltage, easy miniaturization, and noiseless operation are, however, marred by issues related to the repeatability in the production and operation of these materials. Implementing closed-loop control for IEAP actuators is a viable option for overcoming these issues. Since IEAP laminates also behave as mechanoelectrical sensors, it is advantageous to combine the actuating and sensing functionalities of a single device to create a so-called self-sensing actuator. This review article systematizes the state of the art in producing self-sensing ionic polymer actuators. The IEAPs discussed in this paper are conducting (or conjugated polymers actuators (CPA, ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC, and carbonaceous polymer laminates.

Construction of a Piezoresistive Neural Sensor Array

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, W. B.; Schulze, W. A.; Pilgrim, P. M.

1996-01-01

The construction of a piezoresistive - piezoelectric sensor (or actuator) array is proposed using 'neural' connectivity for signal recognition and possible actuation functions. A closer integration of the sensor and decision functions is necessary in order to achieve intrinsic identification within the sensor. A neural sensor is the next logical step in development of truly 'intelligent' arrays. This proposal will integrate 1-3 polymer piezoresistors and MLC electroceramic devices for applications involving acoustic identification. The 'intelligent' piezoresistor -piezoelectric system incorporates printed resistors, composite resistors, and a feedback for the resetting of resistances. A model of a design is proposed in order to simulate electromechanical resistor interactions. The goal of optimizing a sensor geometry for improving device reliability, training, & signal identification capabilities is the goal of this work. At present, studies predict performance of a 'smart' device with a significant control of 'effective' compliance over a narrow pressure range due to a piezoresistor percolation threshold. An interesting possibility may be to use an array of control elements to shift the threshold function in order to change the level of resistance in a neural sensor array for identification, or, actuation applications. The proposed design employs elements of: (1) conductor loaded polymers for a 'fast' RC time constant response; and (2) multilayer ceramics for actuation or sensing and shifting of resistance in the polymer. Other material possibilities also exist using magnetoresistive layered systems for shifting the resistance. It is proposed to use a neural net configuration to test and to help study the possible changes required in the materials design of these devices. Numerical design models utilize electromechanical elements, in conjunction with structural elements in order to simulate piezoresistively controlled actuators and changes in resistance of sensors

Hybrid-Actuated Finger Prosthesis with Tactile Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng Yee Low

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Finger prostheses are devices developed to emulate the functionality of natural human fingers. On top of their aesthetic appearance in terms of shape, size and colour, such biomimetic devices require a high level of dexterity. They must be capable of gripping an object, and even manipulating it in the hand. This paper presents a biomimetic robotic finger actuated by a hybrid mechanism and integrated with a tactile sensor. The hybrid actuation mechanism comprises a DC micromotor and a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA wire. A customized test rig has been developed to measure the force and stroke produced by the SMA wire. In parallel with the actuator development, experimental investigations have been conducted on Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC and Pressure Conductive Rubber (PCR towards the development of a tactile sensor for the finger. The viability of using these materials for tactile sensing has been determined. Such a hybrid actuation approach aided with tactile sensing capability enables a finger design as an integral part of a prosthetic hand for applications up to the transradial amputation level.

A 3D Printed Linear Pneumatic Actuator for Position, Force and Impedance Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Krause

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Although 3D printing has the potential to provide greater customization and to reduce the costs of creating actuators for industrial applications, the 3D printing of actuators is still a relatively new concept. We have developed a pneumatic actuator with 3D-printed parts and placed sensors for position and force control. So far, 3D printing has been used to create pneumatic actuators of the bellows type, thus having a limited travel distance, utilizing low pressures for actuation and being capable of only limited force production and response rates. In contrast, our actuator is linear with a large travel distance and operating at a relatively higher pressure, thus providing great forces and response rates, and this the main novelty of the work. We demonstrate solutions to key challenges that arise during the design and fabrication of 3D-printed linear actuators. These include: (1 the strategic use of metallic parts in high stress areas (i.e., the piston rod; (2 post-processing of the inner surface of the cylinder for smooth finish; (3 piston head design and seal placement for strong and leak-proof action; and (4 sensor choice and placement for position and force control. A permanent magnet placed in the piston head is detected using Hall effect sensors placed along the length of the cylinder to measure the position, and pressure sensors placed at the supply ports were used for force measurement. We demonstrate the actuator performing position, force and impedance control. Our work has the potential to open new avenues for creating less expensive, customizable and capable actuators for industrial and other applications.

Sensorless displacement estimation of a shape memory alloy coil spring actuator using inductance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hongjip; Lee, Dae-young; Cho, Kyu-Jin; Han, Yongsu; Ha, Jung-Ik

2013-01-01

To measure the displacement of a shape memory alloy (SMA) coil spring actuator for feedback control, displacement sensors larger than the actuator are normally required. In this study, a novel method for estimating the displacement of an SMA coil spring actuator without a sensor is proposed. Instead of a sensor, coil inductance is used for estimating the displacement. Coil inductance is estimated by measuring the voltage and the transient response of the current. It has a one-to-one relationship with the displacement of the coil and is not affected by load. Previous methods for estimating displacement using resistance measurements are heavily affected by load variations. The experimental results herein show that displacement is estimated with reasonable accuracy under varying loads using coil inductance. This sensorless method of estimating the displacement of an SMA coil spring actuator can be used to build a compact feedback controller because there is no need for a bulky displacement sensor. (paper)

Optical fiber sensors: Systems and applications. Volume 2

Science.gov (United States)

Culshaw, Brian; Dakin, John

State-of-the-art fiber-optic (FO) sensors and their applications are described in chapters contributed by leading experts. Consideration is given to interferometers, FO gyros, intensity- and wavelength-based sensors and optical actuators, Si in FO sensors, point-sensor multiplexing principles, and distributed FO sensor systems. Also examined are chemical, biochemical, and medical sensors; physical and chemical sensors for process control; FO-sensor applications in the marine and aerospace industries; FO-sensor monitoring systems for security and safety, structural integrity, NDE, and the electric-power industry; and the market situation for FO-sensor technology. Diagrams, drawings, graphs, and photographs are provided.

Out-of-plane platforms with bi-directional thermal bimorph actuation for transducer applications

KAUST Repository

Conchouso Gonzalez, David

2015-04-01

This paper reports on the Buckled Cantilever Platform (BCP) that allows the manipulation of the out of plane structures through the adjustment of the pitch angle using thermal bimorph micro-Actuators. Due to the micro-fabrication process used, the bimorph actuators can be designed to move in both: Counter Clockwise (CCW) and Clockwise (CW) directions with a resolution of up to 110 μm/V, with smallest step in the range of nanometers. Thermal and electrical characterization of the thermal bimorph actuators showed low influence in the platforms temperature and low power consumption (< 35μW) mainly due to the natural isolation of the structure. Tip displacements larger than 500μm were achieved. The precise angle adjustment achieved through these mechanisms makes them optimal for a range of different MEMS applications, like optical benches and low frequency sweeping sensors and antennas. © 2015 IEEE.

Structural integrity and failure mechanisms of a smart piezoelectric actuator under a cyclic bending mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, Sung-Choong; Goo, Nam Seo

2008-01-01

Information on the onset and evolution of damage within materials is essential for guaranteeing the integrity of actuator systems. The authors have evaluated the structural integrity and the failure mechanisms of smart composite actuators with a PZT ceramic plate under electric cyclic loading. For this, two kinds of actuators, actuator 1 and actuator 2, were manufactured. Prior to the main testing, performance testing was performed on the actuators to determine their resonant frequencies. Electric cyclic tests were conducted up to twenty million cycles. An acoustic emission technique was used for monitoring the damage evolution in real time. We observed the extent of the damage after testing using scanning electron microscopy and reflected optical microscopy to support characteristics in the acoustic emission behavior that corresponded to specific types of damage mechanisms. It was shown that the initial damage mechanism of the smart composite actuator under electric cyclic loading originated from the transgranular micro-fatigue damage in the PZT ceramic layer. With increasing cycles, a local intergranular crack initiated and developed onto the surface of the PZT ceramic layer or propagated into the internal layer. Finally, short-circuiting led to the electric breakdown of the actuator. These results were different depending on the drive frequencies and the configuration of the actuators. Moreover, we differentiated between the aforementioned damage mechanisms via AE signal pattern analyses based on the primary frequency and the waveform. From our results, we conclude that the drive frequency and the existence of a protecting layer are dominant factors in the structural integrity of the smart composite actuator

Three types of planar structure microspring electro-thermal actuators with insulating beam constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, J. K.; Flewitt, A. J.; Spearing, S. M.; Fleck, N. A.; Milne, W. I.

2005-08-01

A new concept of using an electrically insulating beam as a constraint is proposed to construct planar spring-like electro-thermal actuators with large displacements. On the basis of this concept, three types of microspring actuators with multi-chevron structures and constraint beams are introduced. The constraint beams in one type (the spring) of these devices are horizontally positioned to restrict the expansion of the active arms in the x-direction, and to produce a displacement in the y-direction only. In the other two types of actuators (the deflector and the contractor), the constraint beams are positioned parallel to the active arms. When the constraint beams are on the inner side of the active arms, the actuator produces an outward deflection in the y-direction. When they are on the outside of the active arms, the actuator produces an inward contraction. Finite-element analysis was used to model the performances. The simulation shows that the displacements of these microspring actuators are all proportional to the number of the chevron sections in series, thus achieving superior displacements to alternative actuators. The displacement of a spring actuator strongly depends on the beam angle, and decreases with increasing the beam angle, the deflector is insensitive to the beam angle, while the displacement of a contractor actuator increases with the beam angle.

Soft actuators and soft actuating devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Dian; Whitesides, George M.

2017-10-17

A soft buckling linear actuator is described, including: a plurality of substantially parallel bucklable, elastic structural components each having its longest dimension along a first axis; and a plurality of secondary structural components each disposed between and bridging two adjacent bucklable, elastic structural components; wherein every two adjacent bucklable, elastic structural components and the secondary structural components in-between define a layer comprising a plurality of cells each capable of being connected with a fluid inflation or deflation source; the secondary structural components from two adjacent layers are not aligned along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis; and the secondary structural components are configured not to buckle, the bucklable, elastic structural components are configured to buckle along the second axis to generate a linear force, upon the inflation or deflation of the cells. Methods of actuation using the same are also described.

Mechanoluminescent Contact Type Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. K. Yefremov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mechanoluminescent sensing elements convert mechanical stress into optical radiation. Advantages of such sensors are the ability to generate an optical signal, solid-state, simple structure, and resistance to electromagnetic interference. Mechanoluminescent sensor implementations can possess the concentrated and distributed sensitivity, thereby allowing us to detect the field of mechanical stresses distributed across the area and in volume. Most modern semiconductor photo-detectors can detect mechanoluminescent radiation, so there are no difficulties to provide its detection when designing the mechanoluminescent sensing devices. Mechanoluminescent substances have especial sensitivity to shock loads, and this effect can be used to create a fuse the structure of which includes a target contact type sensor with a photosensitive actuator. The paper briefly describes the theoretical basics of mechanoluminiscence: a light signal emerges from the interaction of crystalline phosphor luminescence centers with electrically charged dislocations, moving due to the deformation of the crystal. A mathematical model of the mechanoluminescent conversion is represented as a functional interaction between parameters of the mechanical shock excitation and the sensor light emission. Examples of computing the optical mechanoluminescent output signal depending on the duration and peak level of impulse load are given. It is shown that the luminous flux, generated by mechanoluminescent sensing element when there is an ammunition-target collision causes the current emerging in photo-detector (photodiode that is sufficient for a typical actuator of the fuse train to operate. The potential possibility to create a contact target type sensor based on the light-sensitive mechanoluminescent sensor was proved by the calculation and simulation results.

Fault-tolerant Control of Discrete-time LPV systems using Virtual Actuators and Sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tabatabaeipour, Mojtaba; Stoustrup, Jakob; Bak, Thomas

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a new fault-tolerant control (FTC) method for discrete-time linear parameter varying (LPV) systems using a reconfiguration block. The basic idea of the method is to achieve the FTC goal without re-designing the nominal controller by inserting a reconfiguration block between......, it transforms the output of the controller for the faulty system such that the stability and performance goals are preserved. Input-to-state stabilizing LPV gains of the virtual actuator and sensor are obtained by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). We show that separate design of these gains guarantees....... Finally, the effectiveness of the method is demonstrated via a numerical example and stator current control of an induction motor....

Full-scale flight tests of aircraft morphing structures using SMA actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Mabe, James H.; Calkins, Frederick T.; Ruggeri, Robert T.

2007-04-01

In August of 2005 The Boeing Company conducted a full-scale flight test utilizing Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuators to morph an engine's fan exhaust to correlate exhaust geometry with jet noise reduction. The test was conducted on a 777-300ER with GE-115B engines. The presence of chevrons, serrated aerodynamic surfaces mounted at the trailing edge of the thrust reverser, have been shown to greatly reduce jet noise by encouraging advantageous mixing of the free, and fan streams. The morphing, or Variable Geometry Chevrons (VGC), utilized compact, light weight, and robust SMA actuators to morph the chevron shape to optimize the noise reduction or meet acoustic test objectives. The VGC system was designed for two modes of operation. The entirely autonomous operation utilized changes in the ambient temperature from take-off to cruise to activate the chevron shape change. It required no internal heaters, wiring, control system, or sensing. By design this provided one tip immersion at the warmer take-off temperatures to reduce community noise and another during the cooler cruise state for more efficient engine operation, i.e. reduced specific fuel consumption. For the flight tests a powered mode was added where internal heaters were used to individually control the VGC temperatures. This enabled us to vary the immersions and test a variety of chevron configurations. The flight test demonstrated the value of SMA actuators to solve a real world aerospace problem, validated that the technology could be safely integrated into the airplane's structure and flight system, and represented a large step forward in the realization of SMA actuators for production applications. In this paper the authors describe the development of the actuator system, the steps required to integrate the morphing structure into the thrust reverser, and the analysis and testing that was required to gain approval for flight. Issues related to material strength, thermal environment, vibration

Math Machines: Using Actuators in Physics Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Frederick J.; Chaney, Robert A.; Gruesbeck, Marta

2018-01-01

Probeware (sensors combined with data-analysis software) is a well-established part of physics education. In engineering and technology, sensors are frequently paired with actuators--motors, heaters, buzzers, valves, color displays, medical dosing systems, and other devices that are activated by electrical signals to produce intentional physical…

Soft Somatosensitive Actuators via Embedded 3D Printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Truby, Ryan L; Wehner, Michael; Grosskopf, Abigail K; Vogt, Daniel M; Uzel, Sebastien G M; Wood, Robert J; Lewis, Jennifer A

2018-04-01

Humans possess manual dexterity, motor skills, and other physical abilities that rely on feedback provided by the somatosensory system. Herein, a method is reported for creating soft somatosensitive actuators (SSAs) via embedded 3D printing, which are innervated with multiple conductive features that simultaneously enable haptic, proprioceptive, and thermoceptive sensing. This novel manufacturing approach enables the seamless integration of multiple ionically conductive and fluidic features within elastomeric matrices to produce SSAs with the desired bioinspired sensing and actuation capabilities. Each printed sensor is composed of an ionically conductive gel that exhibits both long-term stability and hysteresis-free performance. As an exemplar, multiple SSAs are combined into a soft robotic gripper that provides proprioceptive and haptic feedback via embedded curvature, inflation, and contact sensors, including deep and fine touch contact sensors. The multimaterial manufacturing platform enables complex sensing motifs to be easily integrated into soft actuating systems, which is a necessary step toward closed-loop feedback control of soft robots, machines, and haptic devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Application of Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks to Achieve Intelligent Microgrids: A Promising Approach towards a Global Smart Grid Deployment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alvaro Llaria

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Smart Grids (SGs constitute the evolution of the traditional electrical grid towards a new paradigm, which should increase the reliability, the security and, at the same time, reduce the costs of energy generation, distribution and consumption. Electrical microgrids (MGs can be considered the first stage of this evolution of the grid, because of the intelligent management techniques that must be applied to assure their correct operation. To accomplish this task, sensors and actuators will be necessary, along with wireless communication technologies to transmit the measured data and the command messages. Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (WSANs are therefore a promising solution to achieve an intelligent management of MGs and, by extension, the SG. In this frame, this paper surveys several aspects concerning the application of WSANs to manage MGs and the electrical grid, as well as the communication protocols that could be applied. The main concerns regarding the SG deployment are also presented, including future scenarios where the interoperability of different generation technologies must be assured.

A Novel Hybrid Error Criterion-Based Active Control Method for on-Line Milling Vibration Suppression with Piezoelectric Actuators and Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xingwu Zhang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Milling vibration is one of the most serious factors affecting machining quality and precision. In this paper a novel hybrid error criterion-based frequency-domain LMS active control method is constructed and used for vibration suppression of milling processes by piezoelectric actuators and sensors, in which only one Fast Fourier Transform (FFT is used and no Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT is involved. The correction formulas are derived by a steepest descent procedure and the control parameters are analyzed and optimized. Then, a novel hybrid error criterion is constructed to improve the adaptability, reliability and anti-interference ability of the constructed control algorithm. Finally, based on piezoelectric actuators and acceleration sensors, a simulation of a spindle and a milling process experiment are presented to verify the proposed method. Besides, a protection program is added in the control flow to enhance the reliability of the control method in applications. The simulation and experiment results indicate that the proposed method is an effective and reliable way for on-line vibration suppression, and the machining quality can be obviously improved.

Smart Control of Multiple Evaporator Systems with Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Apolinar González-Potes

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the complete integration of a fuzzy control of multiple evaporator systems with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, in which we study several important aspects for this kind of system, like a detailed analysis of the end-to-end real-time flows over wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSAN, a real-time kernel with an earliest deadline first (EDF scheduler, periodic and aperiodic tasking models for the nodes, lightweight and flexible compensation-based control algorithms for WSAN that exhibit packet dropouts, an event-triggered sampling scheme and design methodologies. We address the control problem of the multi-evaporators with the presence of uncertainties, which was tackled through a wireless fuzzy control approach, showing the advantages of this concept where it can easily perform the optimization for a set of multiple evaporators controlled by the same smart controller, which should have an intelligent and flexible architecture based on multi-agent systems (MAS that allows one to add or remove new evaporators online, without the need for reconfiguring, while maintaining temporal and functional restrictions in the system. We show clearly how we can get a greater scalability, the self-configuration of the network and the least overhead with a non-beacon or unslotted mode of the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol, as well as wireless communications and distributed architectures, which could be extremely helpful in the development process of networked control systems in large spatially-distributed plants, which involve many sensors and actuators. For this purpose, a fuzzy scheme is used to control a set of parallel evaporator air-conditioning systems, with temperature and relative humidity control as a multi-input and multi-output closed loop system; in addition, a general architecture is presented, which implements multiple control loops closed over a communication network, integrating the analysis and validation method for multi

Pressure sensor based on MEMS nano-cantilever beam structure as a heterodielectric gate electrode of dopingless TFET

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Gagan; Raman, Ashish

2016-12-01

Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has enticed numerous scientists since recent decades particularly in the field of miniaturized-sensors and actuators. Pressure sensor is pivotal component in both of the forerunning fields. The pursuance of a pressure sensor is exigently relying upon its different physical properties i.e. Piezo-resistive, Piezoelectric, Capacitive, Magnetic and Electrostatic. This article presents an outline and scrutiny of the Doping-less Cantilever Based Pressure Sensor using tunnel field effect transistor technology. The propounded pressure sensor based on the principle of capacitive gate coupling, due to which the tunneling current is modified. Additionally, to enhance the affectability of pressure sensor, the work function of metal gate electrode is amended using gas molecule diffusion. Simulation uncovers a phenomenal relationship amongst hypothetical and practical accepts of configuration. The pressure sensor is composed at Silvaco Atlas tool utilizing 40 nm technologies. The performance results exhibit that the proposed model consumes ≤1 mW power and 250 μA tunneling current per nm bending of cantilever beam structure. The inclusive length of the proposed device is 100 nm.

Devising Mobile Sensing and Actuation Infrastructure with Drones.

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Mungyu; Yoo, Seungho; Jung, Jongtack; Park, Seongjoon; Kim, Kangho; Kim, Joon Yeop Lee; Kim, Hwangnam

2018-02-19

Vast applications and services have been enabled as the number of mobile or sensing devices with communication capabilities has grown. However, managing the devices, integrating networks or combining services across different networks has become a new problem since each network is not directly connected via back-end core networks or servers. The issue is and has been discussed especially in wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSAN). In such systems, sensors and actuators are tightly coupled, so when an independent WSAN needs to collaborate with other networks, it is difficult to adequately combine them into an integrated infrastructure. In this paper, we propose drone-as-a-gateway (DaaG), which uses drones as mobile gateways to interconnect isolated networks or combine independent services. Our system contains features that focus on the service being provided in the order of importance, different from an adaptive simple mobile sink system or delay-tolerant system. Our simulation results have shown that the proposed system is able to activate actuators in the order of importance of the service, which uses separate sensors' data, and it consumes almost the same time in comparison with other path-planning algorithms. Moreover, we have implemented DaaG and presented results in a field test to show that it can enable large-scale on-demand deployment of sensing and actuation infrastructure or the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iterative Learning Control of Hysteresis in Piezoelectric Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guilin Zhang

2014-01-01

input in hysteretic systems. In the analysis, the Prandtl-Ishlinskii model is utilized to capture the nonlinear behavior in piezoelectric actuators. Finally, we apply the control algorithm to an experimental piezoelectric actuator and conclude that the tracking error is reduced to 0.15% of the total displacement, which is approximately the noise level of the sensor measurement.

Digital Actuator Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ken Thomas; Ted Quinn; Jerry Mauck; Richard Bockhorst

2014-09-01

technology over legacy analog sensor technology in both quantitative and qualitative ways. 2. To recognize and address the added difficulty of digital technology qualification, especially in regard to software common cause failure (SCCF), that is introduced by the use of digital actuator technology.

Damage mapping in structural health monitoring using a multi-grid architecture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathews, V. John [Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States)

2015-03-31

This paper presents a multi-grid architecture for tomography-based damage mapping of composite aerospace structures. The system employs an array of piezo-electric transducers bonded on the structure. Each transducer may be used as an actuator as well as a sensor. The structure is excited sequentially using the actuators and the guided waves arriving at the sensors in response to the excitations are recorded for further analysis. The sensor signals are compared to their baseline counterparts and a damage index is computed for each actuator-sensor pair. These damage indices are then used as inputs to the tomographic reconstruction system. Preliminary damage maps are reconstructed on multiple coordinate grids defined on the structure. These grids are shifted versions of each other where the shift is a fraction of the spatial sampling interval associated with each grid. These preliminary damage maps are then combined to provide a reconstruction that is more robust to measurement noise in the sensor signals and the ill-conditioned problem formulation for single-grid algorithms. Experimental results on a composite structure with complexity that is representative of aerospace structures included in the paper demonstrate that for sufficiently high sensor densities, the algorithm of this paper is capable of providing damage detection and characterization with accuracy comparable to traditional C-scan and A-scan-based ultrasound non-destructive inspection systems quickly and without human supervision.

Sensor Fusion-based Event Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bahrepour, M.; Meratnia, Nirvana; Havinga, Paul J.M.

2009-01-01

Recently, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) community has witnessed an application focus shift. Although, monitoring was the initial application of wireless sensor networks, in-network data processing and (near) real-time actuation capability have made wireless sensor networks suitable candidate for

Optimal placement and decentralized robust vibration control for spacecraft smart solar panel structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Jian-ping; Li, Dong-xu

2010-01-01

The decentralized robust vibration control with collocated piezoelectric actuator and strain sensor pairs is considered in this paper for spacecraft solar panel structures. Each actuator is driven individually by the output of the corresponding sensor so that only local feedback control is implemented, with each actuator, sensor and controller operating independently. Firstly, an optimal placement method for the location of the collocated piezoelectric actuator and strain gauge sensor pairs is developed based on the degree of observability and controllability indices for solar panel structures. Secondly, a decentralized robust H ∞ controller is designed to suppress the vibration induced by external disturbance. Finally, a numerical comparison between centralized and decentralized control systems is performed in order to investigate their effectiveness to suppress vibration of the smart solar panel. The simulation results show that the vibration can be significantly suppressed with permitted actuator voltages by the controllers. The decentralized control system almost has the same disturbance attenuation level as the centralized control system with a bit higher control voltages. More importantly, the decentralized controller composed of four three-order systems is a better practical implementation than a high-order centralized controller is

Extended DNA Tile Actuators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristiansen, Martin; Kryger, Mille; Zhang, Zhao

2012-01-01

A dynamic linear DNA tile actuator is expanded to three new structures of higher complexity. The original DNA actuator was constructed from a central roller strand which hybridizes with two piston strands by forming two half-crossover junctions. A linear expansion of the actuator is obtained...

A review: flexible, stretchable multifunctional sensors and actuators for heart arrhythmia therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Seung-Jo; Pak, James Jungho

2017-12-01

Cardiovascular disease is a very serious disease which results in about 30% of all global mortality. Atrial fibrillation (AF) causes rapid and irregular contractions resulting in stroke and cardiac arrest. AF is caused by abnormality of the heartbeat controlling electrical signal. Catheter ablation (CA) is often used to treat and remove the abnormal electrical source from the heart but it has limitations in sensing capability and spatial coverage. To overcome the limitations of the CA, new devices for improving the spatial capability have been reported. One of the most impressive methods is wrapping the heart surface with a flexible/stretchable film with an array of high-density multifunctional micro-sensors and actuators. With this technique, the overall heart surface may be diagnosed in real time and the AF may be treated much more effectively. The data acquisition from the array of multifunctional sensors is also very important for making the new devices useful. To operate the implanted device system, a battery is mostly used and it should be avoided to replace the battery by surgery. Therefore, various energy harvesting techniques or wireless energy transfer techniques to continuously feed the power to the system are under investigation. The development of these technologies was reviewed, and the current level of technology was reviewed and summarized.

A Vehicular Guidance Wireless Sensor/Actuator Network

KAUST Repository

Boudellioua, Imene

2012-01-01

that is selected dynamically. We also discuss the factors affecting our network performance in real-life and propose a framework which accounts for real-time requirement and reliable actuation. We finally perform some experimental studies on our system to measure

Advanced sensor fault detection and isolation for electro-mechanical flight actuators

OpenAIRE

Ossmann, Daniel; van der Linden, Franciscus

2015-01-01

Moving towards the more electric aircraft to be able to replace mechanic, hydraulic and pneumatic components of an aircraft, the aircraft industry calls for new technologies able to support this trend. One of these technologies is the development of advanced electro-mechanical actuators for aircraft control surfaces. Step by step hydraulic actuators are replaced by their electro-mechanical alternatives featuring weight and cost savings. As hydraulic actuators are used for decades by the air...

Iridium oxide as actuator material for the ISFET-based sensor-actuator system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olthuis, Wouter; Bomer, Johan G.; Bergveld, Piet; van der Linden, W.E.; Bos, M.; Bos, M.

1991-01-01

Acid or base concentrations can be determined by performing an acid-base titration with Coulometrically generated OH- or H+ ions at a noble-metal actuator electrode in close proximity to the pH-sensitive gate of an ISFET. The ISFET is used as the indicator electrode to detect the equivalence point

Fabrication and characterization of a dual-joint smart inhaler nozzle actuated by embedded SMA wires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furst, Stephen J; Seelecke, Stefan

2014-01-01

Shape memory alloy (SMA) wires offer a novel solution for many embedded actuator and sensor applications. Small SMA wires in particular can be heated with a relatively low electric current, cool rapidly, and serve as a sensor thanks to a measurable resistance change. However, the challenges of fabrication with SMA actuator wires as well as their hysteretic nature have prevented them from finding mainstream application. This work focuses on the process used to control the fabrication of an SMA-actuated adaptive nozzle for the previously presented Smart Inhaler application. The elements of nozzle design that facilitate fabrication are summarized and an assembly setup and procedure is presented for controlling the stress and strain in the SMA wires while they are attached to the nozzle structure via temperature-resistant adhesives. Finally, the performance of the nozzle is characterized by measuring the changes in nozzle deflection and SMA wire strain and resistance in response to a controlled Joule heating power input. Results show controlling pre-stress in the wires during assembly can lead to reproducible behavior, an input heating power serves to control nozzle deflection, and a measured resistance can provide a useful sensor of SMA wire strain and nozzle joint deflection. (paper)

Paper actuators made with cellulose and hybrid materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jaehwan; Yun, Sungryul; Mahadeva, Suresha K; Yun, Kiju; Yang, Sang Yeol; Maniruzzaman, Mohammad

2010-01-01

Recently, cellulose has been re-discovered as a smart material that can be used as sensor and actuator materials, which is termed electro-active paper (EAPap). This paper reports recent advances in paper actuators made with cellulose and hybrid materials such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes, conducting polymers and ionic liquids. Two distinct actuator principles in EAPap actuators are demonstrated: piezoelectric effect and ion migration effect in cellulose. Piezoelectricity of cellulose EAPap is quite comparable with other piezoelectric polymers. But, it is biodegradable, biocompatible, mechanically strong and thermally stable. To enhance ion migration effect in the cellulose, polypyrrole conducting polymer and ionic liquids were nanocoated on the cellulose film. This hybrid cellulose EAPap nanocomposite exhibits durable bending actuation in an ambient humidity and temperature condition. Fabrication, characteristics and performance of the cellulose EAPap and its hybrid EAPap materials are illustrated. Also, its possibility for remotely microwave-driven paper actuator is demonstrated.

Hybrid Piezoelectric/Fiber-Optic Sensor Sheets

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Mark; Qing, Xinlin

2004-01-01

Hybrid piezoelectric/fiber-optic (HyPFO) sensor sheets are undergoing development. They are intended for use in nondestructive evaluation and long-term monitoring of the integrity of diverse structures, including aerospace, aeronautical, automotive, and large stationary ones. It is anticipated that the further development and subsequent commercialization of the HyPFO sensor systems will lead to economic benefits in the form of increased safety, reduction of life-cycle costs through real-time structural monitoring, increased structural reliability, reduction of maintenance costs, and increased readiness for service. The concept of a HyPFO sensor sheet is a generalization of the concept of a SMART Layer(TradeMark), which is a patented device that comprises a thin dielectric film containing an embedded network of distributed piezoelectric actuator/sensors. Such a device can be mounted on the surface of a metallic structure or embedded inside a composite-material structure during fabrication of the structure. There is has been substantial interest in incorporating sensors other than piezoelectric ones into SMART Layer(TradeMark) networks: in particular, because of the popularity of the use of fiber-optic sensors for monitoring the "health" of structures in recent years, it was decided to incorporate fiber-optic sensors, giving rise to the concept of HyPFO devices.

A Study of Active Rotor-Blade Vibration Control using Electro-Magnetic Actuation - Part II: Experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Rene Hardam; Santos, Ilmar

2004-01-01

. The remaining two sets of actuators are applied to act directly onto the hub, working as an active radial bearing controlling the rotor lateral movement. The rig is equipped with sensors measuring blade and rotor vibrations. Actuators and sensors are connected to a digital signal processor running the control......This is the second paper in a two-part study on active rotor-blade vibration control. This part presents an experimental contribution into the work of active controller design for rotor-blade systems. The primary aim is to give an experimental validation and show the applicability...... algorithm. Measurement signals and actuator control signals from the sensors and actuators fixed in the rotating disc are transmitted to the control unit through a slip-ring device. Various measured responses of both the controlled and the non-controlled system with identical blades and with deliberately...

Analisys and Choice of the Exoskeleton’s Actuator Kinematic Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Vereikin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The urgency of designing of robotic exoskeletons as one of the most prospective means of modern robotics is proved. A literature review concerning the design issues of anthropomorphic walking robots and exoskeletons is performed. Some problems, accompanying the designing process of exoskeleton actuator, are highlighted. Among them synthesis of its tree-like kinematic structure takes leading place. Its complication is explained by the specific human-machine interaction.The problem of exoskeleton actuator kinematic scheme synthesis is formulated and possible approaches to its solution are shown. The paper presents the synthesis results obtained using the software complex CATIA-based means of ergonomic design. It investigates the degrees of freedom of human-operator’s foot, shin, and thigh. And it identifies a number of shortcomings of this software complex associated with the ambiguity to solve the inverse kinematics problem, leading to a significant complication of kinematics synthesis.A model of human lower limb on which further studies of the exoskeleton actuator kinematic scheme, ensuring fulfillment of the human-operator standard movements (squats, kick their feet, bending body, walking, running stairs, etc., are based, is developed in SolidWorks software complex. The reasonability of the exoskeleton kinematic scheme synthesis in software package SolidWorks using anthropometric data from the software complex CATIA, is justified.The proposed method allows to analyze different kinematic schemes of actuator for the stage of conceptual design and to choose the best of them in accordance with established criterions. Thus, the developer receives the final version of the kinematic scheme before the detailed design of the actuator starts, thus significantly reducing its labor costs.

Fabrication, characterization, and heuristic trade space exploration of magnetically actuated Miura-Ori origami structures

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Brett; von Lockette, Paris R.

2017-04-01

The authors develop magnetically actuated Miura-Ori structures through observation, experiment, and computation using an initially heuristic strategy followed by trade space visualization and optimization. The work is novel, especially within origami engineering, in that beyond final target shape approximation, Miura-Ori structures in this work are additionally evaluated for the shape approximation while folding and for their efficient use of their embedded actuators. The structures consisted of neodymium magnets placed on the panels of silicone elastomer substrates cast in the Miura-Ori folding pattern. Initially four configurations, arrangements of magnets on the panels, were selected based on heuristic arguments that (1) maximized the amount of magnetic torque applied to the creases and (2) reduced the number of magnets needed to affect all creases in the pattern. The results of experimental and computational performance metrics were used in a weighted sum model to predict the optimum configuration, which was then fabricated and experimentally characterized for comparison to the initial prototypes. As expected, optimization of magnet placement and orientation was effective at increasing the degree of theoretical useful work. Somewhat unexpectedly, however, trade space results showed that even after optimization, the configuration with the most number of magnets was least effective, per magnet, at directing its actuation to the structure’s creases. Overall, though the winning configuration experimentally outperformed its initial, non-optimal counterparts, results showed that the choice of optimum configuration was heavily dependent on the weighting factors. These results highlight both the ability of the Miura-Ori to be actuated with external magnetic stimuli, the effectiveness of a heuristic design approach that focuses on the actuation mechanism, and the need to address path-dependent metrics in assessing performance in origami folding structures.

Distributed thermal micro sensors for fluid flow

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Baar, J.J.J.

2002-01-01

In this thesis thermal sensor-actuator structures are proposed for measuring the parameters pressure p, dynamic viscosity μ, thermal conductivity , specific heat c, density and the fluid velocity v. In this chapter examples will be given of the added value of many identical simple elements and the

Wireless sensor and actuator networks for lighting energy efficiency and user satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Yao-Jung

Buildings consume more than one third of the primary energy generated in the U.S., and lighting alone accounts for approximately 30% of the energy usage in commercial buildings. As the largest electricity consumer of all building electrical systems, lighting harbors the greatest potential for energy savings in the commercial sector. Fifty percent of current energy consumption could be reduced with energy-efficient lighting management strategies. While commercial products do exist, they are poorly received due to exorbitant retrofitting cost and unsatisfactory performance. As a result, most commercial buildings, especially legacy buildings, have not taken advantage of the opportunity to generate savings from lighting. The emergence of wireless sensor and actuator network (WSAN) technologies presents an alternative that circumvents costly rewiring and promises better performance than existing commercial lighting systems. The goal of this dissertation research is to develop a framework for wireless-networked lighting systems with increased cost effectiveness, energy efficiency, and user satisfaction. This research is realized through both theoretical developments and implementations. The theoretical research aims at developing techniques for harnessing WSAN technologies to lighting hardware and control strategies. Leveraging redundancy, a sensor validation and fusion algorithm is developed for extracting pertinent lighting information from the disturbance-prone desktop-mounted photosensors. An adaptive sensing strategy optimizes the timing of data acquisition and power-hungry wireless transmission of sensory feedback in real-time lighting control. Exploiting the individual addressability of wireless-enabled luminaires, a lighting optimization algorithm is developed to create the optimal lighting that minimizes energy usage while satisfying occupants' diverse lighting preferences. The wireless-networked lighting system was implemented and tested in a number of real

Perancangan Jaringan Sensor Terdistribusi untuk Pengaturan Suhu, Kelembaban dan Intensitas Cahaya

OpenAIRE

Bimo Ananto Pamungkas; Adian Fatchur Rochim; Eko Didik Widianto

2013-01-01

This paper contains distributed sensor system design for temperature, air humidity, and light intensity monitoring in greenhouse based Arduino Uno board. System contains 2 sensor-actuator nodes, and 1 controller node connected to Ethernet network through Ethernet Shield board. Sensor-actuator node with DHT 11 sensor works for taking environment informations such as temperature, air humidity, and light intensity, runs actuation in the form of emulating LED lights; and communicates with control...

Biomimetic photo-actuation: sensing, control and actuation in sun-tracking plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dicker, M P M; Bond, I P; Weaver, P M; Rossiter, J M

2014-01-01

Although the actuation mechanisms that drive plant movement have been investigated from a biomimetic perspective, few studies have looked at the wider sensing and control systems that regulate this motion. This paper examines photo-actuation—actuation induced by, and controlled with light—through a review of the sun-tracking functions of the Cornish Mallow. The sun-tracking movement of the Cornish Mallow leaf results from an extraordinarily complex—yet extremely elegant—process of signal perception, generation, filtering and control. Inspired by this process, a concept for a simplified biomimetic analogue of this leaf is proposed: a multifunctional structure employing chemical sensing, signal transmission, and control of composite hydrogel actuators. We present this multifunctional structure, and show that the success of the concept will require improved selection of materials and structural design. This device has application in the solar-tracking of photovoltaic panels for increased energy yield. More broadly it is envisaged that the concept of chemical sensing and control can be expanded beyond photo-actuation to many other stimuli, resulting in new classes of robust solid-state devices. (paper)

Materials science. Materials that couple sensing, actuation, computation, and communication.

Science.gov (United States)

McEvoy, M A; Correll, N

2015-03-20

Tightly integrating sensing, actuation, and computation into composites could enable a new generation of truly smart material systems that can change their appearance and shape autonomously. Applications for such materials include airfoils that change their aerodynamic profile, vehicles with camouflage abilities, bridges that detect and repair damage, or robotic skins and prosthetics with a realistic sense of touch. Although integrating sensors and actuators into composites is becoming increasingly common, the opportunities afforded by embedded computation have only been marginally explored. Here, the key challenge is the gap between the continuous physics of materials and the discrete mathematics of computation. Bridging this gap requires a fundamental understanding of the constituents of such robotic materials and the distributed algorithms and controls that make these structures smart. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Improving Delay-Margin of Noncollocated Vibration Control of Piezo-Actuated Flexible Beams via a Fractional-Order Controller

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teerawat Sangpet

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Noncollocated control of flexible structures results in nonminimum-phase systems because the separation between the actuator and the sensor creates an input-output delay. The delay can deteriorate stability of closed-loop systems. This paper presents a simple approach to improve the delay-margin of the noncollocated vibration control of piezo-actuated flexible beams using a fractional-order controller. Results of real life experiments illustrate efficiency of the controller and show that the fractional-order controller has better stability robustness than the integer-order controller.

Experimental characterization of self-sensing SMA actuators under controlled convective cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, N; York, A; Seelecke, S

2013-01-01

Shape memory alloy (SMA) wires are attractive for actuation systems due to their high energy density, light weight and silent operation. In addition, they feature self-sensing capabilities by relating electrical resistance measurements to strain changes. In real world applications SMAs typically operate in non-ambient air and it is imperative to understand an actuator’s behavior under varying convective cooling conditions, especially for smaller diameter wires, where convective effects are amplified. This paper shows that the multi-functionality of SMA actuators can be further extended by related heating power to convective air speed. It investigates the relationship between the normalized excess power needed and corresponding airspeed under controlled, laminar airflow patterns in a small-scale wind tunnel. For each experiment, airflow through the wind tunnel, strain in the SMA wire, and power supplied to the SMA wire were controlled, while the stress and resistance of the wire were measured. The ability to understand and predict an SMA wire’s behavior under various external airflows will aid in the design and understanding of future SMA actuated structures, such as micro-air vehicles, and shows that SMAs can function as self-sensing actuators and airspeed sensors. (paper)

Linear-hall sensor based force detecting unit for lower limb exoskeleton

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongwu; Zhu, Yanhe; Zhao, Jie; Wang, Tianshuo; Zhang, Zongwei

2018-04-01

This paper describes a knee-joint human-machine interaction force sensor for lower-limb force-assistance exoskeleton. The structure is designed based on hall sensor and series elastic actuator (SEA) structure. The work we have done includes the structure design, the parameter determination and dynamic simulation. By converting the force signal into macro displacement and output voltage, we completed the measurement of man-machine interaction force. And it is proved by experiments that the design is simple, stable and low-cost.

Actuation crosstalk in free-falling systems: Torsion pendulum results for the engineering model of the LISA pathfinder gravitational reference sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Bassan, M.; Cavalleri, A.; De Laurentis, M.; De Marchi, F.; De Rosa, R.; Di Fiore, L.; Dolesi, R.; Finetti, N.; Garufi, F.; Grado, A.; Hueller, M.; Marconi, L.; Milano, L.; Minenkov, Y.; Pucacco, G.; Stanga, R.; Vetrugno, D.; Visco, M.; Vitale, S.; Weber, W. J.

2018-01-01

In this paper we report on measurements on actuation crosstalk, relevant to the gravitational reference sensors for LISA Pathfinder and LISA. In these sensors, a Test Mass (TM) falls freely within a system of electrodes used for readout and control. These measurements were carried out on ground with a double torsion pendulum that allowed us to estimate both the torque injected into the sensor when a control force is applied and, conversely, the force leaking into the translational degree of freedom due to the applied torque.The values measured on our apparatus (the engineering model of the LISA Pathfinder sensor) agree to within 0.2% (over a maximum measured crosstalk of 1%) with predictions of a mathematical model when measuring force to torque crosstalk, while it is somewhat larger than expected (up to 3.5%) when measuring torque to force crosstalk. However, the values in the relevant range, i.e. when the TM is well centered ( ± 10 μm) in the sensor, remain smaller than 0.2%, satisfying the LISA Pathfinder requirements.

Modeling and control of flexible space structures

Science.gov (United States)

Wie, B.; Bryson, A. E., Jr.

1981-01-01

The effects of actuator and sensor locations on transfer function zeros are investigated, using uniform bars and beams as generic models of flexible space structures. It is shown how finite element codes may be used directly to calculate transfer function zeros. The impulse response predicted by finite-dimensional models is compared with the exact impulse response predicted by the infinite dimensional models. It is shown that some flexible structures behave as if there were a direct transmission between actuator and sensor (equal numbers of zeros and poles in the transfer function). Finally, natural damping models for a vibrating beam are investigated since natural damping has a strong influence on the appropriate active control logic for a flexible structure.

Impact of pulsed jet actuators on aircraft mass and fuel consumption

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bertels, F.G.A.; van Dijk, R.E.C.; Elmendorp, R.J.M.; Vos, R.

2016-01-01

Pulsed jet actuators (PJAs) are one of the candidate technologies to be integrated in Fowler flaps to increase the maximum lift coefficient of transport aircraft in the landing configuration. The total system consists of the actuators plus sensors, a piping system to supply pressurized air and a

Driving mechanisms of ionic polymer actuators having electric double layer capacitor structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Imaizumi, Satoru; Kato, Yuichi; Kokubo, Hisashi; Watanabe, Masayoshi

2012-04-26

Two solid polymer electrolytes, composed of a polyether-segmented polyurethaneurea (PEUU) and either a lithium salt (lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide: Li[NTf2]) or a nonvolatile ionic liquid (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide: [C2mim][NTf2]), were prepared in order to utilize them as ionic polymer actuators. These salts were preferentially dissolved in the polyether phases. The ionic transport mechanism of the polyethers was discussed in terms of the diffusion coefficients and ionic transference numbers of the incorporated ions, which were estimated by means of pulsed-field gradient spin-echo (PGSE) NMR. There was a distinct difference in the ionic transport properties of each polymer electrolyte owing to the difference in the magnitude of interactions between the cations and the polyether. The anionic diffusion coefficient was much faster than that of the cation in the polyether/Li[NTf2] electrolyte, whereas the cation diffused faster than the anion in the polyether/[C2mim][NTf2] electrolyte. Ionic polymer actuators, which have a solid-state electric-double-layer-capacitor (EDLC) structure, were prepared using these polymer electrolyte membranes and ubiquitous carbon materials such as activated carbon and acetylene black. On the basis of the difference in the motional direction of each actuator against applied voltages, a simple model of the actuation mechanisms was proposed by taking the difference in ionic transport properties into consideration. This model discriminated the behavior of the actuators in terms of the products of transference numbers and ionic volumes. The experimentally observed behavior of the actuators was successfully explained by this model.

Characterization of piezoelectric macrofiber composite actuated winglets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guha, T K; Oates, W S; Kumar, R

2015-01-01

The present study primarily focuses on the design, development, and structural characterization of an oscillating winglet actuated using a piezoelectric macrofiber composite (MFC). The primary objective is to study the effect of controlled wingtip oscillations on the evolution of wingtip vortices, with a goal of weakening these potentially harmful tip vortices by introducing controlled instabilities through both spatial and temporal perturbations producible through winglet oscillations. MFC-actuated winglets have been characterized under different input excitation and pressure-loading conditions. The winglet oscillations show bimodal behavior for both structural and actuation modes of resonance. The oscillatory amplitude at these actuation modes increases linearly with the magnitude of excitation. During wind-tunnel tests, fluid-structure interactions led to structural vibrations of the wing. The effect of these vibrations on the overall winglet oscillations decreased when the strength of actuation increased. At high input excitation, the actuated winglet was capable of generating controlled oscillations. As a proof of concept, the current study has demonstrated that microfiber composite-actuated winglets produce sufficient displacements to alter the development of the wingtip vortex. (paper)

Self-Latching Piezocomposite Actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkie, William K. (Inventor); Bryant, Robert G. (Inventor); Lynch, Christopher S. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A self-latching piezocomposite actuator includes a plurality of shape memory ceramic fibers. The actuator can be latched by applying an electrical field to the shape memory ceramic fibers. The actuator remains in a latched state/shape after the electrical field is no longer present. A reverse polarity electric field may be applied to reset the actuator to its unlatched state/shape. Applied electric fields may be utilized to provide a plurality of latch states between the latched and unlatched states of the actuator. The self-latching piezocomposite actuator can be used for active/adaptive airfoils having variable camber, trim tabs, active/deformable engine inlets, adaptive or adjustable vortex generators, active optical components such as mirrors that change shapes, and other morphing structures.

Compact electrostatic comb actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, M. Steven; Burg, Michael S.; Jensen, Brian D.; Miller, Samuel L.; Barnes, Stephen M.

2000-01-01

A compact electrostatic comb actuator is disclosed for microelectromechanical (MEM) applications. The actuator is based upon a plurality of meshed electrostatic combs, some of which are stationary and others of which are moveable. One or more restoring springs are fabricated within an outline of the electrostatic combs (i.e. superposed with the moveable electrostatic combs) to considerably reduce the space required for the actuator. Additionally, a truss structure is provided to support the moveable electrostatic combs and prevent bending or distortion of these combs due to unbalanced electrostatic forces or external loading. The truss structure formed about the moveable electrostatic combs allows the spacing between the interdigitated fingers of the combs to be reduced to about one micron or less, thereby substantially increasing the number of active fingers which can be provided in a given area. Finally, electrostatic shields can be used in the actuator to substantially reduce unwanted electrostatic fields to further improve performance of the device. As a result, the compact electrostatic comb actuator of the present invention occupies only a fraction of the space required for conventional electrostatic comb actuators, while providing a substantial increase in the available drive force (up to one-hundred times).

A Sensor Data Fusion System Based on k-Nearest Neighbor Pattern Classification for Structural Health Monitoring Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaime Vitola

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Civil and military structures are susceptible and vulnerable to damage due to the environmental and operational conditions. Therefore, the implementation of technology to provide robust solutions in damage identification (by using signals acquired directly from the structure is a requirement to reduce operational and maintenance costs. In this sense, the use of sensors permanently attached to the structures has demonstrated a great versatility and benefit since the inspection system can be automated. This automation is carried out with signal processing tasks with the aim of a pattern recognition analysis. This work presents the detailed description of a structural health monitoring (SHM system based on the use of a piezoelectric (PZT active system. The SHM system includes: (i the use of a piezoelectric sensor network to excite the structure and collect the measured dynamic response, in several actuation phases; (ii data organization; (iii advanced signal processing techniques to define the feature vectors; and finally; (iv the nearest neighbor algorithm as a machine learning approach to classify different kinds of damage. A description of the experimental setup, the experimental validation and a discussion of the results from two different structures are included and analyzed.

Vibration suppression in cutting tools using collocated piezoelectric sensors/actuators with an adaptive control algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radecki, Peter P [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Farinholt, Kevin M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Park, Gyuhae [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Bement, Matthew T [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2008-01-01

The machining process is very important in many engineering applications. In high precision machining, surface finish is strongly correlated with vibrations and the dynamic interactions between the part and the cutting tool. Parameters affecting these vibrations and dynamic interactions, such as spindle speed, cut depth, feed rate, and the part's material properties can vary in real-time, resulting in unexpected or undesirable effects on the surface finish of the machining product. The focus of this research is the development of an improved machining process through the use of active vibration damping. The tool holder employs a high bandwidth piezoelectric actuator with an adaptive positive position feedback control algorithm for vibration and chatter suppression. In addition, instead of using external sensors, the proposed approach investigates the use of a collocated piezoelectric sensor for measuring the dynamic responses from machining processes. The performance of this method is evaluated by comparing the surface finishes obtained with active vibration control versus baseline uncontrolled cuts. Considerable improvement in surface finish (up to 50%) was observed for applications in modern day machining.

Structure Crack Identification Based on Surface-mounted Active Sensor Network with Time-Domain Feature Extraction and Neural Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunling DU

2012-03-01

Full Text Available In this work the condition of metallic structures are classified based on the acquired sensor data from a surface-mounted piezoelectric sensor/actuator network. The structures are aluminum plates with riveted holes and possible crack damage at these holes. A 400 kHz sine wave burst is used as diagnostic signals. The combination of time-domain S0 waves from received sensor signals is directly used as features and preprocessing is not needed for the dam age detection. Since the time sequence of the extracted S0 has a high dimension, principal component estimation is applied to reduce its dimension before entering NN (neural network training for classification. An LVQ (learning vector quantization NN is used to classify the conditions as healthy or damaged. A number of FEM (finite element modeling results are taken as inputs to the NN for training, since the simulated S0 waves agree well with the experimental results on real plates. The performance of the classification is then validated by using these testing results.

Efficient Structure-Based Models for the McKibben Contraction Pneumatic Muscle Actuator: The Full Description of the Behaviour of the Contraction PMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alaa Al-Ibadi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available To clarify the advantages of using soft robots in all aspects of life, the effective behaviour of the pneumatic muscle actuator (PMA must be known. In this work, the performances of the PMA are explained and modelled with three formulas. The first formula describes the pulling force of the actuator based on the structure parameters; furthermore, the formula presented is the generalised contraction force for wholly-pneumatic muscle actuators. The second important model is the length formula, which is modified to our previous work to fit different actuator structures. Based on these two models, the stiffness of the actuator is formulated to illustrate its variability at different air pressure amounts. In addition, these formulas will make the selection of proper actuators for any robot arm structure easier using the knowledge gained from their performance. On the other hand, the desired behaviour of this type of actuator will be predefined and controlled.

A Multi-Agent-Based Intelligent Sensor and Actuator Network Design for Smart House and Home Automation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Hu

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The smart-house technology aims to increase home automation and security with reduced energy consumption. A smart house consists of various intelligent sensors and actuators operating on different platforms with conflicting objectives. This paper proposes a multi-agent system (MAS design framework to achieve smart house automation. The novelties of this work include the developments of (1 belief, desire and intention (BDI agent behavior models; (2 a regulation policy-based multi-agent collaboration mechanism; and (3 a set of metrics for MAS performance evaluation. Simulations of case studies are performed using the Java Agent Development Environment (JADE to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.

Engineering biomimetic hair bundle sensors for underwater sensing applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kottapalli, Ajay Giri Prakash; Asadnia, Mohsen; Karavitaki, K. Domenica; Warkiani, Majid Ebrahimi; Miao, Jianmin; Corey, David P.; Triantafyllou, Michael

2018-05-01

We present the fabrication of an artificial MEMS hair bundle sensor designed to approximate the structural and functional principles of the flow-sensing bundles found in fish neuromast hair cells. The sensor consists of micro-pillars of graded height connected with piezoelectric nanofiber "tip-links" and encapsulated by a hydrogel cupula-like structure. Fluid drag force actuates the hydrogel cupula and deflects the micro-pillar bundle, stretching the nanofibers and generating electric charges. These biomimetic sensors achieve an ultrahigh sensitivity of 0.286 mV/(mm/s) and an extremely low threshold detection limit of 8.24 µm/s. A complete version of this paper has been published [1].

Characterization of kink actuators as compared to traditional chevron shaped Bent-Beam electrothermal actuators

KAUST Repository

Rawashdeh, E.; Karam, A.; Foulds, Ian G.

2012-01-01

This paper compares the design and performance of kink actuators, a modified version of the bent-beam thermal actuator, to the standard chevron-shaped designs. A variety of kink and chevron actuator designs were fabricated from polysilicon. While the actuators were electrically probed, these designs were tested using a probe station connected to a National Instruments (NI) controller that uses LabVIEW to extract the displacement results via image processing. The displacement results were then used to validate the thermal-electric-structural simulations produced by COMSOL. These results, in turn, were used to extract the stiffness for both actuator types. The data extracted show that chevron actuators can have larger stiffness values with increasing offsets, but at the cost of lower amplification factors. In contrast, kink actuators showed a constant stiffness value equivalent to the chevron actuator with the highest amplification factor. The kink actuator also had larger amplification factors than chevrons at all designs tested. Therefore, kink actuators are capable of longer throws at lower power levels than the standard chevron designs.

Characterization of kink actuators as compared to traditional chevron shaped Bent-Beam electrothermal actuators

KAUST Repository

Rawashdeh, E.

2012-07-06

This paper compares the design and performance of kink actuators, a modified version of the bent-beam thermal actuator, to the standard chevron-shaped designs. A variety of kink and chevron actuator designs were fabricated from polysilicon. While the actuators were electrically probed, these designs were tested using a probe station connected to a National Instruments (NI) controller that uses LabVIEW to extract the displacement results via image processing. The displacement results were then used to validate the thermal-electric-structural simulations produced by COMSOL. These results, in turn, were used to extract the stiffness for both actuator types. The data extracted show that chevron actuators can have larger stiffness values with increasing offsets, but at the cost of lower amplification factors. In contrast, kink actuators showed a constant stiffness value equivalent to the chevron actuator with the highest amplification factor. The kink actuator also had larger amplification factors than chevrons at all designs tested. Therefore, kink actuators are capable of longer throws at lower power levels than the standard chevron designs.

Actuator Placement in Multi-Degree-of-Freedom Vibration Simulators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norman Fitz-Coy

1994-01-01

Full Text Available A method for comparing candidate actuator configurations for multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF vibration simulators is presented. The method has its roots in the comparison of achievable subspaces and maximum error bounds; the comparison is accomplished via a QR decomposition. In instances where two configurations yield the same error bound, the ratio of the largest to smallest singular value is used to determine the “best” configuration. Both amplitude bounds at given sensor locations and relative significance of each sensor's output, if known, can be incorporated in the analysis. Through numerical examples, it is demonstrated that no simple rule of thumb criterion appears to exist for the selection of actuator placement in MDOF vibration simulators.

Investigation of electrochemical actuation by polyaniline nanofibers

Science.gov (United States)

Mehraeen, Shayan; Alkan Gürsel, Selmiye; Papila, Melih; Çakmak Cebeci, Fevzi

2017-09-01

Polyaniline nanofibers have shown promising electrical and electrochemical properties which make them prominent candidates in the development of smart systems employing sensors and actuators. Their electrochemical actuation potential is demonstrated in this study. A trilayer composite actuator based on polyaniline nanofibers was designed and fabricated. Cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol was sandwiched between two polyaniline nanofibrous electrodes as ion-containing electrolyte gel. First, electrochemical behavior of a single electrode was studied, showing reversible redox peak pairs in 1 M HCl using a cyclic voltammetry technique. High aspect ratio polyaniline nanofibers create a porous network which facilitates ion diffusion and thus accelerates redox reactions. Bending displacement of the prepared trilayer actuator was then tested and reported under an AC potential stimulation as low as 0.5 V in a variety of frequencies from 50 to 1000 mHz, both inside 1 M HCl solution and in air. Decay of performance of the composite actuator in air is investigated and it is reported that tip displacement in a solution was stable and repeatable for 1000 s in all selected frequencies.

Comparison of various decentralised structural and cavity feedback control strategies for transmitted noise reduction through a double panel structure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ho, J.H.; Berkhoff, A.P.

2014-01-01

This paper compares various decentralised control strategies, including structural and acoustic actuator-sensor configuration designs, to reduce noise transmission through a double panel structure. The comparison is based on identical control stability indexes. The double panel structure consists of

Virtual sensors for active noise control in acoustic-structural coupled enclosures using structural sensing: part II--Optimization of structural sensor placement.

Science.gov (United States)

Halim, Dunant; Cheng, Li; Su, Zhongqing

2011-04-01

The work proposed an optimization approach for structural sensor placement to improve the performance of vibro-acoustic virtual sensor for active noise control applications. The vibro-acoustic virtual sensor was designed to estimate the interior sound pressure of an acoustic-structural coupled enclosure using structural sensors. A spectral-spatial performance metric was proposed, which was used to quantify the averaged structural sensor output energy of a vibro-acoustic system excited by a spatially varying point source. It was shown that (i) the overall virtual sensing error energy was contributed additively by the modal virtual sensing error and the measurement noise energy; (ii) each of the modal virtual sensing error system was contributed by both the modal observability levels for the structural sensing and the target acoustic virtual sensing; and further (iii) the strength of each modal observability level was influenced by the modal coupling and resonance frequencies of the associated uncoupled structural/cavity modes. An optimal design of structural sensor placement was proposed to achieve sufficiently high modal observability levels for certain important panel- and cavity-controlled modes. Numerical analysis on a panel-cavity system demonstrated the importance of structural sensor placement on virtual sensing and active noise control performance, particularly for cavity-controlled modes.

Scaling of piezoelectric actuators: a comparison with traditional and other new technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pons, J. L.

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Miniaturization is not a logical trend in actuator systems. Unlike actuators, sensors intrinsically perform more efficiently upon miniaturization. This is a logical consequence of the exchange of energy in the transduction process when applying sensors: measurement ideally should not influence the system being measured, thus the minimum exchange of energy is necessary and this intrinsically leads to miniaturization. In actuators, a transduction process is likewise established but the aim is to impose a mechanical state on a system. It is of particular interest not having this state influenced by perturbations, thus there are strong requirements on power delivered by the actuator. In view of current trends towards miniaturization, it is worth inquiring how the performance of piezoelectric actuators is affected by reducing their size. We are not concerned here with the domain of micro-actuators, i.e. actuators with sizes in the micrometer range. The analysis in this paper focuses on studying how four useful parameters for describing the performance of actuators are influenced by miniaturization: resonance frequency, force density, response time (bandwidth, stroke and energy density per cycle. In so doing, the analysis is restricted to non resonant piezoelectric actuators, i.e. stack, multimorph and inchworm actuators, but reference to other piezoelectric, emerging and traditional actuators is included for comparison.

La miniaturización de los dispositivos actuadores no es una tendenca lógica de su naturaleza de operación. Al contrario que los actuadores, los sensores si presentan esta tendencia a la miniaturización fundamentada en la naturaleza de su operación: dado que en el proceso de medida el intercambio energético debe ser mínimo para no afectar el proceso de medida, cuanto menor sea el sensor menor será también su efecto sobre la medición. En el caso de los actuadores el objetivo es el opuesto, se pretende imponer el estado

EAP artificial muscle actuators for bio-inspired intelligent social robotics (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, David F.

2017-04-01

Bio-inspired intelligent robots are coming of age in both research and industry, propelling market growth for robots and A.I. However, conventional motors limit bio-inspired robotics. EAP actuators and sensors could improve the simplicity, compliance, physical scaling, and offer bio-inspired advantages in robotic locomotion, grasping and manipulation, and social expressions. For EAP actuators to realize their transformative potential, further innovations are needed: the actuators must be robust, fast, powerful, manufacturable, and affordable. This presentation surveys progress, opportunities, and challenges in the author's latest work in social robots and EAP actuators, and proposes a roadmap for EAP actuators in bio-inspired intelligent robotics.

Application of a permanent magnet biased E-Core reluctance actuator in a magnetically suspended ceiling actuator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Overboom, T.T.; Jansen, J.W.; Lomonova, E.

2010-01-01

In the paper a novel actuator is presented for a magnetically suspended ceiling actuator. The actuator consists of several stator segments which contain the coils and the magnets. The armature, therefore, has a totally passive design. Because of its salient structure, a translational force can be

Nonlinear Tracking Control of a Conductive Supercoiled Polymer Actuator.

Science.gov (United States)

Luong, Tuan Anh; Cho, Kyeong Ho; Song, Min Geun; Koo, Ja Choon; Choi, Hyouk Ryeol; Moon, Hyungpil

2018-04-01

Artificial muscle actuators made from commercial nylon fishing lines have been recently introduced and shown as a new type of actuator with high performance. However, the actuators also exhibit significant nonlinearities, which make them difficult to control, especially in precise trajectory-tracking applications. In this article, we present a nonlinear mathematical model of a conductive supercoiled polymer (SCP) actuator driven by Joule heating for model-based feedback controls. Our efforts include modeling of the hysteresis behavior of the actuator. Based on nonlinear modeling, we design a sliding mode controller for SCP actuator-driven manipulators. The system with proposed control law is proven to be asymptotically stable using the Lyapunov theory. The control performance of the proposed method is evaluated experimentally and compared with that of a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller through one-degree-of-freedom SCP actuator-driven manipulators. Experimental results show that the proposed controller's performance is superior to that of a PID controller, such as the tracking errors are nearly 10 times smaller compared with those of a PID controller, and it is more robust to external disturbances such as sensor noise and actuator modeling error.

35 Hz shape memory alloy actuator with bending-twisting mode.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Sung-Hyuk; Lee, Jang-Yeob; Rodrigue, Hugo; Choi, Ik-Seong; Kang, Yeon June; Ahn, Sung-Hoon

2016-02-19

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) materials are widely used as an actuating source for bending actuators due to their high power density. However, due to the slow actuation speed of SMAs, there are limitations in their range of possible applications. This paper proposes a smart soft composite (SSC) actuator capable of fast bending actuation with large deformations. To increase the actuation speed of SMA actuator, multiple thin SMA wires are used to increase the heat dissipation for faster cooling. The actuation characteristics of the actuator at different frequencies are measured with different actuator lengths and results show that resonance can be used to realize large deformations up to 35 Hz. The actuation characteristics of the actuator can be modified by changing the design of the layered reinforcement structure embedded in the actuator, thus the natural frequency and length of an actuator can be optimized for a specific actuation speed. A model is used to compare with the experimental results of actuators with different layered reinforcement structure designs. Also, a bend-twist coupled motion using an anisotropic layered reinforcement structure at a speed of 10 Hz is also realized. By increasing their range of actuation characteristics, the proposed actuator extends the range of application of SMA bending actuators.

Porous silicon structures with high surface area/specific pore size

Science.gov (United States)

Northrup, M.A.; Yu, C.M.; Raley, N.F.

1999-03-16

Fabrication and use of porous silicon structures to increase surface area of heated reaction chambers, electrophoresis devices, and thermopneumatic sensor-actuators, chemical preconcentrates, and filtering or control flow devices. In particular, such high surface area or specific pore size porous silicon structures will be useful in significantly augmenting the adsorption, vaporization, desorption, condensation and flow of liquids and gases in applications that use such processes on a miniature scale. Examples that will benefit from a high surface area, porous silicon structure include sample preconcentrators that are designed to adsorb and subsequently desorb specific chemical species from a sample background; chemical reaction chambers with enhanced surface reaction rates; and sensor-actuator chamber devices with increased pressure for thermopneumatic actuation of integrated membranes. Examples that benefit from specific pore sized porous silicon are chemical/biological filters and thermally-activated flow devices with active or adjacent surfaces such as electrodes or heaters. 9 figs.

Devising Mobile Sensing and Actuation Infrastructure with Drones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mungyu Bae

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Vast applications and services have been enabled as the number of mobile or sensing devices with communication capabilities has grown. However, managing the devices, integrating networks or combining services across different networks has become a new problem since each network is not directly connected via back-end core networks or servers. The issue is and has been discussed especially in wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSAN. In such systems, sensors and actuators are tightly coupled, so when an independent WSAN needs to collaborate with other networks, it is difficult to adequately combine them into an integrated infrastructure. In this paper, we propose drone-as-a-gateway (DaaG, which uses drones as mobile gateways to interconnect isolated networks or combine independent services. Our system contains features that focus on the service being provided in the order of importance, different from an adaptive simple mobile sink system or delay-tolerant system. Our simulation results have shown that the proposed system is able to activate actuators in the order of importance of the service, which uses separate sensors’ data, and it consumes almost the same time in comparison with other path-planning algorithms. Moreover, we have implemented DaaG and presented results in a field test to show that it can enable large-scale on-demand deployment of sensing and actuation infrastructure or the Internet of Things (IoT.

Devising Mobile Sensing and Actuation Infrastructure with Drones

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Jongtack; Park, Seongjoon; Kim, Kangho; Lee, Joon Yeop

2018-01-01

Vast applications and services have been enabled as the number of mobile or sensing devices with communication capabilities has grown. However, managing the devices, integrating networks or combining services across different networks has become a new problem since each network is not directly connected via back-end core networks or servers. The issue is and has been discussed especially in wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSAN). In such systems, sensors and actuators are tightly coupled, so when an independent WSAN needs to collaborate with other networks, it is difficult to adequately combine them into an integrated infrastructure. In this paper, we propose drone-as-a-gateway (DaaG), which uses drones as mobile gateways to interconnect isolated networks or combine independent services. Our system contains features that focus on the service being provided in the order of importance, different from an adaptive simple mobile sink system or delay-tolerant system. Our simulation results have shown that the proposed system is able to activate actuators in the order of importance of the service, which uses separate sensors’ data, and it consumes almost the same time in comparison with other path-planning algorithms. Moreover, we have implemented DaaG and presented results in a field test to show that it can enable large-scale on-demand deployment of sensing and actuation infrastructure or the Internet of Things (IoT). PMID:29463064

Synthetic jet actuation for load control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vries, Hein; van der Weide, Edwin Theodorus Antonius; Hoeijmakers, Hendrik Willem Marie

2014-01-01

The reduction of wind turbine blade loads is an important issue in the reduction of the costs of energy production. Reduction of the loads of a non-cyclic nature requires so-called smart rotor control, which involves the application of distributed actuators and sensors to provide fast and local

Mechano-actuated ultrafast full-colour switching in layered photonic hydrogels.

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Youfeng; Kurokawa, Takayuki; Haque, Md Anamul; Nakajima, Tasuku; Nonoyama, Takayuki; Li, Xufeng; Kajiwara, Itsuro; Gong, Jian Ping

2014-08-18

Photonic crystals with tunability in the visible region are of great interest for controlling light diffraction. Mechanochromic photonic materials are periodically structured soft materials designed with a photonic stop-band that can be tuned by mechanical forces to reflect specific colours. Soft photonic materials with broad colour tunability and fast colour switching are invaluable for application. Here we report a novel mechano-actuated, soft photonic hydrogel that has an ultrafast-response time, full-colour tunable range, high spatial resolution and can be actuated by a very small compressive stress. In addition, the material has excellent mechanical stability and the colour can be reversibly switched at high frequency more than 10,000 times without degradation. This material can be used in optical devices, such as full-colour display and sensors to visualize the time evolution of complicated stress/strain fields, for example, generated during the motion of biological cells.

Compliant actuation based on dielectric elastomers for a force-feedback device: modeling and experimental evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Vertechy

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Thanks to their large power densities, low costs and shock-insensitivity, Dielectric Elastomers (DE seem to be a promising technology for the implementation of light and compact force-feedback devices such as, for instance, haptic interfaces. Nonetheless, the development of these kinds of DE-based systems is not trivial owing to the relevant dissipative phenomena that affect the DE when subjected to rapidly changing deformations. In this context, the present paper addresses the development of a force feedback controller for an agonist-antagonist linear actuator composed of a couple of conically-shaped DE films and a compliant mechanism behaving as a negative-rate bias spring. The actuator is firstly modeled accounting for the visco-hyperelastic nature of the DE material. The model is then linearized and employed for the design of a force controller. The controller employs a position sensor, which determines the actuator configuration, and a force sensor, which measures the interaction force that the actuator exchanges with the environment. In addition, an optimum full-state observer is also implemented, which enables both accurate estimation of the time-dependent behavior of the elastomeric material and adequate suppression of the sensor measurement noise. Preliminary experimental results are provided to validate the proposed actuator-controller architecture.

Finite element analysis of actively controlled smart plate with patched actuators and sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Yaqoob Yasin

Full Text Available The active vibration control of smart plate equipped with patched piezoelectric sensors and actuators is presented in this study. An equivalent single layer third order shear deformation theory is employed to model the kinematics of the plate and to obtain the shear strains. The governing equations of motion are derived using extended Hamilton's principle. Linear variation of electric potential across the piezoelectric layers in thickness direction is considered. The electrical variable is discretized by Lagrange interpolation function considering two-noded line element. Undamped natural frequencies and the corresponding mode shapes are obtained by solving the eigen value problem with and without electromechanical coupling. The finite element model in nodal variables are transformed into modal model and then recast into state space. The dynamic model is reduced for further analysis using Hankel norm for designing the controller. The optimal control technique is used to control the vibration of the plate.

Design and Performance Evaluation of Sensors and Actuators for Advanced Optical Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Natalie

2011-01-01

Current state-of-the-art commercial sensors and actuators do not meet many of NASA s next generation spacecraft and instrument needs. Nor do they satisfy the DoD needs for satellite missions, especially micro/nano satellite missions. In an effort to develop advanced optical devices and instruments that meet mission requirements, NASA Langley recently completed construction of a new cleanroom housing equipment capable of fabricating high performance active optic and adaptive optic technologies including deformable mirrors, reconfigurable lenses (both refractive and diffractive), spectrometers, spectro-polarimeters, tunable filters and many other active optic devices. In addition to performance, these advanced optic technologies offer advantages in speed, size, weight, power consumption, and radiation tolerance. The active optic devices described in this paper rely on birefringent liquid crystal materials to alter either the phase or the polarization of the incoming light. Design considerations and performance evaluation results for various NASA applications are presented. Applications presented will include large space telescopes, optical communications, spacecraft windows, coronagraphs, and star trackers. Keywords: Photonics, Adaptive Optics, Tunable Filters, MEMs., MOEMs, Coronagraph, Star Tracker

Development, Control, and Evaluation of an Actuated Car Door.

Science.gov (United States)

Strolz, M; Mortl, A; Graf, M; Buss, M

2009-01-01

Actuated car doors are a promising way to increase the convenience of access to cars. We propose an advanced actuation and control concept which can easily be integrated into conventional car doors. By utilizing a linear, nonbackdrivable actuator and various sensors, both automatic and manual door operations are enabled. A discrete state controller ensures a safe operation of the door, including automatic opening and closing. The realization of a supportive, high-quality haptic interaction with the car door for the manual operation is the principal part of our work. Due to the impracticality of a direct measurement of the user interaction force at a car door, we chose impedance control to render the desired dynamics. The impedance was designed to provide a convenient, intuitive, and safe manual handling of the door. We implemented and tested four different impedance control schemes, of which impedance control with actuator force feedback performed best. Two experimental evaluations with 16 and 27 participants revealed a predominant approval of the actuated car door.

Frequency-weighted feedforward control for dynamic compensation in ionic polymer–metal composite actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shan, Yingfeng; Leang, Kam K

2009-01-01

Ionic polymer–metal composites (IPMCs) are innovative materials that offer combined sensing and actuating ability in lightweight and flexible package. IPMCs have been exploited in robotics and a wide variety of biomedical devices, for example, as sensors for teleoperation, as actuators for positioning in active endoscopy, as fins for propelling aquatic robots, and as an injector for drug delivery. In the actuation mode, one of the main challenges is precise position control. In particular, IPMC actuators exhibit relaxation behavior and nonlinearities; and at relatively high operating frequencies dynamic effects limit accuracy and positioning bandwidth. A frequency-weighted feedforward controller is designed to account for the IPMC's structural dynamics to enable fast positioning. The control method is applied to a custom-made Nafion-based IPMC actuator. The controller takes into account the magnitude of the control input to avoid generating excessively large voltages which can damage the IPMC actuator. To account for unmodeled effects not captured by the dynamics model, a feedback controller is integrated with the feedforward controller. Experimental results show a significant improvement in the tracking performance when feedforward control is used. For instance, the feedforward controller shows over 75% reduction in the tracking error compared to the case without feedforward compensation. Finally, the integrated feedforward and feedback control system reduces the tracking error to less than 10% for tracking an 18-Hz triangle-like trajectory. Some of the advantages of feedforward control as well as its limitations are also discussed

Integrated nozzle - flapper valve with piezoelectric actuator and isothermal chamber: a feedback linearization multi control device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamali, Mohammadreza; Jazayeri, Seyed Ali [K. N.Toosi University of Technology, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Najafi, Farid [University of Guilan, Rasht (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Kawashima, Kenji [Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo (Japan); Kagawa, Toshiharu [Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo (Japan)

2016-05-15

This paper introduces a new nozzle-flapper valve with isothermal chamber using piezoelectric actuator. It controls the pressure and flow rate simply, effectively and separately. The proposed valve uses isothermal chamber presenting practical isothermal condition due to its large heat transfer interfaces filled by metal wool. The valve uses stacked type piezoelectric actuator with unique advantages. By using this valve, a simple method has been fulfilled to control flow rate or pressure of ideal gases in a pneumatic actuators. Experimental results demonstrated applications of the proposed valve to control either pressure or flow rate in pneumatic circuits. This valve can be also used in the pilot stage valve to actuate the main stage of a much bigger pneumatic valve. Designated structure contains only one pressure sensor installed on the isothermal control chamber, capable of controlling both pressure and flow rate. The desired output mass flow rate of the valve is controlled by the pressure changes during positioning of piezoelectric actuator at proper position. The proposed valve can control steady and unsteady oscillatory flow rate and pressure effectively, using nonlinear control method such as feedback linearization approach. Its effectiveness is demonstrated and validated through simulation and experiments.

Optically Defined Modal Sensors Incorporating Spiropyran-Doped Liquid Crystals with Piezoelectric Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui-Lung Kuo

2011-01-01

Full Text Available We integrated a piezoelectric sensing layer lamina containing liquid crystals (LC and spiropyran (SP in a LC/SP mixture to create an optically reconfigurable modal sensor for a cantilever beam. The impedance of this LC/SP lamina was decreased by UV irradiation which constituted the underlying mechanism to modulate the voltage externally applied to the piezoelectric actuating layer. Illuminating a specific pattern onto the LC/SP lamina provided us with a way to spatially modulate the piezoelectric vibration signal. We showed that if an UV illuminated pattern matches the strain distribution of a specific mode, a piezoelectric modal sensor can be created. Since UV illumination can be changed in situ in real-time, our results confirm for the first time since the inception of smart sensors, that an optically tailored modal sensor can be created. Some potential applications of this type of sensor include energy harvesting devices, bio-chips, vibration sensing and actuating devices.

Active vibration reduction of a flexible structure bonded with optimised piezoelectric pairs using half and quarter chromosomes in genetic algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daraji, A H; Hale, J M

2012-01-01

The optimal placement of sensors and actuators in active vibration control is limited by the number of candidates in the search space. The search space of a small structure discretized to one hundred elements for optimising the location of ten actuators gives 1.73 × 10 13 possible solutions, one of which is the global optimum. In this work, a new quarter and half chromosome technique based on symmetry is developed, by which the search space for optimisation of sensor/actuator locations in active vibration control of flexible structures may be greatly reduced. The technique is applied to the optimisation for eight and ten actuators located on a 500×500mm square plate, in which the search space is reduced by up to 99.99%. This technique helps for updating genetic algorithm program by updating natural frequencies and mode shapes in each generation to find the global optimal solution in a greatly reduced number of generations. An isotropic plate with piezoelectric sensor/actuator pairs bonded to its surface was investigated using the finite element method and Hamilton's principle based on first order shear deformation theory. The placement and feedback gain of ten and eight sensor/actuator pairs was optimised for a cantilever and clamped-clamped plate to attenuate the first six modes of vibration, using minimization of linear quadratic index as an objective function.

35 Hz shape memory alloy actuator with bending-twisting mode

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Sung-Hyuk; Lee, Jang-Yeob; Rodrigue, Hugo; Choi, Ik-Seong; Kang, Yeon June; Ahn, Sung-Hoon

2016-01-01

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) materials are widely used as an actuating source for bending actuators due to their high power density. However, due to the slow actuation speed of SMAs, there are limitations in their range of possible applications. This paper proposes a smart soft composite (SSC) actuator capable of fast bending actuation with large deformations. To increase the actuation speed of SMA actuator, multiple thin SMA wires are used to increase the heat dissipation for faster cooling. The actuation characteristics of the actuator at different frequencies are measured with different actuator lengths and results show that resonance can be used to realize large deformations up to 35 Hz. The actuation characteristics of the actuator can be modified by changing the design of the layered reinforcement structure embedded in the actuator, thus the natural frequency and length of an actuator can be optimized for a specific actuation speed. A model is used to compare with the experimental results of actuators with different layered reinforcement structure designs. Also, a bend-twist coupled motion using an anisotropic layered reinforcement structure at a speed of 10 Hz is also realized. By increasing their range of actuation characteristics, the proposed actuator extends the range of application of SMA bending actuators. PMID:26892438

High-speed broadband elastic actuator in water using induced-charge electro-osmosis with a skew structure

Science.gov (United States)

Sugioka, Hideyuki; Nakano, Naoki

2018-01-01

An artificial cilium using ac electro-osmosis (ACEO) is attractive because of its large potentiality for innovative microfluidic applications. However, the ACEO cilium has not been probed experimentally and has a shortcoming that the working frequency range is very narrow. Thus, we here propose an ACEO elastic actuator having a skew structure that broadens a working frequency range and experimentally demonstrate that the elastic actuator in water can be driven with a high-speed (˜10 Hz) and a wide frequency range (˜0.1 to ˜10 kHz). Moreover, we propose a simple self-consistent model that explains the broadband characteristic due to the skew structure with other characteristics. By comparing the theoretical results with the experimental results, we find that they agree fairly well. We believe that our ACEO elastic actuator will play an important role in microfluidics in the future.

High-speed broadband elastic actuator in water using induced-charge electro-osmosis with a skew structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugioka, Hideyuki; Nakano, Naoki

2018-01-01

An artificial cilium using ac electro-osmosis (ACEO) is attractive because of its large potentiality for innovative microfluidic applications. However, the ACEO cilium has not been probed experimentally and has a shortcoming that the working frequency range is very narrow. Thus, we here propose an ACEO elastic actuator having a skew structure that broadens a working frequency range and experimentally demonstrate that the elastic actuator in water can be driven with a high-speed (∼10 Hz) and a wide frequency range (∼0.1 to ∼10 kHz). Moreover, we propose a simple self-consistent model that explains the broadband characteristic due to the skew structure with other characteristics. By comparing the theoretical results with the experimental results, we find that they agree fairly well. We believe that our ACEO elastic actuator will play an important role in microfluidics in the future.

Design and modeling of an efficiency horizontal thermal micro-actuator with integrated piezoresistors for precise control.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Lee, Dong-Weon

2010-05-01

An integrated system made up of a double-hot arm electro-thermal microactuator and a piezoresistor embedded at the base of the 'cold arm' is proposed. The electro-thermo-mechanical modeling and optimization is developed to elaborate the operation mechanism of the hybrid system through numerical simulations. For given materials, the geometry design mostly influences the performance of the sensor and actuator, which can be considered separately. That is because thermal expansion induced heating energy has less influence on the base area of the 'cold arm,' where is the maximum stress. The piezoresistor is positioned here for large sensitivity to monitor the in-plane movement of the system and characterize the actuator response precisely in real time. Force method is used to analyze the thermal induced mechanical expansion in the redundant structure. On the other hand, the integrated actuating mechanism is designed for high speed imaging. Based on the simulation results, the actuator operates at levels below 5 mA appearing to be very reliable, and the stress sensitivity is about 40 MPa per micron.

Mathematical modeling of the infrastructure of attosecond actuators and femtosecond sensors of nonequilibrium physical media in smart materials

Science.gov (United States)

Beznosyuk, Sergey A.; Maslova, Olga A.; Zhukovsky, Mark S.; Valeryeva, Ekaterina V.; Terentyeva, Yulia V.

2017-12-01

The task of modeling the multiscale infrastructure of quantum attosecond actuators and femtosecond sensors of nonequilibrium physical media in smart materials is considered. Computer design and calculation of supra-atomic femtosecond sensors of nonequilibrium physical media in materials based on layered graphene-transition metal nanosystems are carried out by vdW-DF and B3LYP methods. It is shown that the molybdenum substrate provides fixation of graphene nanosheets by Van der Waals forces at a considerable distance (5.3 Å) from the metal surface. This minimizes the effect of the electronic and nuclear subsystem of the substrate metal on the sensory properties of "pure" graphene. The conclusion is substantiated that graphene-molybdenum nanosensors are able to accurately orient and position one molecule of carbon monoxide. It is shown that graphene selectively adsorbs CO and fixes the oxygen atom of the molecule at the position of the center of the graphene ring C6.

Molecular robots with sensors and intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagiya, Masami; Konagaya, Akihiko; Kobayashi, Satoshi; Saito, Hirohide; Murata, Satoshi

2014-06-17

CONSPECTUS: What we can call a molecular robot is a set of molecular devices such as sensors, logic gates, and actuators integrated into a consistent system. The molecular robot is supposed to react autonomously to its environment by receiving molecular signals and making decisions by molecular computation. Building such a system has long been a dream of scientists; however, despite extensive efforts, systems having all three functions (sensing, computation, and actuation) have not been realized yet. This Account introduces an ongoing research project that focuses on the development of molecular robotics funded by MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan). This 5 year project started in July 2012 and is titled "Development of Molecular Robots Equipped with Sensors and Intelligence". The major issues in the field of molecular robotics all correspond to a feedback (i.e., plan-do-see) cycle of a robotic system. More specifically, these issues are (1) developing molecular sensors capable of handling a wide array of signals, (2) developing amplification methods of signals to drive molecular computing devices, (3) accelerating molecular computing, (4) developing actuators that are controllable by molecular computers, and (5) providing bodies of molecular robots encapsulating the above molecular devices, which implement the conformational changes and locomotion of the robots. In this Account, the latest contributions to the project are reported. There are four research teams in the project that specialize on sensing, intelligence, amoeba-like actuation, and slime-like actuation, respectively. The molecular sensor team is focusing on the development of molecular sensors that can handle a variety of signals. This team is also investigating methods to amplify signals from the molecular sensors. The molecular intelligence team is developing molecular computers and is currently focusing on a new photochemical technology for accelerating DNA

The Actuated Guitar

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Jeppe Veirum; Overholt, Daniel; Moeslund, Thomas B.

2014-01-01

functioning hands. In this study we try to enable people with Hemiplegia to play a real electrical guitar, by modifying it in a way that allows people with Hemiplegia able to actually use the instrument. We developed a guitar platform utilizing sensors to capture the rhythmic motion of alternate fully....... The initial user studies showed that children with Hemiplegia were able to play the actuated guitar by producing rhythmical movement across the strings, enabling them to enter a world of music they so often see as closed....

Design of a rotary dielectric elastomer actuator using a topology optimization method based on pairs of curves

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Nianfeng; Guo, Hao; Chen, Bicheng; Cui, Chaoyu; Zhang, Xianmin

2018-05-01

Dielectric elastomers (DE), known as electromechanical transducers, have been widely used in the field of sensors, generators, actuators and energy harvesting for decades. A large number of DE actuators including bending actuators, linear actuators and rotational actuators have been designed utilizing an experience design method. This paper proposes a new method for the design of DE actuators by using a topology optimization method based on pairs of curves. First, theoretical modeling and optimization design are discussed, after which a rotary dielectric elastomer actuator has been designed using this optimization method. Finally, experiments and comparisons between several DE actuators have been made to verify the optimized result.

One-shot valve may be remotely actuated

Science.gov (United States)

Kami, S.

1965-01-01

One-shot valve, with spring-loaded plunger and sealing diaphragm, incorporates an emergency release actuated by a remote sensor. The plunger is released by the electrical melting of a fuse link and pierces the valve seal. The valve lowers fluid pressure in a container without losing the contained fluid.

Adaptive Robust Sliding Mode Vibration Control of a Flexible Beam Using Piezoceramic Sensor and Actuator: An Experimental Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruo Lin Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental study of an adaptive robust sliding mode control scheme based on the Lyapunov’s direct method for active vibration control of a flexible beam using PZT (lead zirconate titanate sensor and actuator. PZT, a type of piezoceramic material, has the advantages of high reliability, high bandwidth, and solid state actuation and is adopted here in forms of surface-bond patches for vibration control. Two adaptive robust sliding mode controllers for vibration suppression are designed: one uses a discontinuous bang-bang robust compensator and the other uses a smooth compensator with a hyperbolic tangent function. Both controllers guarantee asymptotic stability, as proved by the Lyapunov’s direct method. Experimental results verified the effectiveness and the robustness of both adaptive sliding mode controllers. However, from the experimental results, the bang-bang robust compensator causes small-magnitude chattering because of the discontinuous switching actions. With the smooth compensator, vibration is quickly suppressed and no chattering is induced. Furthermore, the robustness of the controllers is successfully demonstrated with ensured effectiveness in vibration control when masses are added to the flexible beam.

Using piezoelectric sensors for ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements in concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kee, Seong-Hoon; Zhu, Jinying

2013-01-01

The ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test has been a widely used non-destructive testing method for concrete structures. However, the conventional UPV test has limitations in consistency of results and applicability in hard-to-access regions of structures. The authors explore the feasibility of embedded piezoelectric (PZT) sensors for ultrasonic measurements in concrete structures. Two PZT sensors were embedded in a reinforced concrete specimen. One sensor worked as an actuator driven by an ultrasonic pulse-receiver, and another sensor worked as a receiver. A series of ultrasonic tests were conducted to investigate the performance of the embedded sensors in crack-free concrete and concrete specimens having a surface-breaking crack under various external loadings. Signals measured by the embedded sensors show a broad bandwidth with a centre frequency around 80 kHz, and very good coherence in the frequency range from 30 to 180 kHz. Furthermore, experimental variability in ultrasonic pulse velocity and attenuation is substantially reduced compared to previously reported values from conventional UPV equipment. Findings from this study demonstrate that the embedded sensors have great potential as a low-cost solution for ultrasonic transducers for health monitoring of concrete in structures. (paper)

Experimental investigations of the large deflection capabilities of a compliant parallel mechanism actuated by shape memory alloy wires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sreekumar, M; Nagarajan, T; Singaperumal, M

2008-01-01

This experimental study investigates the coupled effect of the force developed by the shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators and the force required for the large deflection of an elastica member in a compliant parallel mechanism. The compliant mechanism developed in house consists of a moving platform mounted on a superelastic pillar and three SMA wire actuators to manipulate the platform. A three-axis MEMS accelerometer has been mounted on the moving platform to measure its tilt angle. Three miniature force sensors have been designed and fabricated out of cantilever beams, each mounted with a pair of strain gauges, to measure the force developed by the respective actuators. The force sensors are highly sensitive and cost effective compared to commercially available miniature force sensors. Calibration of the force sensors has been accomplished with known weights, and for the three-axis MEMS accelerometer a rotary base has been considered which is usually used in optical applications. The calibration curves obtained, with R-squared values between 0.9997 and 1.0, show that both the tilt and force sensors considered are most appropriate for the respective applications. The mechanism fixed with the sensors and the drivers for the SMA actuators is integrated with a National Instrument's data acquisition system. The experimental results have been compared with the analytical results and it was found that the relative error is less than 2%. This is a preliminary study in the development of a mechanism for eye prosthesis and similar applications

Three-dimensional graphene-polypyrrole hybrid electrochemical actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jia; Wang, Zhi; Zhao, Yang; Cheng, Huhu; Hu, Chuangang; Jiang, Lan; Qu, Liangti

2012-11-01

The advancement of mechanical actuators benefits from the development of new structural materials with prominent properties. A novel three-dimensional (3D) hydrothermally converted graphene and polypyrrole (G-PPy) hybrid electrochemical actuator is presented, which is prepared via a convenient hydrothermal process, followed by in situ electropolymerization of pyrrole. The 3D pore-interconnected G-PPy pillar exhibits strong actuation responses superior to pure graphene and PPy film. In response to the low potentials of +/-0.8 V, the saturated strain of 3D G-PPy pillar can reach a record of 2.5%, which is more than 10 times higher than that of carbon nanotube film and about 3 times that of unitary graphene film under an applied potential of +/-1.2 V. Also, the 3D G-PPy actuator exhibits high actuation durability with high operating load as demonstrated by an 11 day continuous measurement. Finally, a proof-of-concept application of 3D G-PPy as smart filler for on/off switch is also demonstrated, which indicates the great potential of the 3D G-PPy structure developed in this study for advanced actuator systems.The advancement of mechanical actuators benefits from the development of new structural materials with prominent properties. A novel three-dimensional (3D) hydrothermally converted graphene and polypyrrole (G-PPy) hybrid electrochemical actuator is presented, which is prepared via a convenient hydrothermal process, followed by in situ electropolymerization of pyrrole. The 3D pore-interconnected G-PPy pillar exhibits strong actuation responses superior to pure graphene and PPy film. In response to the low potentials of +/-0.8 V, the saturated strain of 3D G-PPy pillar can reach a record of 2.5%, which is more than 10 times higher than that of carbon nanotube film and about 3 times that of unitary graphene film under an applied potential of +/-1.2 V. Also, the 3D G-PPy actuator exhibits high actuation durability with high operating load as demonstrated by an 11 day

Dynamic Actuation of Single-Crystal Diamond Nanobeams

OpenAIRE

Sohn, Young-Ik; Burek, Michael J.; Kara, Vural; Kearns, Ryan; Lončar, Marko

2014-01-01

We show the dielectrophoretic actuation of single-crystal diamond nanomechanical devices. Gradient radio-frequency electromagnetic forces are used to achieve actuation of both cantilever and doubly clamped beam structures, with operation frequencies ranging from a few MHz to ~50MHz. Frequency tuning and parametric actuation are also studied.

Fiscal 1999 achievement report on research and development of industrial technology of new industry creation type. Research and development of intelligent material and structural system (Development of energy use rationalization technology); 1999 nendo chiteki zairyo kozo system no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Energy shiyo gorika gijutsu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

Fiber or foil shaped sensor materials and actuator devices were integrated with composite materials and composite material structures for processing and controlling information, and then studies were conducted about materials and structural systems for enabling real-time detection of damage in materials and structures, examination of soundness, control of noise and vibration, and the like. Concerning optical fiber sensors in the development of smart manufacturing technologies, the impact imposed on composite materials by sensors embedded therein was investigated, and the scope of their applicability was determined. In the development of actuator materials and devices, ceramic actuators were fabricated by microwave sintering, and it was found that they were higher in performance by 30% than actuators of the conventional design. In the testing of demonstrators, molded body monitor basic tests using optical fiber sensors were conducted for jet engine static vane models, and temperature dependence of optical intensity was understood. (NEDO)

Measurement of the Length of Installed Rock Bolt Based on Stress Wave Reflection by Using a Giant Magnetostrictive (GMS) Actuator and a PZT Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Mingzhang; Li, Weijie; Wang, Bo; Fu, Qingqing; Song, Gangbing

2017-02-23

Rock bolts, as a type of reinforcing element, are widely adopted in underground excavations and civil engineering structures. Given the importance of rock bolts, the research outlined in this paper attempts to develop a portable non-destructive evaluation method for assessing the length of installed rock bolts for inspection purposes. Traditionally, piezoelectric elements or hammer impacts were used to perform non-destructive evaluation of rock bolts. However, such methods suffered from many major issues, such as the weak energy generated and the requirement for permanent installation for piezoelectric elements, and the inconsistency of wave generation for hammer impact. In this paper, we proposed a portable device for the non-destructive evaluation of rock bolt conditions based on a giant magnetostrictive (GMS) actuator. The GMS actuator generates enough energy to ensure multiple reflections of the stress waves along the rock bolt and a lead zirconate titantate (PZT) sensor is used to detect the reflected waves. A new integrated procedure that involves correlation analysis, wavelet denoising, and Hilbert transform was proposed to process the multiple reflection signals to determine the length of an installed rock bolt. The experimental results from a lab test and field tests showed that, by analyzing the instant phase of the periodic reflections of the stress wave generated by the GMS transducer, the length of an embedded rock bolt can be accurately determined.

Structural sensing of interior sound for active control of noise in structural-acoustic cavities.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagha, Ashok K; Modak, S V

2015-07-01

This paper proposes a method for structural sensing of acoustic potential energy for active control of noise in a structural-acoustic cavity. The sensing strategy aims at global control and works with a fewer number of sensors. It is based on the established concept of radiation modes and hence does not add too many states to the order of the system. Acoustic potential energy is sensed using a combination of a Kalman filter and a frequency weighting filter with the structural response measurements as the inputs. The use of Kalman filter also makes the system robust against measurement noise. The formulation of the strategy is presented using finite element models of the system including that of sensors and actuators so that it can be easily applied to practical systems. The sensing strategy is numerically evaluated in the framework of Linear Quadratic Gaussian based feedback control of interior noise in a rectangular box cavity with a flexible plate with single and multiple pairs of piezoelectric sensor-actuator patches when broadband disturbances act on the plate. The performance is compared with an "acoustic filter" that models the complete transfer function from the structure to the acoustic domain. The sensing performance is also compared with a direct estimation strategy.

Actuation Using Piezoelectric Materials: Application in Augmenters, Energy Harvesters, and Motors

Science.gov (United States)

Hasenoehrl, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Piezoelectric actuators are used in many manipulation, movement, and mobility applications as well as transducers and sensors. When used at the resonance frequencies of the piezoelectric stack, the actuator performs at its maximum actuation capability. In this Space Grant internship, three applications of piezoelectric actuators were investigated including hammering augmenters of rotary drills, energy harvesters, and piezo-motors. The augmenter shows improved drill performance over rotation only. The energy harvesters rely on moving fluid to convert mechanical energy into electrical power. Specific designs allow the harvesters more freedom to move, which creates more power. The motor uses the linear movement of the actuator with a horn applied to the side of a rotor to create rotational motion. Friction inhibits this motion and is to be minimized for best performance. Tests and measurements were made during this internship to determine the requirements for optimal performance of the studied mechanisms and devices.

Design and Implementation of a Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network to Support the Intelligent Control of Efficient Energy Usage.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanco, Jesús; García, Andrés; Morenas, Javier de Las

2018-06-09

Energy saving has become a major concern for the developed society of our days. This paper presents a Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network (WSAN) designed to provide support to an automatic intelligent system, based on the Internet of Things (IoT), which enables a responsible consumption of energy. The proposed overall system performs an efficient energetic management of devices, machines and processes, optimizing their operation to achieve a reduction in their overall energy usage at any given time. For this purpose, relevant data is collected from intelligent sensors, which are in-stalled at the required locations, as well as from the energy market through the Internet. This information is analysed to provide knowledge about energy utilization, and to improve efficiency. The system takes autonomous decisions automatically, based on the available information and the specific requirements in each case. The proposed system has been implanted and tested in a food factory. Results show a great optimization of energy efficiency and a substantial improvement on energy and costs savings.

Teleoperation System with Hybrid Pneumatic-Piezoelectric Actuation for MRI-Guided Needle Insertion with Haptic Feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Weijian; Su, Hao; Li, Gang; Fischer, Gregory S

2013-01-01

This paper presents a surgical master-slave tele-operation system for percutaneous interventional procedures under continuous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance. This system consists of a piezoelectrically actuated slave robot for needle placement with integrated fiber optic force sensor utilizing Fabry-Perot interferometry (FPI) sensing principle. The sensor flexure is optimized and embedded to the slave robot for measuring needle insertion force. A novel, compact opto-mechanical FPI sensor interface is integrated into an MRI robot control system. By leveraging the complementary features of pneumatic and piezoelectric actuation, a pneumatically actuated haptic master robot is also developed to render force associated with needle placement interventions to the clinician. An aluminum load cell is implemented and calibrated to close the impedance control loop of the master robot. A force-position control algorithm is developed to control the hybrid actuated system. Teleoperated needle insertion is demonstrated under live MR imaging, where the slave robot resides in the scanner bore and the user manipulates the master beside the patient outside the bore. Force and position tracking results of the master-slave robot are demonstrated to validate the tracking performance of the integrated system. It has a position tracking error of 0.318mm and sine wave force tracking error of 2.227N.

Teleoperation System with Hybrid Pneumatic-Piezoelectric Actuation for MRI-Guided Needle Insertion with Haptic Feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Weijian; Su, Hao; Li, Gang; Fischer, Gregory S.

2014-01-01

This paper presents a surgical master-slave tele-operation system for percutaneous interventional procedures under continuous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance. This system consists of a piezoelectrically actuated slave robot for needle placement with integrated fiber optic force sensor utilizing Fabry-Perot interferometry (FPI) sensing principle. The sensor flexure is optimized and embedded to the slave robot for measuring needle insertion force. A novel, compact opto-mechanical FPI sensor interface is integrated into an MRI robot control system. By leveraging the complementary features of pneumatic and piezoelectric actuation, a pneumatically actuated haptic master robot is also developed to render force associated with needle placement interventions to the clinician. An aluminum load cell is implemented and calibrated to close the impedance control loop of the master robot. A force-position control algorithm is developed to control the hybrid actuated system. Teleoperated needle insertion is demonstrated under live MR imaging, where the slave robot resides in the scanner bore and the user manipulates the master beside the patient outside the bore. Force and position tracking results of the master-slave robot are demonstrated to validate the tracking performance of the integrated system. It has a position tracking error of 0.318mm and sine wave force tracking error of 2.227N. PMID:25126446

Actuator Module of Robot Manipulator for Nuclear Power Plants Inspection, Maintenance and Decommission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sung Uk; Jung, Kyung Min; Seo, Young Chil; Choi, Byung Seon; Moon, Jei Kwon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

For nuclear facility decommissioning, there are many different electrical manipulators to remotely dismantle a nuclear facility. Various manipulators will be necessary for inspection, maintenance and decommission. Only one manipulator cannot response to many required tasks. Therefore, several manipulators are necessary, depending on the payload capacity, their number of axes and their dexterity. Each manipulator was developed for a specific task. The actuators used at manipulator are varied and many companies sell actuators depending on power, torque and speed. However, the commercial product is not standardized. Therefore, the development of the manipulator is time consuming and expensive. The essential item of the manipulators is the actuator module. If actuator module is standardized, it is easier to develop manipulator. In this paper, we developed two electrical actuator modules to standardize the actuator module and easily develop a manipulator using the proposed actuator modules. The electrical actuator module has a motor, gear and rotary sensor, and is also waterproof. The electrically driven manipulator being used in the proposed actuator modules will be shown. Two modularized electrical actuator modules were developed for inspection, maintenance and decommission. Using the two developed actuator modules, the manipulator inspecting the welding area of reactor vessel is easily developed. Various modularized electrical actuator modules will be developed in terms of size and power.

Evaluation of the sensor properties of the pH-static enzyme sensor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Schoot, B.H.; van der Schoot, Bart H.; Bergveld, Piet

1990-01-01

The pH-static enzyme sensor consists of a chemical sensor-actuator system covered with a thin enzyme-entrapping membrane. By the electrochemical generation of protons or hydroxyl ions, pH changes induced by the conversion of a substrate by the enzymatic reaction are compensated. The pH inside the

Damage classification of pipelines under water flow operation using multi-mode actuated sensing technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Changgil; Park, Seunghee

2011-01-01

In a structure, several types of damage can occur, ranging from micro-cracking to corrosion or loose bolts. This makes identifying the damage difficult with a single mode of sensing. Therefore, a multi-mode actuated sensing system is proposed based on a self-sensing circuit using a piezoelectric sensor. In self-sensing-based multi-mode actuated sensing, one mode provides a wide frequency-band structural response from the self-sensed impedance measurement and the other mode provides a specific frequency-induced structural wavelet response from the self-sensed guided wave measurement. In this experimental study, a pipeline system under water flow operation was examined to verify the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed structural health monitoring approach. Different types of structural damage were inflicted artificially on the pipeline system. To classify the multiple types of structural damage, supervised learning-based statistical pattern recognition was implemented by composing a three-dimensional space using the damage indices extracted from the impedance and guided wave features as well as temperature variations. For a more systematic damage classification, several control parameters were optimized to determine an optimal decision boundary for the supervised learning-based pattern recognition. Further research issues are also discussed for real-world implementations of the proposed approach

Performance of Integrated Fiber Optic, Piezoelectric, and Shape Memory Alloy Actuators/Sensors in Thermoset Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Trottier, C. Michael

1996-01-01

Recently, scientists and engineers have investigated the advantages of smart materials and structures by including actuators in material systems for controlling and altering the response of structural environments. Applications of these materials systems include vibration suppression/isolation, precision positioning, damage detection and tunable devices. Some of the embedded materials being investigated for accomplishing these tasks include piezoelectric ceramics, shape memory alloys, and fiber optics. These materials have some benefits and some shortcomings; each is being studied for use in active material design in the SPICES (Synthesis and Processing of Intelligent Cost Effective Structures) Consortium. The focus of this paper concerns the manufacturing aspects of smart structures by incorporating piezoelectric ceramics, shape memory alloys and fiber optics in a reinforced thermoset matrix via resin transfer molding (RTM).

Perancangan Jaringan Sensor Terdistribusi untuk Pengaturan Suhu, Kelembaban dan Intensitas Cahaya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bimo Ananto Pamungkas

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This paper contains distributed sensor system design for temperature, air humidity, and light intensity monitoring in greenhouse based Arduino Uno board. System contains 2 sensor-actuator nodes, and 1 controller node connected to Ethernet network through Ethernet Shield board. Sensor-actuator node with DHT 11 sensor works for taking environment informations such as temperature, air humidity, and light intensity, runs actuation in the form of emulating LED lights; and communicates with controller node which will process data using serial wire as a communication tool between nodes. Monitoring datas and user control interface is provided by controller node which can be accessed online in web browser. The system ability for monitoring environment in greenhouse and online access of environmental data generates controllable and automatic monitoring and management of plants.

Actuators based on polyurethanes with different types of polyol

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Hyun-Ok; Bark, Geong-Mi; Jo, Nam-Ju

2007-07-01

This study dealt with the electrostrictive responses of polyurethane (PU) actuators with different microphase separation structure, which was a promising candidate for a material used in polymer actuators. In order to construct PUs with different higher-order structure, we synthesized PUs with different diols; poly(neopentyl glycol adipate) (PNAD), poly(tetramethylene glycol) (PTMG), and poly(dimethyl siloxnae) (PDMS). Synthesized PU was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and GPC. Thermal analysis and mechanical properties of PU films were carried out with DSC and UTM, respectively. And PU actuator was formed in a monomorph type which made by carbon black electrodes on the both surfaces of PU film by spin coating method. Actuation behavior was mainly influenced on microphase separation structure and mechanical property of PU. In result, PU actuator with PNAD, polyester urethane, had the largest field-induced displacement.

Design of external sensors board based on Bluetooth interface of smart phones for structural health monitoring system

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yan; Zhou, Yaping; Zhao, Xuefeng; Li, Dongsheng; Ou, Jinping

2016-04-01

As an important part of new information technology, the Internet of Things(IoT) is based on intelligent perception, recognition technology, ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous network integration, and it is known as the third wave of the development of information industry in the world after the computer and the Internet. And Smart Phones are the general term for a class of mobile phones with a separate operating system and operational memory, in which the third-party service programs including software, games, navigation, et.al, can be installed. Smart Phones, with not only sensors but also actuators, are widely used in the IoT world. As the current hot issues in the engineering area, Structural health monitoring (SHM) is also facing new problems about design ideas in the IoT environment. The development of IoT, wireless sensor network and mobile communication technology, provides a good technical platform for SHM. Based on these facts, this paper introduces a kind of new idea for Structural Health Monitoring using Smart Phones Technique. The system is described in detail, and the external sensor board based on Bluetooth interface is designed, the test based on Smart Phones is finished to validate the implementation and feasibility. The research is preliminary and more tests need to be carried out before it can be of practical use.

Electromechanical characterization of piezoelectric actuators subjected to a variable pre-loading force at cryogenic temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fouaidy, M.; Saki, M.; Hammoudi, N.; Simonet, L.

2007-01-01

A dedicated apparatus was designed and constructed for studying the electromechanical behavior of prototype piezoelectric actuators subjected to a variable pre-loading force at cryogenic temperatures. This device was successfully used for testing a piezoelectric actuator of PICMA type from PI TM , for T in the range 2 K-300 K. The dielectric properties as well as dynamic properties were measured including the actuator characteristics when used as force sensor. The corresponding data are reported and discussed. (authors)

Carbon Nanotube Enhanced Aerospace Composite Materials A New Generation of Multifunctional Hybrid Structural Composites

CERN Document Server

Kostopoulos, V

2013-01-01

The well documented increase in the use of high performance composites as structural materials in aerospace components is continuously raising the demands in terms of dynamic performance, structural integrity, reliable life monitoring systems and adaptive actuating abilities. Current technologies address the above issues separately; material property tailoring and custom design practices aim to the enhancement of dynamic and damage tolerance characteristics, whereas life monitoring and actuation is performed with embedded sensors that may be detrimental to the structural integrity of the component. This publication explores the unique properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT) as an additive in the matrix of Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP), for producing structural composites with improved mechanical performance as well as sensing/actuating capabilities. The successful combination of the CNT properties and existing sensing actuating technologies leads to the realization of a multifunctional FRP structure. The curre...

Smart paint sensor for monitoring structural vibrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Saffar, Y; Baz, A; Aldraihem, O

2012-01-01

A class of smart paint sensors is proposed for monitoring the structural vibration of beams. The sensor is manufactured from an epoxy resin which is mixed with carbon black nano-particles to make it electrically conducting and sensitive to mechanical vibrations. A comprehensive theoretical and experimental investigation is presented to understand the underlying phenomena governing the operation of this class of paint sensors and evaluate its performance characteristics. A theoretical model is presented to model the electromechanical behavior of the sensor system using molecular theory. The model is integrated with an amplifier circuit in order to predict the current and voltage developed by the paint sensor when subjected to loading. Furthermore, the sensor/amplifier circuit models are coupled with a finite element model of a base beam to which the sensor is bonded. The resulting multi-field model is utilized to predict the behavior of both the sensor and the beam when subjected to a wide variety of vibration excitations. The predictions of the multi-field finite element model are validated experimentally and the behavior of the sensor is evaluated both in the time and the frequency domains. The performance of the sensor is compared with the performance of conventional strain gages to emphasize its potential and merits. The presented techniques are currently being extended to sensors that can monitor the vibration and structural power flow of two-dimensional structures. (paper)

Optimization of sensing and feedback control for vibration/flutter of rotating disk by PZT actuators via air coupled pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Tianhong; Xu, Xinsheng; Han, Jianqiang; Lin, Rongming; Ju, Bingfeng; Li, Qing

2011-01-01

In this paper, a feedback control mechanism and its optimization for rotating disk vibration/flutter via changes of air-coupled pressure generated using piezoelectric patch actuators are studied. A thin disk rotates in an enclosure, which is equipped with a feedback control loop consisting of a micro-sensor, a signal processor, a power amplifier, and several piezoelectric (PZT) actuator patches distributed on the cover of the enclosure. The actuator patches are mounted on the inner or the outer surfaces of the enclosure to produce necessary control force required through the airflow around the disk. The control mechanism for rotating disk flutter using enclosure surfaces bonded with sensors and piezoelectric actuators is thoroughly studied through analytical simulations. The sensor output is used to determine the amount of input to the actuator for controlling the response of the disk in a closed loop configuration. The dynamic stability of the disk-enclosure system, together with the feedback control loop, is analyzed as a complex eigenvalue problem, which is solved using Galerkin's discretization procedure. The results show that the disk flutter can be reduced effectively with proper configurations of the control gain and the phase shift through the actuations of PZT patches. The effectiveness of different feedback control methods in altering system characteristics and system response has been investigated. The control capability, in terms of control gain, phase shift, and especially the physical configuration of actuator patches, are also evaluated by calculating the complex eigenvalues and the maximum displacement produced by the actuators. To achieve a optimal control performance, sizes, positions and shapes of PZT patches used need to be optimized and such optimization has been achieved through numerical simulations.

Sensor distributions for structural monitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ulriksen, Martin Dalgaard; Bernal, Dionisio

2017-01-01

Deciding on the spatial distribution of output sensors for vibration-based structural health monitoring (SHM) is a task that has been, and still is, studied extensively. Yet, when referring to the conventional damage characterization hierarchy, composed of detection, localization, and quantificat......Deciding on the spatial distribution of output sensors for vibration-based structural health monitoring (SHM) is a task that has been, and still is, studied extensively. Yet, when referring to the conventional damage characterization hierarchy, composed of detection, localization......, and quantification, it is primarily the first component that has been addressed with regard to optimal sensor placement. In this particular context, a common approach is to distribute sensors, of which the amount is determined a priori, such that some scalar function of the probability of detection for a pre......-defined set of damage patterns is maximized. Obviously, the optimal sensor distribution, in terms of damage detection, is algorithm-dependent, but studies have showed how correlation generally exists between the different strategies. However, it still remains a question how this “optimality” correlates...

Estimation of morphing airfoil shape and aerodynamic load using artificial hair sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Nathan S.; Su, Weihua; Thapa Magar, Kaman S.; Reich, Gregory W.

2016-04-01

An active area of research in adaptive structures focuses on the use of continuous wing shape changing methods as a means of replacing conventional discrete control surfaces and increasing aerodynamic efficiency. Although many shape-changing methods have been used since the beginning of heavier-than-air flight, the concept of performing camber actuation on a fully-deformable airfoil has not been widely applied. A fundamental problem of applying this concept to real-world scenarios is the fact that camber actuation is a continuous, time-dependent process. Therefore, if camber actuation is to be used in a closed-loop feedback system, one must be able to determine the instantaneous airfoil shape as well as the aerodynamic loads at all times. One approach is to utilize a new type of artificial hair sensors developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory to determine the flow conditions surrounding deformable airfoils. In this work, the hair sensor measurement data will be simulated by using the flow solver XFoil, with the assumption that perfect data with no noise can be collected from the hair sensor measurements. Such measurements will then be used in an artificial neural network based process to approximate the instantaneous airfoil camber shape, lift coefficient, and moment coefficient at a given angle of attack. Various aerodynamic and geometrical properties approximated from the artificial hair sensor and artificial neural network system will be compared with the results of XFoil in order to validate the approximation approach.

Tunable Fiber Bragg Grating Ring Lasers using Macro Fiber Composite Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Geddis, Demetris L.; Allison, Sidney G.; Shams, Qamar A.

2006-01-01

The research reported herein includes the fabrication of a tunable optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) fiber ring laser (FRL)1 from commercially available components as a high-speed alternative tunable laser source for NASA Langley s optical frequency domain reflectometer (OFDR) interrogator, which reads low reflectivity FBG sensors. A Macro-Fiber Composite (MFC) actuator invented at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) was selected to tune the laser. MFC actuators use a piezoelectric sheet cut into uniaxially aligned rectangular piezo-fibers surrounded by a polymer matrix and incorporate interdigitated electrodes to deliver electric fields along the length of the piezo-fibers. This configuration enables MFC actuators to produce displacements larger than the original uncut piezoelectric sheet. The FBG filter was sandwiched between two MFC actuators, and when strained, produced approximately 3.62 nm of wavelength shift in the FRL when biasing the MFC actuators from 500 V to 2000 V. This tunability range is comparable to that of other tunable lasers and is adequate for interrogating FBG sensors using OFDR technology. Three different FRL configurations were studied. Configuration A examined the importance of erbium-doped fiber length and output coupling. Configuration B demonstrated the importance of the FBG filter. Configuration C added an output coupler to increase the output power and to isolate the filter. Only configuration C was tuned because it offered the best optical power output of the three configurations. Use of Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) FBG s holds promise for enhanced tunability in future research.

Shape memory alloys and their application to actuators for deployable structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weimin Huang

1998-03-01

Although it has been recognised that SMA materials have a significant potential for deployment actuators, the number of applications of SMA-based actuators to the present day is still quite small, since a deeper understanding of the thermomechanical behaviour of SMA and how it might be exploited in the design of working actuators is necessary. In order to get a complete picture of the thermomechanical behaviour of Nitinol, one type of SMA, two kinds of experiment, purely thermal tests and thermomechanical tests, were carried out on Nitinol wires with diameters of 1 mm and 0.5 mm, and on Nitinol bars with diameter of 6.5 mm. In the purely thermal tests, a Differential Scanning Calorimeter was used to determine the phase transformation/ temperature relation of Nitinol wire with diameter of 1 mm and Nitinol bar. The thermomechanical tests, including tension tests at different temperatures, tension tests under different strain rates, response to suddenly applied loads, thermal cycling under different loads and thermal cycling with fixed length were carried out on Nitinol wire. Torsional tests, thermal cycling under different torques, and normal tension and thermal cycling tests were carried out on Nitinol bars with diameter of 6.5 mm. We have developed a thermo-micromechanical model based on complementary free energy and micromechanical transformation system to investigate the behaviour of shape memory under uniaxial load cycling and thermal cycling. Experimentally observed phenomena, such as V-shape of critical stress, non-symmetrical behaviour in tension and compression, transformation front behaviour, and multiphase transformation, were explained by this model. We present a phenomenological model which is based on the tension test, carried out at different constant temperatures, and a thermal cycling test under different constant loads. We have shown that our model can reproduce accurately the stress-strain-temperature relationship for all the quasi-static tests we

Thermoelectric-Driven Sustainable Sensing and Actuation Systems for Fault-Tolerant Nuclear Incidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Longtin, Jon [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)

2016-02-08

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear incident in March 2011 represented an unprecedented stress test on the safety and backup systems of a nuclear power plant. The lack of reliable information from key components due to station blackout was a serious setback, leaving sensing, actuation, and reporting systems unable to communicate, and safety was compromised. Although there were several independent backup power sources for required safety function on site, ultimately the batteries were drained and the systems stopped working. If, however, key system components were instrumented with self-powered sensing and actuation packages that could report indefinitely on the status of the system, then critical system information could be obtained while providing core actuation and control during off-normal status for as long as needed. This research project focused on the development of such a self-powered sensing and actuation system. The electrical power is derived from intrinsic heat in the reactor components, which is both reliable and plentiful. The key concept was based around using thermoelectric generators that can be integrated directly onto key nuclear components, including pipes, pump housings, heat exchangers, reactor vessels, and shielding structures, as well as secondary-side components. Thermoelectric generators are solid-state devices capable of converting heat directly into electricity. They are commercially available technology. They are compact, have no moving parts, are silent, and have excellent reliability. The key components to the sensor package include a thermoelectric generator (TEG), microcontroller, signal processing, and a wireless radio package, environmental hardening to survive radiation, flooding, vibration, mechanical shock (explosions), corrosion, and excessive temperature. The energy harvested from the intrinsic heat of reactor components can be then made available to power sensors, provide bi-directional communication, recharge batteries for other

Thermoelectric-Driven Sustainable Sensing and Actuation Systems for Fault-Tolerant Nuclear Incidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longtin, Jon

2015-09-01

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear incident in March 2011 represented an unprecedented stress test on the safety and backup systems of a nuclear power plant. The lack of reliable information from key components due to station blackout was a serious setback, leaving sensing, actuation, and reporting systems unable to communicate, and safety was compromised. Although there were several independent backup power sources for required safety function on site, ultimately the batteries were drained and the systems stopped working. If, however, key system components were instrumented with self-powered sensing and actuation packages that could report indefinitely on the status of the system, then critical system information could be obtained while providing core actuation and control during off-normal status for as long as needed. This research project focused on the development of such a self-powered sensing and actuation system. The electrical power is derived from intrinsic heat in the reactor components, which is both reliable and plentiful. The key concept was based around using thermoelectric generators that can be integrated directly onto key nuclear components, including pipes, pump housings, heat exchangers, reactor vessels, and shielding structures, as well as secondary-side components. Thermoelectric generators are solid-state devices capable of converting heat directly into electricity. They are commercially available technology. They are compact, have no moving parts, are silent, and have excellent reliability. The key components to the sensor package include a thermoelectric generator (TEG), microcontroller, signal processing, and a wireless radio package, environmental hardening to survive radiation, flooding, vibration, mechanical shock (explosions), corrosion, and excessive temperature. The energy harvested from the intrinsic heat of reactor components can be then made available to power sensors, provide bi-directional communication, recharge batteries for other

Fabrication, sensation and control of fluidic elastomer actuators and their application towards hand orthotics and prosthetics

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Huichan

Due to their continuous and natural motion, fluidic elastomer actuators (FEAs) have shown potential in a range of robotic applications including prosthetics and orthotics. Despite their advantages and rapid developments, robots using these actuators still have several challenging issues to be addressed. First, the reliable production of low cost and complex actuators that can apply high forces is necessary, yet none of existing fabrication methods are both easy to implement and of high force output. Next, compliant or stretchable sensors that can be embedded into their bodies for sophisticated functions are required, however, many of these sensors suffer from hysteresis, fabrication complexity, chemical safety and environmental instability, and material incompatibility with soft actuators. Finally, feedback control for FEAs is necessary to achieve better performance, but most soft robots are still "open-loop". In this dissertation, I intend to help solve the above issues and drive the applications of soft robotics towards hand orthotics and prosthetics. First, I adapt rotational casting as a new manufacturing method for soft actuators. I present a cuboid soft actuator that can generate a force of >25 N at its tip, a near ten-fold increase over similar actuators previously reported. Next, I propose a soft orthotic finger with position control enabled via embedded optical fiber. I monitor both the static and dynamic states via the optical sensor and achieve the prescribed curvatures accurately and with stability by a gain-scheduled proportional-integral-derivative controller. Then I develop the soft orthotic fingers into a low-cost, closed-loop controlled, soft orthotic glove that can be worn by a typical human hand and helpful for grasping light objects, while also providing finger position control. I achieve motion control with inexpensive, binary pneumatic switches controlled by a simple finite-state-machine. Finally, I report the first use of stretchable optical

True Low-Power Self-Locking Soft Actuators.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seung Jae; Kim, Onnuri; Park, Moon Jeong

2018-03-01

Natural double-layered structures observed in living organisms are known to exhibit asymmetric volume changes with environmental triggers. Typical examples are natural roots of plants, which show unique self-organized bending behavior in response to environmental stimuli. Herein, light- and electro-active polymer (LEAP) based actuators with a double-layered structure are reported. The LEAP actuators exhibit an improvement of 250% in displacement and hold an object three times heavier as compared to that in the case of conventional electro-active polymer actuators. Most interestingly, the bending motion of the LEAP actuators can be effectively locked for a few tens of minutes even in the absence of a power supply. Further, the self-locking LEAP actuators show a large and reversible bending strain of more than 2.0% and require only 6.2 mW h cm -2 of energy to hold an object for 15 min at an operating voltage of 3 V. These novel self-locking soft actuators should find wide applicability in artificial muscles, biomedical microdevices, and various innovative soft robot technologies. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Analysis of Reconfigured Control Loop with a Virtual Actuator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Filasova

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Control reconfiguration changes the control structure in response to a fault detected in the plant. This becomes necessary, because a major fault like loss of an actuator breaks the corresponding control loop and therefore renders the whole system inoperable.  An important aim of control reconfiguration is to change the control structure as little as possible, since every change bears the potential of practical problems. The proposed solution is to keep the original controller in the loop and to add an extension called virtual actuator that implements the necessary changes of the control structure. The virtual actuator translates between the signals of the nominal controller and the signal of the faulty plants. This paper is concerned with the analysis of reconfigured loop with a virtual actuator for the system with the faulty actuator. The proposed analysis is illustrated on numerical example.

Structure and yarn sensor for fabric

Science.gov (United States)

Mee, D.K.; Allgood, G.O.; Mooney, L.R.; Duncan, M.G.; Turner, J.C.; Treece, D.A.

1998-10-20

A structure and yarn sensor for fabric directly determines pick density in a fabric thereby allowing fabric length and velocity to be calculated from a count of the picks made by the sensor over known time intervals. The structure and yarn sensor is also capable of detecting full length woven defects and fabric. As a result, an inexpensive on-line pick (or course) density measurement can be performed which allows a loom or knitting machine to be adjusted by either manual or automatic means to maintain closer fiber density tolerances. Such a sensor apparatus dramatically reduces fabric production costs and significantly improves fabric consistency and quality for woven or knitted fabric. 13 figs.

Active vibration absorber for the CSI evolutionary model - Design and experimental results. [Controls Structures Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Bruner, Anne M.; Belvin, W. Keith; Horta, Lucas G.; Juang, Jer-Nan

1991-01-01

The development of control of large flexible structures technology must include practical demonstrations to aid in the understanding and characterization of controlled structures in space. To support this effort, a testbed facility has been developed to study practical implementation of new control technologies under realistic conditions. The paper discusses the design of a second order, acceleration feedback controller which acts as an active vibration absorber. This controller provides guaranteed stability margins for collocated sensor/actuator pairs in the absence of sensor/actuator dynamics and computational time delay. Experimental results in the presence of these factors are presented and discussed. The robustness of this design under model uncertainty is demonstrated.

Control of conducting polymer actuators without physical feedback: simulated feedback control approach with particle swarm optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiang, Xingcan; Mutlu, Rahim; Alici, Gursel; Li, Weihua

2014-01-01

Conducting polymer actuators have shown significant potential in articulating micro instruments, manipulation devices, and robotics. However, implementing a feedback control strategy to enhance their positioning ability and accuracy in any application requires a feedback sensor, which is extremely large in size compared to the size of the actuators. Therefore, this paper proposes a new sensorless control scheme without the use of a position feedback sensor. With the help of the system identification technique and particle swarm optimization, the control scheme, which we call the simulated feedback control system, showed a satisfactory command tracking performance for the conducting polymer actuator’s step and dynamic displacement responses, especially under a disturbance, without needing a physical feedback loop, but using a simulated feedback loop. The primary contribution of this study is to propose and experimentally evaluate the simulated feedback control scheme for a class of the conducting polymer actuators known as tri-layer polymer actuators, which can operate both in dry and wet media. This control approach can also be extended to other smart actuators or systems, for which the feedback control based on external sensing is impractical. (paper)

Plasma actuators for bluff body flow control

Science.gov (United States)

Kozlov, Alexey V.

noise. A tandem cylinder configuration with the plasma actuation on the upstream cylinder is investigated using surface dynamic pressure sensors. As a result of the plasma actuation, the surface pressure fluctuations on the downstream cylinder are reduced by about two times at the free-stream velocity of 40 m/s (ReD = 164,000). In addition, this study presents the results of a parametric experimental investigation aimed at optimizing the body force produced by single dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuators used for aerodynamic flow control. A primary goal of the study is the improvement of actuator authority for flow control applications at higher Reynolds number than previously possible. The study examines the effects of dielectric material and thickness, applied voltage amplitude and frequency, voltage waveform, exposed electrode geometry, covered electrode width and multiple actuator arrays. The metric used to evaluate the performance of the actuator in each case is the measured actuator-induced thrust which is proportional to the total body force. It is demonstrated that actuators constructed with thick dielectric material of low dielectric constant and operated at low frequency AC voltage produce a body force that is an order of magnitude larger than that obtained by the Kapton-based actuators used in many previous plasma flow control studies. These actuators allow operation at much higher applied voltages without the formation of discrete streamers which lead to body force saturation.

Data-driven sensor placement from coherent fluid structures

Science.gov (United States)

Manohar, Krithika; Kaiser, Eurika; Brunton, Bingni W.; Kutz, J. Nathan; Brunton, Steven L.

2017-11-01

Optimal sensor placement is a central challenge in the prediction, estimation and control of fluid flows. We reinterpret sensor placement as optimizing discrete samples of coherent fluid structures for full state reconstruction. This permits a drastic reduction in the number of sensors required for faithful reconstruction, since complex fluid interactions can often be described by a small number of coherent structures. Our work optimizes point sensors using the pivoted matrix QR factorization to sample coherent structures directly computed from flow data. We apply this sampling technique in conjunction with various data-driven modal identification methods, including the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). In contrast to POD-based sensors, DMD demonstrably enables the optimization of sensors for prediction in systems exhibiting multiple scales of dynamics. Finally, reconstruction accuracy from pivot sensors is shown to be competitive with sensors obtained using traditional computationally prohibitive optimization methods.

Actuatable capacitive transducer for quantitative nanoindentation combined with transmission electron microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, Oden L.; Asif, S. A. Syed; Cyrankowski, Edward; Kounev, Kalin

2010-09-21

An actuatable capacitive transducer including a transducer body, a first capacitor including a displaceable electrode and electrically configured as an electrostatic actuator, and a second capacitor including a displaceable electrode and electrically configured as a capacitive displacement sensor, wherein the second capacitor comprises a multi-plate capacitor. The actuatable capacitive transducer further includes a coupling shaft configured to mechanically couple the displaceable electrode of the first capacitor to the displaceable electrode of the second capacitor to form a displaceable electrode unit which is displaceable relative to the transducer body, and an electrically-conductive indenter mechanically coupled to the coupling shaft so as to be displaceable in unison with the displaceable electrode unit.-

Levitating Micro-Actuators: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirill V. Poletkin

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Through remote forces, levitating micro-actuators completely eliminate mechanical attachment between the stationary and moving parts of a micro-actuator, thus providing a fundamental solution to overcoming the domination of friction over inertial forces at the micro-scale. Eliminating the usual mechanical constraints promises micro-actuators with increased operational capabilities and low dissipation energy. Further reduction of friction and hence dissipation by means of vacuum leads to dramatic increases of performance when compared to mechanically tethered counterparts. In order to efficiently employ the benefits provided by levitation, micro-actuators are classified according to their physical principles as well as by their combinations. Different operating principles, structures, materials and fabrication methods are considered. A detailed analysis of the significant achievements in the technology of micro-optics, micro-magnets and micro-coil fabrication, along with the development of new magnetic materials during recent decades, which has driven the creation of new application domains for levitating micro-actuators is performed.

Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet electrode-based high-performance ionic actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Guan; Hu, Ying; Liu, Yang; Zhao, Jingjing; Chen, Xueli; Whoehling, Vincent; Plesse, Cédric; Nguyen, Giao T. M.; Vidal, Frédéric; Chen, Wei

2015-01-01

Ionic actuators have attracted attention due to their remarkably large strain under low-voltage stimulation. Because actuation performance is mainly dominated by the electrochemical and electromechanical processes of the electrode layer, the electrode material and structure are crucial. Here, we report a graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet electrode-based ionic actuator that displays high electrochemical activity and electromechanical conversion abilities, including large specific capacitance (259.4 F g−1) with ionic liquid as the electrolyte, fast actuation response (0.5±0.03% in 300 ms), large electromechanical strain (0.93±0.03%) and high actuation stability (100,000 cycles) under 3 V. The key to the high performance lies in the hierarchical pore structure with dominant size actuation performance. PMID:26028354

Actuator assembly including a single axis of rotation locking member

Science.gov (United States)

Quitmeyer, James N.; Benson, Dwayne M.; Geck, Kellan P.

2009-12-08

An actuator assembly including an actuator housing assembly and a single axis of rotation locking member fixedly attached to a portion of the actuator housing assembly and an external mounting structure. The single axis of rotation locking member restricting rotational movement of the actuator housing assembly about at least one axis. The single axis of rotation locking member is coupled at a first end to the actuator housing assembly about a Y axis and at a 90.degree. angle to an X and Z axis providing rotation of the actuator housing assembly about the Y axis. The single axis of rotation locking member is coupled at a second end to a mounting structure, and more particularly a mounting pin, about an X axis and at a 90.degree. angle to a Y and Z axis providing rotation of the actuator housing assembly about the X axis. The actuator assembly is thereby restricted from rotation about the Z axis.

New Textile Sensors for In Situ Structural Health Monitoring of Textile Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites Based on the Conductive Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) Polymer Complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Jerkovic, Ivona; Koncar, Vladan; Grancaric, Ana Marija

2017-10-10

Many metallic structural and non-structural parts used in the transportation industry can be replaced by textile-reinforced composites. Composites made from a polymeric matrix and fibrous reinforcement have been increasingly studied during the last decade. On the other hand, the fast development of smart textile structures seems to be a very promising solution for in situ structural health monitoring of composite parts. In order to optimize composites' quality and their lifetime all the production steps have to be monitored in real time. Textile sensors embedded in the composite reinforcement and having the same mechanical properties as the yarns used to make the reinforcement exhibit actuating and sensing capabilities. This paper presents a new generation of textile fibrous sensors based on the conductive polymer complex poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) developed by an original roll to roll coating method. Conductive coating for yarn treatment was defined according to the preliminary study of percolation threshold of this polymer complex. The percolation threshold determination was based on conductive dry films' electrical properties analysis, in order to develop highly sensitive sensors. A novel laboratory equipment was designed and produced for yarn coating to ensure effective and equally distributed coating of electroconductive polymer without distortion of textile properties. The electromechanical properties of the textile fibrous sensors confirmed their suitability for in situ structural damages detection of textile reinforced thermoplastic composites in real time.

An earthworm-like actuator using segmented solenoids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Bu Hyun; Choi, Seung-Wook; Lee, Seung-Yop; Bang, Young-Bong

2011-01-01

A biomimetic actuator is developed using four segmented solenoids mimicking earthworm locomotion. The proposed actuator not only has a simple structure composed of cores and coils, but also enables bi-directional actuation and high speed locomotion regardless of friction conditions. We have implemented theoretical analysis to design the optimal profiles of input current signal for maximum speed and predict the output force and stroke. Experiments using a prototype show that the earthworm-like actuator travels with a speed above 60 mm s −1 regardless of friction conditions

Apparatus, system, and method for providing fabric-elastomer composites as pneumatic actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Ramses V.; Whitesides, George M.

2017-10-25

Soft pneumatic actuators based on composites consisting of elastomers with embedded sheet or fiber structures (e.g., paper or fabric) that are flexible but not extensible are described. On pneumatic inflation, these actuators move anisotropically, based on the motions accessible by their composite structures. They are inexpensive, simple to fabricate, light in weight, and easy to actuate. This class of structure is versatile: the same principles of design lead to actuators that respond to pressurization with a wide range of motions (bending, extension, contraction, twisting, and others). Paper, when used to introduce anisotropy into elastomers, can be readily folded into three-dimensional structures following the principles of origami; these folded structures increase the stiffness and anisotropy of the elastomeric actuators, while keeping them light in weight.

Buckling Pneumatic Linear Actuators Inspired by Muscle

OpenAIRE

Yang, Dian; Verma, Mohit Singh; So, Ju-Hee; Mosadegh, Bobak; Keplinger, Christoph; Lee, Benjamin; Khashai, Fatemeh; Lossner, Elton Garret; Suo, Zhigang; Whitesides, George McClelland

2016-01-01

The mechanical features of biological muscles are difficult to reproduce completely in synthetic systems. A new class of soft pneumatic structures (vacuum-actuated muscle-inspired pneumatic structures) is described that combines actuation by negative pressure (vacuum), with cooperative buckling of beams fabricated in a slab of elastomer, to achieve motion and demonstrate many features that are similar to that of mammalian muscle.

Simultaneous Structural Health Monitoring and Vibration Control of Adaptive Structures Using Smart Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myung-Hyun Kim

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The integration of actuators and sensors using smart materials enabled various applications including health monitoring and structural vibration control. In this study, a robust control technique is designed and implemented in order to reduce vibration of an active structure. Special attention is given to eliminating the possibility of interaction between the health monitoring system and the control system. Exploiting the disturbance decoupling characteristic of the sliding mode observer, it is demonstrated that the proposed observer can eliminate the possible high frequency excitation from the health monitoring system. At the same time, a damage identification scheme, which tracks the changes of mechanical impedance due to the presence of damage, has been applied to assess the health condition of structures. The main objective of this paper is to examine the potential of combining the two emerging techniques together. Using the collocated piezoelectric sensors/actuators for vibration suppression as well as for health monitoring, this technique enabled to reduce the number of system components, while enhancing the performance of structures. As an initial study, both simulation and experimental investigations were performed for an active beam structure. The results show that this integrated technique can provide substantial vibration reductions, while detecting damage on the structure at the same time.

Microwave Power for Smart Membrane Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Sang H.; Song, Kyo D.; Golembiewski, Walter T.; Chu, Sang-Hyon; King, Glen C.

2002-01-01

The concept of microwave-driven smart membrane actuators is envisioned as the best option to alleviate the complexity associated with hard-wired control circuitry. A large, ultra-light space structure, such as solar sails and Gossamer spacecrafts, requires a distribution of power into individual membrane actuators to control them in an effective way. A patch rectenna array with a high voltage output was developed to drive smart membrane actuators. Networked patch rectenna array receives and converts microwave power into a DC power for an array of smart actuators. To use microwave power effectively, the concept of a power allocation and distribution (PAD) circuit is developed and tested for networking a rectenna/actuator patch array. For the future development, the PAD circuit could be imbedded into a single embodiment of rectenna and actuator array with the thin-film microcircuit embodiment. Preliminary design and fabrication of PAD circuitry that consists of a sixteen nodal elements were made for laboratory testing.

Ultrasonic Waveguide Sensor with a Layer-Structured Plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joo, Young Sang; Bae, Jin Ho; Kim, Jong Bum

2010-01-01

In-vessel structures of a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) are submerged in opaque liquid sodium in reactor vessel. The ultrasonic inspection techniques should be applied for observing the in-vessel structures under hot liquid sodium. Ultrasonic sensors such as immersion sensors and rod-type waveguide sensors had developed in order to apply under-sodium viewing of the in-vessel structures of SFR. Recently the novel plate-type ultrasonic waveguide sensor has been developed for the versatile application of under-sodium viewing in SFR. In the previous studies, the Ultrasonic waveguide sensor module had been designed and manufactured. And the feasibility study of the ultrasonic waveguide sensor has been performed. To Improve the performance of the ultrasonic waveguide sensor module in the under-sodium application, the dispersion effect due to the 10 m long distance propagation of the A 0 -mode Lamb wave should be minimized and the longitudinal leaky wave in a liquid sodium should be generated within the range of the effective radiation angle. In this study, a new concept of ultrasonic waveguide sensor with a layered-structured plate is suggested for the non-dispersive propagation of A 0 -mode Lamb wave in an ultrasonic waveguide sensor and the effective generation of leaky wave in a liquid sodium

Optimization of Sensing and Feedback Control for Vibration/Flutter of Rotating Disk by PZT Actuators via Air Coupled Pressure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bingfeng Ju

2011-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a feedback control mechanism and its optimization for rotating disk vibration/flutter via changes of air-coupled pressure generated using piezoelectric patch actuators are studied. A thin disk rotates in an enclosure, which is equipped with a feedback control loop consisting of a micro-sensor, a signal processor, a power amplifier, and several piezoelectric (PZT actuator patches distributed on the cover of the enclosure. The actuator patches are mounted on the inner or the outer surfaces of the enclosure to produce necessary control force required through the airflow around the disk. The control mechanism for rotating disk flutter using enclosure surfaces bonded with sensors and piezoelectric actuators is thoroughly studied through analytical simulations. The sensor output is used to determine the amount of input to the actuator for controlling the response of the disk in a closed loop configuration. The dynamic stability of the disk-enclosure system, together with the feedback control loop, is analyzed as a complex eigenvalue problem, which is solved using Galerkin’s discretization procedure. The results show that the disk flutter can be reduced effectively with proper configurations of the control gain and the phase shift through the actuations of PZT patches. The effectiveness of different feedback control methods in altering system characteristics and system response has been investigated. The control capability, in terms of control gain, phase shift, and especially the physical configuration of actuator patches, are also evaluated by calculating the complex eigenvalues and the maximum displacement produced by the actuators. To achieve a optimal control performance, sizes, positions and shapes of PZT patches used need to be optimized and such optimization has been achieved through numerical simulations.

Piezoelectric Actuator Modeling Using MSC/NASTRAN and MATLAB

Science.gov (United States)

Reaves, Mercedes C.; Horta, Lucas G.

2003-01-01

This paper presents a procedure for modeling structures containing piezoelectric actuators using MSCMASTRAN and MATLAB. The paper describes the utility and functionality of one set of validated modeling tools. The tools described herein use MSCMASTRAN to model the structure with piezoelectric actuators and a thermally induced strain to model straining of the actuators due to an applied voltage field. MATLAB scripts are used to assemble the dynamic equations and to generate frequency response functions. The application of these tools is discussed using a cantilever aluminum beam with a surface mounted piezoelectric actuator as a sample problem. Software in the form of MSCINASTRAN DMAP input commands, MATLAB scripts, and a step-by-step procedure to solve the example problem are provided. Analysis results are generated in terms of frequency response functions from deflection and strain data as a function of input voltage to the actuator.

Wavefront correction system based on an equilateral triangular arrangement of actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salmon, J.T.; Bergum, J.W.; Kartz, M.W.; Presta, R.W.; Swift, C.D.

1993-02-01

Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) requires the copropagation of multiple beams at different wavelengths and at average powers exceeding 1 kW. Although mirror coatings are used that absorb less than one part in 10 5 , the beams still suffer from thermally induced phase distortions, both in the dye amplifiers and in transmissive optics, such as beam combiners and vacuum windows. These aberrations are 2nd-order and 3rd-order and can reach 5 waves peak-to-valley (p-v), which causes the beam to distort and break up when propagated over large distances. The magnitude of the aberrations scales with power, with time constants on the order of 30 seconds. Previous adaptive systems that have been developed corrected these thermally induced phase distortions of both 2nd-order and 3rd-order; however, these systems had limited spatial resolution and in some cases marginal stability. The authors have developed a new adaptive optics system where both the actuators of the deformable mirror and the lenslets of the Hartmann sensor are arranged with centers at the vertices of equilateral triangles. The wavefront sensor is a video Hartmann sensor that also uses an equilateral array of lenslets. The controller hardware uses a VME bus. The design minimizes the generation of reflected wavefronts higher than first order across each lenslet for large excursions of actuators from positions where the mirror is flat and, thus maximizes the precision of the slopes measured by the Hartmann sensor. The design is also immune to the waffle mode that is present in the reconstructors of adaptive optics systems where actuators are arranged in a square array

A novel multi-actuation CMOS RF MEMS switch

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chiung-I.; Ko, Chih-Hsiang; Huang, Tsun-Che

2008-12-01

This paper demonstrates a capacitive shunt type RF MEMS switch, which is actuated by electro-thermal actuator and electrostatic actuator at the same time, and than latching the switching status by electrostatic force only. Since thermal actuators need relative low voltage compare to electrostatic actuators, and electrostatic force needs almost no power to maintain the switching status, the benefits of the mechanism are very low actuation voltage and low power consumption. Moreover, the RF MEMS switch has considered issues for integrated circuit compatible in design phase. So the switch is fabricated by a standard 0.35um 2P4M CMOS process and uses wet etching and dry etching technologies for postprocess. This compatible ability is important because the RF characteristics are not only related to the device itself. If a packaged RF switch and a packaged IC wired together, the parasitic capacitance will cause the problem for optimization. The structure of the switch consists of a set of CPW transmission lines and a suspended membrane. The CPW lines and the membrane are in metal layers of CMOS process. Besides, the electro-thermal actuators are designed by polysilicon layer of the CMOS process. So the RF switch is only CMOS process layers needed for both electro-thermal and electrostatic actuations in switch. The thermal actuator is composed of a three-dimensional membrane and two heaters. The membrane is a stacked step structure including two metal layers in CMOS process, and heat is generated by poly silicon resistors near the anchors of membrane. Measured results show that the actuation voltage of the switch is under 7V for electro-thermal added electrostatic actuation.

Universal and inductorless DC/DC converter for multi-output power supplies in sensor and actuator networks

Science.gov (United States)

Saponara, Sergio; Ciarpi, Gabriele

2017-05-01

This work proposes a universal and inductorless DC/DC converter that can be used for a wide input range, from few V to 60 V, to regulate output voltages from 5 V down to 1 V in Sensor and Actuator Network nodes. The proposed converter has been developed within the Athenis3D European project. It is composed by a cascade of multiple switching capacitor stages, with a proper skip-mode control to implement both step-down and step-up converting ratios, thus regulating all input sources to a voltage of about 6 V. These switching stages are further cascaded with linear regulators, which can provide stable output voltages down to 1 V. The multi-output regulator has been realized as a single-chip in a low-cost 0.35 μm CMOS technology. It is available as a naked die or in a ceramic package. The only needed external components are surface mount capacitors, which can be integrated on top of the naked chip die, creating a 3D structure, using trench capacitors embedded in a passive interposing layer. This way the size of the power management unit is further minimized. An advantage of the proposed converter is that it isn't optimized for a particular input voltage, therefore it can be used with no constant input power, like power harvesting systems (e.g. solar cells, wind and water turbines) and very disturbed power supplies.

An Unconventional Inchworm Actuator Based on PZT/ERFs Control Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Guojun; Zhang, Yanyan; Liu, Jianfang; Li, Jianqiao; Tang, Chunxiu; Wang, Tengfei; Yang, Xuhao

2016-01-01

An unconventional inchworm actuator for precision positioning based on piezoelectric (PZT) actuation and electrorheological fluids (ERFs) control technology is presented. The actuator consists of actuation unit (PZT stack pump), fluid control unit (ERFs valve), and execution unit (hydraulic actuator). In view of smaller deformation of PZT stack, a new structure is designed for actuation unit, which integrates the advantages of two modes (namely, diaphragm type and piston type) of the volume changing of pump chamber. In order to improve the static shear yield strength of ERFs, a composite ERFs valve is designed, which adopts the series-parallel plate compound structure. The prototype of the inchworm actuator has been designed and manufactured in the lab. Systematic test results indicate that the displacement resolution of the unconventional inchworm actuator reaches 0.038 μm, and the maximum driving force and velocity are 42 N, 14.8 mm/s, respectively. The optimal working frequency for the maximum driving velocity is 120 Hz. The complete research and development processes further confirm the feasibility of developing a new type of inchworm actuator with high performance based on PZT actuation and ERFs control technology, which provides a reference for the future development of a new type of actuator.

An Unconventional Inchworm Actuator Based on PZT/ERFs Control Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guojun Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An unconventional inchworm actuator for precision positioning based on piezoelectric (PZT actuation and electrorheological fluids (ERFs control technology is presented. The actuator consists of actuation unit (PZT stack pump, fluid control unit (ERFs valve, and execution unit (hydraulic actuator. In view of smaller deformation of PZT stack, a new structure is designed for actuation unit, which integrates the advantages of two modes (namely, diaphragm type and piston type of the volume changing of pump chamber. In order to improve the static shear yield strength of ERFs, a composite ERFs valve is designed, which adopts the series-parallel plate compound structure. The prototype of the inchworm actuator has been designed and manufactured in the lab. Systematic test results indicate that the displacement resolution of the unconventional inchworm actuator reaches 0.038 μm, and the maximum driving force and velocity are 42 N, 14.8 mm/s, respectively. The optimal working frequency for the maximum driving velocity is 120 Hz. The complete research and development processes further confirm the feasibility of developing a new type of inchworm actuator with high performance based on PZT actuation and ERFs control technology, which provides a reference for the future development of a new type of actuator.

Evaluation of piezoceramic actuators for control of aircraft interior noise

Science.gov (United States)

Silcox, Richard J.; Lefebvre, Sylvie; Metcalf, Vern L.; Beyer, Todd B.; Fuller, Chris R.

1992-01-01

Results of an experiment to evaluate piezoceramic actuators as the control actuator for active control of interior noise in a large-scale fuselage model are presented. Control was demonstrated for tonal excitation using a time domain least mean squares algorithm. A maximum of four actuator channels and six error signals were used. The actuators were employed for control of noise at frequencies where interior cavity modes were the dominant response and for driven acoustic responses where a structure resonance was dominant. Global reductions of 9 to 12 dB were obtained for the cases examined. The most effective configuration of skin-mounted actuators was found to be a pure in-plane forcing function as opposed to a bending excitation. The frame-mounted actuators were found to be equally effective as the skin-mounted actuators. However, both configurations resulted in local regions of unacceptably high vibration response in the structure.

The smart Peano fluidic muscle: a low profile flexible orthosis actuator that feels pain

Science.gov (United States)

Veale, Allan J.; Anderson, Iain A.; Xie, Shane Q.

2015-03-01

Robotic orthoses have the potential to provide effective rehabilitation while overcoming the availability and cost constraints of therapists. These orthoses must be characterized by the naturally safe, reliable, and controlled motion of a human therapist's muscles. Such characteristics are only possible in the natural kingdom through the pain sensing realized by the interaction of an intelligent nervous system and muscles' embedded sensing organs. McKibben fluidic muscles or pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs) are a popular orthosis actuator because of their inherent compliance, high force, and muscle-like load-displacement characteristics. However, the circular cross-section of PMA increases their profile. PMA are also notoriously unreliable and difficult to control, lacking the intelligent pain sensing systems of their biological muscle counterparts. Here the Peano fluidic muscle, a new low profile yet high-force soft actuator is introduced. This muscle is smart, featuring bioinspired embedded pressure and soft capacitive strain sensors. Given this pressure and strain feedback, experimental validation shows that a lumped parameter model based on the muscle geometry and material parameters can be used to predict its force for quasistatic motion with an average error of 10 - 15N. Combining this with a force threshold pain sensing algorithm sets a precedent for flexible orthosis actuation that uses embedded sensors to prevent damage to the actuator and its environment.

Electrical actuators applications and performance

CERN Document Server

De Fornel, Bernard

2013-01-01

This helpful resource covers a large range of information regarding electrical actuators. In particular, robustness, a very problematic issue, is fully explored in a dedicated chapter. The text also deals with he estimate of non-measurable mechanical variables by examining the estimate of load moment, then observation of the positioning of a command without mechanical sensor. Finally, it examines the conditions needed to measure variables and real implementation of numerical algorithms. This is a key working resource for electrical engineers.

Method for driving an actuator, actuator drive, and apparatus comprising an actuator

OpenAIRE

2010-01-01

An actuator driver circuit includes a drive signal source and an electrical damping element having a negative resistance connected in series with the drive signal source. A controllable switch is provided for selectively switching the electrical damping element into or put of a signal path from a drive signal source output to a driver circuit output, in order to selectively change the electrical damping of an actuator. For example, the electrical damping of a radial actuator or a focus actuat...

Structural control by the use of piezoelectric active members

Science.gov (United States)

Fanson, J. L.; Chen, J.-C.

1987-01-01

Large Space Structures (LSS) exhibit characteristics which make the LSS control problem different form other control problems. LSS will most likely exhibit low frequency, densely spaced and lightly damped modes. In theory, the number of these modes is infinite. Because these structures are flexible, Vibration Suppression (VS) is an important aspect of LSS operation. In terms of VS, the control actuators should be as low mass as possible, have infinite bandwidth, and be electrically powered. It is proposed that actuators be built into the structure as dual purpose structural elements. A piezoelectric active member is proposed for the control of LSS. Such a device would consist of a piezoelectric actuator and sensor for measuring strain, and screwjack actuator in series for use in quasi-static shape control. An experiment simulates an active member using piezoelectric ceramic thin sheet material on a thin, uniform cantilever beam. The feasibility of using the piezoelectric materials for VS on LSS was demonstrated. Positive positive feedback as a VS control strategy was implemented. Multi-mode VS was achieved with dramatic reduction in dynamic response.

Low power consumption mini rotary actuator with SMA wires

Science.gov (United States)

Manfredi, Luigi; Huan, Yu; Cuschieri, Alfred

2017-11-01

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are smart materials widely used as actuators for their high power to weight ratio despite their well-known low energy efficiency and limited mechanical bandwidth. For robotic applications, SMAs exhibit limitations due to high power consumption and limited stroke, varying from 4% to 7% of the total length. Hysteresis, during the contraction and extension cycle, requires a complex control algorithm. On the positive side, the small size and low weight are eminently suited for the design of mini actuators for robotic platforms. This paper describes the design and construction of a light weight and low power consuming mini rotary actuator with on-board contact-less position and force sensors. The design is specifically intended to reduce (i) energy consumption, (ii) dimensions of the sensory system, and (iii) provide a simple control without any need for SMA characterisation. The torque produced is controlled by on-board force sensors. Experiments were performed to investigate the energy consumption and performance (step and sinusoidal angle profiles with a frequency varying from 0.5 to 10 Hz and maximal amplitude of {15}\\circ ). We describe a transient capacitor effect related to the SMA wires during the sinusoidal profile when the active SMA wire is powered and the antagonist one switched-off, resulting in a transient current time varying from 300 to 400 ms.

The static actuation of dielectric elastomer actuators: how does pre-stretch improve actuation?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kofod, Guggi

2008-01-01

It has previously been shown that providing dielectric elastomer actuators with a level of pre-stretch can improve properties such as breakdown strength, actuation strain and efficiency. The actuation in such actuators depends on an interplay between the highly nonlinear hyperelastic stress-strain behaviour with the electrostatic Maxwell's stress; however, the direct effects of pre-stretch on the electromechanical coupling have still not been investigated in detail. We compare several experimental results found in the literature on the hyperelastic parameters of the Ogden model for the commonly used material VHB 4910, and introduce a more detailed and thus more accurate fit to a previous uniaxial stress-strain experiment. Electrostatic actuation models for a pure shear cuboid dielectric elastomer actuator with pre-stretch are introduced, for both intensive and extensive variables. For both intensive and extensive variables the constant strain (blocked stress or force) as well as the actuation strain is presented. It is shown how in the particular case of isotropic amorphous elastomers the pre-stretch does not affect the electromechanical coupling directly, and that the enhancement in actuation strain due to pre-stretch occurs through the alteration of the geometrical dimensions of the actuator. Also, the presence of the optimum load is explained as being due to the plateau region in the force-stretch curve, and it is shown that pre-stretch is not able to affect its position. Finally, it is shown how the simplified Ogden fit leads to entirely different conclusions for actuation strain in terms of extensive variables as does the detailed fit, emphasizing the importance of employing accurate hyperelastic models for the stress-stretch behaviour of the elastomer.

Simplified design of the coulometric sensor-actuator system by the application of a time-dependent actuator current

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olthuis, Wouter; Bergveld, Piet

1992-01-01

Acid or base concentrations can be determined by performing an acid-base titration with coulometrically generated OH¿ or H+ ions at a noble metal actuator electrode in close proximity to the pH-sensitive gate of an ISFET. It is shown, both theoretically and experimentally, that the relation between

Vibration control for precision manufacturing using piezoelectric actuators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez, D.R.; Hinnerichs, T.D.; Redmond, J.M.

1995-12-31

Piezoelectric actuators provide high frequency, force, and stiffness capabilities along with reasonable Stroke limits, all of which can be used to increase performance levels in precision manufacturing systems. This paper describes two examples of embedding piezoelectric actuators in structural components for vibration control. One example involves suppressing the self excited chatter phenomenon in the metal cutting process of a milling machine and the other involves damping vibrations induced by rigid body stepping of a photolithography platen. Finite element modeling and analyses are essential for locating and sizing the actuators and permit further simulation studies of the response of the dynamic system. Experimental results are given for embedding piezoelectric actuators in a cantilevered bar configuration, which was used as a surrogate machine tool structure. These results are incorporated into a previously developed milling process simulation and the effect of the control on the cutting process stability diagram is quantified. Experimental results are also given for embedding three piezoelectric actuators in a surrogate photolithography platen to suppress vibrations. These results demonstrate the potential benefit that can be realized by applying advances from the field of adaptive structures to problems in precision manufacturing.

Wavefront correction and high-resolution in vivo OCT imaging with an objective integrated multi-actuator adaptive lens.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonora, Stefano; Jian, Yifan; Zhang, Pengfei; Zam, Azhar; Pugh, Edward N; Zawadzki, Robert J; Sarunic, Marinko V

2015-08-24

Adaptive optics is rapidly transforming microscopy and high-resolution ophthalmic imaging. The adaptive elements commonly used to control optical wavefronts are liquid crystal spatial light modulators and deformable mirrors. We introduce a novel Multi-actuator Adaptive Lens that can correct aberrations to high order, and which has the potential to increase the spread of adaptive optics to many new applications by simplifying its integration with existing systems. Our method combines an adaptive lens with an imaged-based optimization control that allows the correction of images to the diffraction limit, and provides a reduction of hardware complexity with respect to existing state-of-the-art adaptive optics systems. The Multi-actuator Adaptive Lens design that we present can correct wavefront aberrations up to the 4th order of the Zernike polynomial characterization. The performance of the Multi-actuator Adaptive Lens is demonstrated in a wide field microscope, using a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor for closed loop control. The Multi-actuator Adaptive Lens and image-based wavefront-sensorless control were also integrated into the objective of a Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography system for in vivo imaging of mouse retinal structures. The experimental results demonstrate that the insertion of the Multi-actuator Objective Lens can generate arbitrary wavefronts to correct aberrations down to the diffraction limit, and can be easily integrated into optical systems to improve the quality of aberrated images.

7th ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Smart Structures and Materials

CERN Document Server

Soares, Carlos

2017-01-01

This work was compiled with expanded and reviewed contributions from the 7th ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, that was held from 3 to 6 June 2015 at Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal. The Conference provided a comprehensive forum for discussing the current state of the art in the field as well as generating inspiration for future ideas specifically on a multidisciplinary level. The scope of the Conference included topics related to the following areas: Fundamentals of smart materials and structures; Modeling/formulation and characterization of smart actuators, sensors and smart material systems; Trends and developments in diverse areas such as material science including composite materials, intelligent hydrogels, interfacial phenomena, phase boundaries and boundary layers of phase boundaries, control, micro- and nano-systems, electronics, etc. to be considered for smart systems; Comparative evaluation of different smart actuators and sensors; Analysis of structural concepts and des...

Finite element analysis and genetic algorithm optimization design for the actuator placement on a large adaptive structure

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Lizeng

The dissertation focuses on one of the major research needs in the area of adaptive/intelligent/smart structures, the development and application of finite element analysis and genetic algorithms for optimal design of large-scale adaptive structures. We first review some basic concepts in finite element method and genetic algorithms, along with the research on smart structures. Then we propose a solution methodology for solving a critical problem in the design of a next generation of large-scale adaptive structures---optimal placements of a large number of actuators to control thermal deformations. After briefly reviewing the three most frequently used general approaches to derive a finite element formulation, the dissertation presents techniques associated with general shell finite element analysis using flat triangular laminated composite elements. The element used here has three nodes and eighteen degrees of freedom and is obtained by combining a triangular membrane element and a triangular plate bending element. The element includes the coupling effect between membrane deformation and bending deformation. The membrane element is derived from the linear strain triangular element using Cook's transformation. The discrete Kirchhoff triangular (DKT) element is used as the plate bending element. For completeness, a complete derivation of the DKT is presented. Geometrically nonlinear finite element formulation is derived for the analysis of adaptive structures under the combined thermal and electrical loads. Next, we solve the optimization problems of placing a large number of piezoelectric actuators to control thermal distortions in a large mirror in the presence of four different thermal loads. We then extend this to a multi-objective optimization problem of determining only one set of piezoelectric actuator locations that can be used to control the deformation in the same mirror under the action of any one of the four thermal loads. A series of genetic algorithms

Capacitive sensing of droplets for microfluidic devices based on thermocapillary actuation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, J.-Z.; Darhuber, A.A.; Troian, S.M.; Wagner, S.

2004-01-01

The design and performance of a miniaturized coplanar capacitive sensor is presented whose electrode arrays can also function as resistive microheaters for thermocapillary actuation of liquid films and droplets. Optimal compromise between large capacitive signal and high spatial resolution is

Sensor failure and multivariable control for airbreathing propulsion systems. Ph.D. Thesis - Dec. 1979 Final Report

Science.gov (United States)

Behbehani, K.

1980-01-01

A new sensor/actuator failure analysis technique for turbofan jet engines was developed. Three phases of failure analysis, namely detection, isolation, and accommodation are considered. Failure detection and isolation techniques are developed by utilizing the concept of Generalized Likelihood Ratio (GLR) tests. These techniques are applicable to both time varying and time invariant systems. Three GLR detectors are developed for: (1) hard-over sensor failure; (2) hard-over actuator failure; and (3) brief disturbances in the actuators. The probability distribution of the GLR detectors and the detectability of sensor/actuator failures are established. Failure type is determined by the maximum of the GLR detectors. Failure accommodation is accomplished by extending the Multivariable Nyquest Array (MNA) control design techniques to nonsquare system designs. The performance and effectiveness of the failure analysis technique are studied by applying the technique to a turbofan jet engine, namely the Quiet Clean Short Haul Experimental Engine (QCSEE). Single and multiple sensor/actuator failures in the QCSEE are simulated and analyzed and the effects of model degradation are studied.

Fabrication and characterization of THUNDER actuators—pre-stress-induced nonlinearity in the actuation response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Younghoon; Jiang, Qing; Cai, Ling; Usher, Timothy

2009-01-01

This paper documents an experimental and theoretical investigation into characterizing the mechanical configurations and performances of THUNDER actuators, a type of piezoelectric actuator known for their large actuation displacements, through fabrication, measurements and finite element analysis. Five groups of such actuators with different dimensions were fabricated using identical fabrication parameters. The as-fabricated arched configurations, resulting from the thermo-mechanical mismatch among the constituent layers, and their actuation performances were characterized using an experimental set-up based on a laser displacement sensor and through numerical simulations with ANSYS, a widely used commercial software program for finite element analysis. This investigation shows that the presence of large residual stresses within the piezoelectric ceramic layer, built up during the fabrication process, leads to significant nonlinear electromechanical coupling in the actuator response to the driving electric voltage, and it is this nonlinear coupling that is responsible for the large actuation displacements. Furthermore, the severity of the residual stresses, and thus the nonlinearity, increases with increasing substrate/piezoelectric thickness ratio and, to a lesser extent, with decreasing in-plane dimensions of the piezoelectric layer

More Insight of Piezoelectric-based Synthetic Jet Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Housley, Kevin; Amitay, Michael

2016-11-01

Increased understanding of the internal flow of piezoelectric-based synthetic jet actuators is needed for the development of specialized actuator cavity geometries to increase jet momentum coefficients and tailor acoustic resonant frequencies. Synthetic jet actuators can benefit from tuning of the structural resonant frequency of the piezoelectric diaphragm(s) and the acoustic resonant frequency of the actuator cavity such that they experience constructive coupling. The resulting coupled behavior produces increased jet velocities. The ability to design synthetic jet actuators to operate with this behavior at select driving frequencies allows for them to be better used in flow control applications, which sometimes require specific jet frequencies in order to utilize the natural instabilities of a given flow field. A parametric study of varying actuator diameters was conducted to this end. Phase-locked data were collected on the jet velocity, the cavity pressure at various locations, and the three-dimensional deformation of the surface of the diaphragm. These results were compared to previous analytical work on the interaction between the structural resonance of the diaphragm and the acoustic resonance of the cavity. Funded by the Boeing Company.

Derivation of finite element formulation for electrochemical governing equations of ionic polymer actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Sung Soo

2013-01-01

Ionic polymer actuators have recently attracted a great deal of interest as electroactive materials with potentials as soft actuators, sensors, artificial muscles, robotics, and microelectromechanical systems because of their numerous advantages, including low voltage requirement, high compliance, lightness, and flexibility. The platinum-plated Nafion, a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane made by Dupont, is commonly used as a polyelectrolyte in actuator applications. The bending of the ionic polymer actuators in an electric field is dominated by the electro-osmosis of hydrated ions and slow diffusion of free water molecules. The changes in hydration cause a local volumetric strain resulting in bending deformation, such as expansion and contraction. In this study, a two-dimensional finite element (FE) formulation based on the Galerkin method is derived for the governing equations describing these electrochemical responses. In addition, a three-dimensional FE deformation analysis is conducted on the bending behaviors of the platinum-plated ionic polymer actuators. Several numerical studies for ionic polymer actuators, such as plates with various electrode arrangements and disk models in electric field, are performed to confirm the validity of the proposed formulation.

A Compact Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC System with Inductive Sensor for Closed Loop Feedback

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiaqi Wang

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC, of which a low actuating voltage (<5 V, high power efficiency and biocompatibility makes it a proven candidate for low power devices. However, due to its inherent nonlinear behaviour and time-variance, feedback control, as well as reliable sensing means, are required for accurate operations. This paper presents an IPMC actuator implemented with an inductive sensor to enhance the reliability and compactness of the overall device. A practical, low cost and importantly, compact inductive sensor fabricated on a printed circuit board (PCB is proposed here. Target material selections and coil design considerations are discussed. It is experimentally determined that the inductive sensor has comparable performance to a laser sensor. Based on a proportional-integral-derivative (PID control results the inductive sensor has demonstrated to be an alternative to a laser sensor allowing devices using IPMC actuators to be compact.

Magnetic Actuation of Self-Assembled DNA Hinges

Science.gov (United States)

Lauback, S.; Mattioli, K.; Armstrong, M.; Miller, C.; Pease, C.; Castro, C.; Sooryakumar, R.

DNA nanotechnology offers a broad range of applications spanning from the creation of nanoscale devices, motors and nanoparticle templates to the development of precise drug delivery systems. Central to advancing this technology is the ability to actuate or reconfigure structures in real time, which is currently achieved primarily by DNA strand displacement yielding slow actuation times (about 1-10min). Here we exploit superparamagnetic beads to magnetically actuate DNA structures which also provides a system to measure forces associated with molecular interactions. DNA nanodevices are folded using DNA origami, whereby a long single-stranded DNA is folded into a precise compact geometry using hundreds of short oligonucleotides. Our DNA nanodevice is a nanohinge from which rod shaped DNA nanostructures are polymerized into micron-scale filaments forming handles for actuation. By functionalizing one arm of the hinge and the filament ends, the hinge can be attached to a surface while still allowing an arm to rotate and the filaments can be labeled with magnetic beads enabling the hinge to be actuated almost instantaneously by external magnetic fields. These results lay the groundwork to establish real-time manipulation and direct force application of DNA constructs.

Wireless Displacement Sensing of Micromachined Spiral-Coil Actuator Using Resonant Frequency Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Sultan Mohamed Ali

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This paper reports a method that enables real-time displacement monitoring and control of micromachined resonant-type actuators using wireless radiofrequency (RF. The method is applied to an out-of-plane, spiral-coil microactuator based on shape-memory-alloy (SMA. The SMA spiral coil forms an inductor-capacitor resonant circuit that is excited using external RF magnetic fields to thermally actuate the coil. The actuation causes a shift in the circuit’s resonance as the coil is displaced vertically, which is wirelessly monitored through an external antenna to track the displacements. Controlled actuation and displacement monitoring using the developed method is demonstrated with the microfabricated device. The device exhibits a frequency sensitivity to displacement of 10 kHz/µm or more for a full out-of-plane travel range of 466 µm and an average actuation velocity of up to 155 µm/s. The method described permits the actuator to have a self-sensing function that is passively operated, thereby eliminating the need for separate sensors and batteries on the device, thus realizing precise control while attaining a high level of miniaturization in the device.

New Textile Sensors for In Situ Structural Health Monitoring of Textile Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites Based on the Conductive Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-poly(styrenesulfonate Polymer Complex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivona Jerkovic

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Many metallic structural and non-structural parts used in the transportation industry can be replaced by textile-reinforced composites. Composites made from a polymeric matrix and fibrous reinforcement have been increasingly studied during the last decade. On the other hand, the fast development of smart textile structures seems to be a very promising solution for in situ structural health monitoring of composite parts. In order to optimize composites’ quality and their lifetime all the production steps have to be monitored in real time. Textile sensors embedded in the composite reinforcement and having the same mechanical properties as the yarns used to make the reinforcement exhibit actuating and sensing capabilities. This paper presents a new generation of textile fibrous sensors based on the conductive polymer complex poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-poly(styrenesulfonate developed by an original roll to roll coating method. Conductive coating for yarn treatment was defined according to the preliminary study of percolation threshold of this polymer complex. The percolation threshold determination was based on conductive dry films’ electrical properties analysis, in order to develop highly sensitive sensors. A novel laboratory equipment was designed and produced for yarn coating to ensure effective and equally distributed coating of electroconductive polymer without distortion of textile properties. The electromechanical properties of the textile fibrous sensors confirmed their suitability for in situ structural damages detection of textile reinforced thermoplastic composites in real time.

Attitude and vibration control of a satellite containing flexible solar arrays by using reaction wheels, and piezoelectric transducers as sensors and actuators

Science.gov (United States)

da Fonseca, Ijar M.; Rade, Domingos A.; Goes, Luiz C. S.; de Paula Sales, Thiago

2017-10-01

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide insight into control-structure interaction for satellites comprising flexible appendages and internal moving components. The physical model considered herein aiming to attend such purpose is a rigid-flexible satellite consisting of a rigid platform containing two rotating flexible solar panels. The solar panels rotation is assumed to be in a sun-synchronous configuration mode. The panels contain surface-bonded piezoelectric patches that can be used either as sensors for the elastic displacements or as actuators to counteract the vibration motion. It is assumed that in the normal mode operation the satellite platform points towards the Earth while the solar arrays rotate so as to follow the Sun. The vehicle moves in a low Earth polar orbit. The technique used to obtain the mathematical model combines the Lagrangian formulation with the Finite Elements Method used to describe the dynamics of the solar panel. The gravity-gradient torque as well as the torque due to the interaction of the Earth magnetic field and the satellite internal residual magnetic moment is included as environmental perturbations. The actuators are three reaction wheels for attitude control and piezoelectric actuators to control the flexible motion of the solar arrays. Computer simulations are performed using the MATLAB® software package. The following on-orbit satellite operating configurations are object of analysis: i) Satellite pointing towards the Earth (Earth acquisition maneuver) by considering the initial conditions in the elastic displacement equal to zero, aiming the assessment of the flexible modes excitation by the referred maneuver; ii) the satellite pointing towards the Earth with the assumption of an initial condition different from zero for the flexible motion such that the attitude alterations are checked against the elastic motion disturbance; and iii) attitude acquisition accomplished by taking into account initial conditions

Double closed-loop cascade control for lower limb exoskeleton with elastic actuation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yanhe; Zheng, Tianjiao; Jin, Hongzhe; Yang, Jixing; Zhao, Jie

2015-01-01

Unlike traditional rigid actuators, the significant features of Series Elastic Actuator (SEA) are stable torque control, lower output impedance, impact resistance and energy storage. Recently, SEA has been applied in many exoskeletons. In such applications, a key issue is how to realize the human-exoskeleton movement coordination. In this paper, double closed-loop cascade control for lower limb exoskeleton with SEA is proposed. This control method consists of inner SEA torque loop and outer contact force loop. Utilizing the SEA torque control with a motor velocity loop, actuation performances of SEA are analyzed. An integrated exoskeleton control system is designed, in which joint angles are calculated by internal encoders and resolvers and contact forces are gathered by external pressure sensors. The double closed-loop cascade control model is established based on the feedback signals of internal and external sensor. Movement experiments are accomplished in our prototype of lower limb exoskeleton. Preliminary results indicate the exoskeleton movements with pilot can be realized stably by utilizing this double closed-loop cascade control method. Feasibility of the SEA in our exoskeleton robot and effectiveness of the control method are verified.

Deflection of Cross-Ply Composite Laminates Induced by Piezoelectric Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Sheng Lin

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The coupling effects between the mechanical and electric properties of piezoelectric materials have drawn significant attention for their potential applications as sensors and actuators. In this investigation, two piezoelectric actuators are symmetrically surface bonded on a cross-ply composite laminate. Electric voltages with the same amplitude and opposite sign are applied to the two symmetric piezoelectric actuators, resulting in the bending effect on the laminated plate. The bending moment is derived by using the classical laminate theory and piezoelectricity. The analytical solution of the flexural displacement of the simply supported composite plate subjected to the bending moment is solved by using the plate theory. The analytical solution is compared with the finite element solution to show the validation of present approach. The effects of the size and location of the piezoelectric actuators on the response of the composite laminate are presented through a parametric study. A simple model incorporating the classical laminate theory and plate theory is presented to predict the deformed shape of the simply supported laminate plate.

Active photonic sensor communication cable for field application of optical data and power transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Suthau, Eike; Rieske, Ralf; Zerna, Thomas

2014-10-01

Omitting electrically conducting wires for sensor communication and power supply promises protection for sensor systems and monitored structures against lightning or high voltages, prevention of explosion hazards, and reduction of susceptibility to tampering. The ability to photonically power remote systems opens up the full range of electrical sensors. Power-over-fiber is an attractive option in electromagnetically sensitive environments, particularly for longterm, maintenance-free applications. It can deliver uninterrupted power sufficient for elaborate sensors, data processing or even actuators alongside continuous high speed data communication for remote sensor application. This paper proposes an active photonic sensor communication system, which combines the advantages of optical data links in terms of immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), high bandwidth, hardiness against tampering or eavesdropping, and low cable weight with the robustness one has come to expect from industrial or military electrical connectors. An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is presented that implements a closed-loop regulation of the sensor power supply to guarantee continuous, reliable data communications while maintaining a highly efficient, adaptive sensor supply scheme. It is demonstrated that the resulting novel photonic sensor communication cable can handle sensors and actuators differing orders of magnitude with respect to power consumption. The miniaturization of the electro-optical converters and driving electronics is as important to the presented development as the energy efficiency of the detached, optically powered sensor node. For this reason, a novel photonic packaging technology based on wafer-level assembly of the laser power converters by means of passive alignment will be disclosed in this paper.

A General Contact Force Analysis of an Under-Actuated Finger in Robot Hand Grasping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuan Vinh Ha

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a mathematical analysis of contact forces for the under-actuated finger in a general under-actuated robotic hand during grasping. The concept of under-actuation in robotic grasping with fewer actuators than degrees of freedom (DOF, through the use of springs and mechanical limits, allows the hand to adjust itself to an irregularly shaped object without complex control strategies and sensors. Here the main concern is the contact forces, which are important elements in grasping tasks, based on the proposed mathematical analysis of their distributions of the n-DOF under-actuated finger. The simulation results, along with the 3-DOF finger from the ADAMS model, show the effectiveness of the mathematical analysis method, while comparing them with the measured results. The system can find magnitudes of the contact forces at the contact positions between the phalanges and the object.

Fabrication and Characterization of PZT Thick Films for Sensing and Actuation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuo-Ching Kuo

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Lead Zirconate Titanate oxide (PZT thick films with thicknesses of up to 10 μmwere developed using a modified sol-gel technique. Usually, the film thickness is less than1 μm by conventional sol-gel processing, while the electrical charge accumulation whichreveals the direct effect of piezoelectricity is proportional to the film thickness and thereforerestricted. Two approaches were adopted to conventional sol-gel processing – precursorconcentration modulation and rapid thermal annealing. A 10 μm thick film was successfullyfabricated by coating 16 times via this technique. The thickness of each coating layer wasabout 0.6 μm and the morphology of the film was dense with a crack-free area as large as 16mm2. In addition, the structure, surface morphology and physical properties werecharacterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM and atomicforce microscopy (AFM and electrical performance. The dielectric constant and hysteresisloops were measured as electric characteristics. This study investigates the actuation andsensing performance of the vibrating structures with the piezoelectric thick film. Theactuation tests demonstrated that a 4 mm x 4 mm x 6.5 μm PZT film drove a 40 mm x 7 mmx 0.5 mm silicon beam as an actuator. Additionally, it generated an electrical signal of 60mVpp as a sensor, while vibration was input by a shaker. The frequencies of the first twomodes of the beam were compared with the theoretical values obtained by Euler-Bernoullibeam theory. The linearity of the actuation and sensing tests were also examined.

Temperature sensitive self-actuated scram mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The apparatus, described in detail, accurately infers the average coolant temperature exiting from the reactor core in a liquid metal cooled reactor and rapidly and reliably actuates a safety rod release mechanism on the occurrence of a critical temperature. The output temperature is inferred from the cooperative effect of the flow rate through a coolant flow path within the safety assembly and the heat generated by sensor fuel pins. The inferred temperature is sensed by a confined fluid having a high expansion coefficient; the expansion is transferred to a linear force used to actuate the release mechanism. The system may be contained within the safety assembly and does not interfere with the operation of the plant protection system scram mode. It is resetable after a scram. The time interval between the overtemperature and the insertion of the safety rods is short enough to preclude fuel damage. (U.K.)

Piezoelectric multilayer actuator life test.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Jones, Christopher M; Aldrich, Jack B; Blodget, Chad J; Moore, James D; Carson, John W; Goullioud, Renaud

2011-04-01

Potential NASA optical missions such as the Space Interferometer Mission require actuators for precision positioning to accuracies of the order of nanometers. Commercially available multilayer piezoelectric stack actuators are being considered for driving these precision mirror positioning mechanisms. These mechanisms have potential mission operational requirements that exceed 5 years for one mission life. To test the feasibility of using these commercial actuators for these applications and to determine their reliability and the redundancy requirements, a life test study was undertaken. The nominal actuator requirements for the most critical actuators on the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) in terms of number of cycles was estimated from the Modulation Optics Mechanism (MOM) and Pathlength control Optics Mechanism (POM) and these requirements were used to define the study. At a nominal drive frequency of 250 Hz, one mission life is calculated to be 40 billion cycles. In this study, a set of commercial PZT stacks configured in a potential flight actuator configuration (pre-stressed to 18 MPa and bonded in flexures) were tested for up to 100 billion cycles. Each test flexure allowed for two sets of primary and redundant stacks to be mechanically connected in series. The tests were controlled using an automated software control and data acquisition system that set up the test parameters and monitored the waveform of the stack electrical current and voltage. The samples were driven between 0 and 20 V at 2000 Hz to accelerate the life test and mimic the voltage amplitude that is expected to be applied to the stacks during operation. During the life test, 10 primary stacks were driven and 10 redundant stacks, mechanically in series with the driven stacks, were open-circuited. The stroke determined from a strain gauge, the temperature and humidity in the chamber, and the temperature of each individual stack were recorded. Other properties of the stacks, including the

Robust tracking control of an IPMC actuator using nonsingular terminal sliding mode

Science.gov (United States)

Khawwaf, Jasim; Zheng, Jinchuan; Lu, Renquan; Al-Ghanimi, Ali; Kazem, Bahaa I.; Man, Zhihong

2017-09-01

Ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) is a highly innovative material that has recently gained attention in many fields such as medical, biomimetic, and micro/nano underwater applications. The main characteristic of IPMC lies in its ability to achieve a large deflection under a fairly low driving voltage. Moreover, its agile, light weight, noiseless and flexible features render it well suited for certain specific applications. Like other smart materials, such as piezoelectric ceramics, IPMC could be used in actuators or sensors. In this paper, we study the application of IPMC as an actuator for underwater use. The goal is to develop a robust feedback controller for the IPMC actuator to track a desired reference whilst dealing with the uncertainties due to the inherent actuator nonlinearity, external disturbance or the variations of working environment. To this end, we first present a nominal model of the IPMC actuator through experimental identification. Next, a nonsingular terminal sliding mode controller is proposed. Lastly, experimental studies are conducted to verify the tracking accuracy and robustness of the designed controller.

Disc type thermal actuator with straight beams for angular motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anwar, M. Arefin; Packirisamy, Muthukumaran; Ahmed, A.K. Waiz

2013-01-01

Motion of a micro thermal actuator largely depends on its structural topology. This paper presents designs for a novel rotary type micro thermal actuator. This actuator has unique arrangement of hot segments around the cold segment. Upon application of potential difference, hot segments expand against the cold segment of disc and make the cold disc rotate about its center. This rotary motion can be used for various optical applications like, switching, attenuation and diffraction. The actuator has been fabricated using poly MUMPS process technology. An analytical model was used for predicting steady state temperature profile along the actuator length and rotational behavior of the cold disc under different applied voltages. A finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out to predict the behavior of the actuator by defining an air volume around the structure and also between structure and substrate. Finally testing was done for predicting feasibility of the actuator. Comparison of the rotational behavior obtained from both analytical model and FEA with that of obtained from testing shows close agreement. -- Highlights: ► Electro-thermo-mechanical modeling and verification of rotary micro thermal actuator. ► Modeling with conduction, convection and radiation modes for the air gap below 3 micron. ► In micro level, shape factor and material resistivity were estimated and verified through I–V characteristics. ► Two different designs of different shape factors were designed, fabricated and tested. ► The devices were fabricated using surface micromachining technology and tested for verification

Differential Measurement Periodontal Structures Mapping System

Science.gov (United States)

Companion, John A. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

This invention relates to a periodontal structure mapping system employing a dental handpiece containing first and second acoustic sensors for locating the Cemento-Enamel Junction (CEJ) and measuring the differential depth between the CEJ and the bottom of the periodontal pocket. Measurements are taken at multiple locations on each tooth of a patient, observed, analyzed by an optical analysis subsystem, and archived by a data storage system for subsequent study and comparison with previous and subsequent measurements. Ultrasonic transducers for the first and second acoustic sensors are contained within the handpiece and in connection with a control computer. Pressurized water is provided for the depth measurement sensor and a linearly movable probe sensor serves as the sensor for the CEJ finder. The linear movement of the CEJ sensor is obtained by a control computer actuated by the prober. In an alternate embodiment, the CEJ probe is an optical fiber sensor with appropriate analysis structure provided therefor.

Unbalance detection in rotor systems with active bearings using self-sensing piezoelectric actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Ambur, Ramakrishnan; Rinderknecht, Stephan

2018-03-01

Machines which are developed today are highly automated due to increased use of mechatronic systems. To ensure their reliable operation, fault detection and isolation (FDI) is an important feature along with a better control. This research work aims to achieve and integrate both these functions with minimum number of components in a mechatronic system. This article investigates a rotating machine with active bearings equipped with piezoelectric actuators. There is an inherent coupling between their electrical and mechanical properties because of which they can also be used as sensors. Mechanical deflection can be reconstructed from these self-sensing actuators from measured voltage and current signals. These virtual sensor signals are utilised to detect unbalance in a rotor system. Parameters of unbalance such as its magnitude and phase are detected by parametric estimation method in frequency domain. Unbalance location has been identified using hypothesis of localization of faults. Robustness of the estimates against outliers in measurements is improved using weighted least squares method. Unbalances are detected in a real test bench apart from simulation using its model. Experiments are performed in stationary as well as in transient case. As a further step unbalances are estimated during simultaneous actuation of actuators in closed loop with an adaptive algorithm for vibration minimisation. This strategy could be used in systems which aim for both fault detection and control action.

High-bandwidth piezoresistive force probes with integrated thermal actuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doll, Joseph C; Pruitt, Beth L

2012-01-01

We present high-speed force probes with on-chip actuation and sensing for the measurement of pN-scale forces at the microsecond timescale. We achieve a high resonant frequency in water (1–100 kHz) with requisite low spring constants (0.3–40 pN nm −1 ) and low integrated force noise (1–100 pN) by targeting probe dimensions on the order of 300 nm thick, 1–2 μm wide and 30–200 μm long. Forces are measured using silicon piezoresistors, while the probes are actuated thermally with an aluminum unimorph and silicon heater. The piezoresistive sensors are designed using the open-source numerical optimization code that incorporates constraints on operating temperature. Parylene passivation enables operation in ionic media and we demonstrate simultaneous actuation and sensing. The improved design and fabrication techniques that we describe enable a 10–20-fold improvement in force resolution or measurement bandwidth over prior piezoresistive cantilevers of comparable thickness. (paper)

High bandwidth piezoresistive force probes with integrated thermal actuation

Science.gov (United States)

Doll, Joseph C.; Pruitt, Beth L.

2012-01-01

We present high-speed force probes with on-chip actuation and sensing for the measurement of pN-scale forces at the microsecond time scale. We achieve a high resonant frequency in water (1–100 kHz) with requisite low spring constants (0.3–40 pN/nm) and low integrated force noise (1–100 pN) by targeting probe dimensions on the order of 300 nm thick, 1–2 μm wide and 30–200 μm long. Forces are measured using silicon piezoresistors while the probes are actuated thermally with an aluminum unimorph and silicon heater. The piezoresistive sensors are designed using open source numerical optimization code that incorporates constraints on operating temperature. Parylene passivation enables operation in ionic media and we demonstrate simultaneous actuation and sensing. The improved design and fabrication techniques that we describe enable a 10–20 fold improvement in force resolution or measurement bandwidth over prior piezoresistive cantilevers of comparable thickness. PMID:23175616

Actuator with Multi Degrees of Freedom(Actuator)

OpenAIRE

矢野, 智昭; Tomoaki, YANO; 産業技術総合研究所

2006-01-01

The advantages, problems and the recent developments of the actuator with multi degrees of freedom are presented. At first, the advantages of the actuator with multi degrees of freedom are described. Next, the problems needed to solve for practical use are presented. The recent applications of the actuator with multi degrees of freedom are also reviewed.

Compact, planar, translational piezoelectric bimorph actuator with Archimedes’ spiral actuating tethers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chenye; Liu, Sanwei; Livermore, Carol; Xie, Xin

2016-01-01

The design, analytical modelling, finite element analysis (FEA), and experimental characterization of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) out-of-plane (vertical) translational piezoelectric lead–zirconate–titanate (PZT) bimorph actuator supported on Archimedes’ spiral tethers are presented. Three types of bimorph actuators with different electrode patterns (with spiral tethers half actuated, fully actuated with uniform polarity, or fully actuated with reversed polarity) are designed and modelled. The two actuators with the highest predicted performance (half actuated and fully actuated with uniform polarity) are implemented and characterized. Both designs are fabricated by commercial processes and are compatible with integration into more complex MEMS systems. Analytical modelling and FEA are used to analyze and predict the actuators’ displacements and blocking forces. Experimental measurements of the deflections and blocking forces of actuators with full uniform actuation and half actuation validate the design. At an applied voltage of 110 V, the out-of-plane deflections of the actuators with half actuation and full uniform actuation are measured at about 17 µ m and 29 µ m respectively, in good agreement with analytical predictions of 17.3 µ m and 34.2 µ m and FEA predictions of 17.1 µ m and 25.8 µ m. The blocking force for devices with half-actuated tethers is predicted to be 12 mN (analytical) and 10 mN (FEA), close to the experimental value of 9 mN. The blocking force for devices with full uniform actuation is predicted to be 23 mN (analytical) and 17 mN (FEA), as compared with 15 mN in experiments. (paper)

Toward Smart Aerospace Structures: Design of a Piezoelectric Sensor and Its Analog Interface for Flaw Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Boukabache, Hamza; Escriba, Christophe; Fourniols, Jean-Yves

2014-01-01

Structural health monitoring using noninvasive methods is one of the major challenges that aerospace manufacturers face in this decade. Our work in this field focuses on the development and the system integration of millimetric piezoelectric sensors/ actuators to generate and measure specific guided waves. The aim of the application is to detect mechanical flaws on complex composite and alloy structures to quantify efficiently the global structures' reliability. The study begins by a physical and analytical analysis of a piezoelectric patch. To preserve the structure's integrity, the transducers are directly pasted onto the surface which leads to a critical issue concerning the interfacing layer. In order to improve the reliability and mitigate the influence of the interfacing layer, the global equations of piezoelectricity are coupled with a load transfer model. Thus we can determine precisely the shear strain developed on the surface of the structure. To exploit the generated signal, a high precision analog charge amplifier coupled to a double T notch filter were designed and scaled. Finally, a novel joined time-frequency analysis based on a wavelet decomposition algorithm is used to extract relevant structures signatures. Finally, this paper provides examples of application on aircraft structure specimens and the feasibility of the system is thus demonstrated. PMID:25365457

Toward smart aerospace structures: design of a piezoelectric sensor and its analog interface for flaw detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Boukabache, Hamza; Escriba, Christophe; Fourniols, Jean-Yves

2014-10-31

Structural health monitoring using noninvasive methods is one of the major challenges that aerospace manufacturers face in this decade. Our work in this field focuses on the development and the system integration of millimetric piezoelectric sensors/ actuators to generate and measure specific guided waves. The aim of the application is to detect mechanical flaws on complex composite and alloy structures to quantify efficiently the global structures' reliability. The study begins by a physical and analytical analysis of a piezoelectric patch. To preserve the structure's integrity, the transducers are directly pasted onto the surface which leads to a critical issue concerning the interfacing layer. In order to improve the reliability and mitigate the influence of the interfacing layer, the global equations of piezoelectricity are coupled with a load transfer model. Thus we can determine precisely the shear strain developed on the surface of the structure. To exploit the generated signal, a high precision analog charge amplifier coupled to a double T notch filter were designed and scaled. Finally, a novel joined time-frequency analysis based on a wavelet decomposition algorithm is used to extract relevant structures signatures. Finally, this paper provides examples of application on aircraft structure specimens and the feasibility of the system is thus demonstrated.

FR4-based electromagnetic energy harvester for wireless sensor nodes

Science.gov (United States)

Hatipoglu, G.; Ürey, H.

2010-01-01

Electromagnetic (EM) energy harvesting seems to be one of the most promising ways to power wireless sensors in a wireless sensor network. In this paper, FR4, the most commonly used PCB material, is utilized as a mechanical vibrating structure for EM energy harvesting for body-worn sensors and intelligent tire sensors, which involve impact loadings. FR4 can be a better material for such applications compared to silicon MEMS devices due to lower stiffness and broadband response. In order to demonstrate FR4 performance and broadband response, three moving magnet type EM generator designs are developed and investigated throughout the paper. A velocity-damped harvester simulation model is first developed, including a detailed magnetic model and the magnetic damping effects. The numerical results agree well with the experimental results. Human running acceleration at the hip area that is obtained experimentally is simulated in order to demonstrate system performance, which results in a scavenged power of about 40 µW with 15 m s-2 acceleration input. The designed FR4 energy scavengers with mechanical stoppers implemented are particularly well suited for nearly periodic and non-sinusoidal high- g excitations with rich harmonic content. For the intelligent tire applications, a special compact FR4 scavenger is designed that is able to withstand large shocks and vibrations due to mechanical shock stoppers built into the structure. Using our design, 0.4 mW power across a load resistance at off-resonance operation is obtained in shaker experiments. In the actual operation, the tangential accelerations as a result of the tire-road contact are estimated to supply power around 1 mW with our design, which is sufficient for powering wireless tire sensors. The normalized power density (NPD) of the designed actuators compares favorably with most actuators reported in the literature.

FR4-based electromagnetic energy harvester for wireless sensor nodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatipoglu, G; Ürey, H

2010-01-01

Electromagnetic (EM) energy harvesting seems to be one of the most promising ways to power wireless sensors in a wireless sensor network. In this paper, FR4, the most commonly used PCB material, is utilized as a mechanical vibrating structure for EM energy harvesting for body-worn sensors and intelligent tire sensors, which involve impact loadings. FR4 can be a better material for such applications compared to silicon MEMS devices due to lower stiffness and broadband response. In order to demonstrate FR4 performance and broadband response, three moving magnet type EM generator designs are developed and investigated throughout the paper. A velocity-damped harvester simulation model is first developed, including a detailed magnetic model and the magnetic damping effects. The numerical results agree well with the experimental results. Human running acceleration at the hip area that is obtained experimentally is simulated in order to demonstrate system performance, which results in a scavenged power of about 40 µW with 15 m s −2 acceleration input. The designed FR4 energy scavengers with mechanical stoppers implemented are particularly well suited for nearly periodic and non-sinusoidal high- g excitations with rich harmonic content. For the intelligent tire applications, a special compact FR4 scavenger is designed that is able to withstand large shocks and vibrations due to mechanical shock stoppers built into the structure. Using our design, 0.4 mW power across a load resistance at off-resonance operation is obtained in shaker experiments. In the actual operation, the tangential accelerations as a result of the tire–road contact are estimated to supply power around 1 mW with our design, which is sufficient for powering wireless tire sensors. The normalized power density (NPD) of the designed actuators compares favorably with most actuators reported in the literature

Chemomechanical Polymers as Sensors and Actuators for Biological and Medicinal Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert M. Strongin

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Changes in the chemical environment can trigger large motions in chemomechanical polymers. The unique feature of such intelligent materials, mostly in the form of hydrogels, is therefore, that they serve as sensors and actuators at the same time, and do not require any measuring devices, transducers or power supplies. Until recently the most often used of these materials responded to changes in pH. Chemists are now increasingly using supramolecular recognition sites in materials, which are covalently bound to the polymer backbone. This allows one to use a nearly unlimited variety of guest (or effector compounds in the environment for a selective response by automatically triggered size changes. This is illustrated with non-covalent interactions of effectors comprising of metal ions, isomeric organic compounds, including enantiomers, nucleotides, aminoacids, and peptides. Two different effector molecules can induce motions as functions of their concentration, thus representing a logical AND gate. This concept is particularly fruitful with effector compounds such as peptides, which only trigger size changes if, e.g. copper ions are present in the surroundings. Another principle relies on the fast formation of covalent bonds between an effector and the chemomechanical polymer. The most promising application is the selective interaction of covalently fixed boronic acid residues with glucose, which renders itself not only for sensing, but eventually also for delivery of drugs such as insulin. The speed of the responses can significantly increase by increasing the surface to volume ratio of the polymer particles. Of particular interest is the sensitivity increase which can be reached by downsizing the particle volume.

Multiscale modeling and topology optimization of poroelastic actuators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Casper Schousboe; Sigmund, Ole

2012-01-01

This paper presents a method for design of optimized poroelastic materials which under internal pressurization turn into actuators for application in, for example, linear motors. The actuators are modeled in a two-scale fluid–structure interaction approach. The fluid saturated material microstruc...

Verification of fluid-structure-interaction algorithms through the method of manufactured solutions for actuator-line applications

Science.gov (United States)

Vijayakumar, Ganesh; Sprague, Michael

2017-11-01

Demonstrating expected convergence rates with spatial- and temporal-grid refinement is the ``gold standard'' of code and algorithm verification. However, the lack of analytical solutions and generating manufactured solutions presents challenges for verifying codes for complex systems. The application of the method of manufactured solutions (MMS) for verification for coupled multi-physics phenomena like fluid-structure interaction (FSI) has only seen recent investigation. While many FSI algorithms for aeroelastic phenomena have focused on boundary-resolved CFD simulations, the actuator-line representation of the structure is widely used for FSI simulations in wind-energy research. In this work, we demonstrate the verification of an FSI algorithm using MMS for actuator-line CFD simulations with a simplified structural model. We use a manufactured solution for the fluid velocity field and the displacement of the SMD system. We demonstrate the convergence of both the fluid and structural solver to second-order accuracy with grid and time-step refinement. This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Wind Energy Technologies Office, under Contract No. DE-AC36-08-GO28308 with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Advances on Sensor Web for Internet of Things

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, S.; Bermudez, L. E.; Huang, C.; Jazayeri, M.; Khalafbeigi, T.

2013-12-01

'In much the same way that HTML and HTTP enabled WWW, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement (SWE), envisioned in 2001 [1] will allow sensor webs to become a reality.'. Due to the large number of sensor manufacturers and differing accompanying protocols, integrating diverse sensors into observation systems is not a simple task. A coherent infrastructure is needed to treat sensors in an interoperable, platform-independent and uniform way. SWE standardizes web service interfaces, sensor descriptions and data encodings as building blocks for a Sensor Web. SWE standards are now mature specifications (version 2.0) with approved OGC compliance test suites and tens of independent implementations. Many earth and space science organizations and government agencies are using the SWE standards to publish and share their sensors and observations. While SWE has been demonstrated very effective for scientific sensors, its complexity and the computational overhead may not be suitable for resource-constrained tiny sensors. In June 2012, a new OGC Standards Working Group (SWG) was formed called the Sensor Web Interface for Internet of Things (SWE-IoT) SWG. This SWG focuses on developing one or more OGC standards for resource-constrained sensors and actuators (e.g., Internet of Things devices) while leveraging the existing OGC SWE standards. In the near future, billions to trillions of small sensors and actuators will be embedded in real- world objects and connected to the Internet facilitating a concept called the Internet of Things (IoT). By populating our environment with real-world sensor-based devices, the IoT is opening the door to exciting possibilities for a variety of application domains, such as environmental monitoring, transportation and logistics, urban informatics, smart cities, as well as personal and social applications. The current SWE-IoT development aims on modeling the IoT components and defining a standard web service that makes the

Virtual sensors for active noise control in acoustic-structural coupled enclosures using structural sensing: robust virtual sensor design.

Science.gov (United States)

Halim, Dunant; Cheng, Li; Su, Zhongqing

2011-03-01

The work was aimed to develop a robust virtual sensing design methodology for sensing and active control applications of vibro-acoustic systems. The proposed virtual sensor was designed to estimate a broadband acoustic interior sound pressure using structural sensors, with robustness against certain dynamic uncertainties occurring in an acoustic-structural coupled enclosure. A convex combination of Kalman sub-filters was used during the design, accommodating different sets of perturbed dynamic model of the vibro-acoustic enclosure. A minimax optimization problem was set up to determine an optimal convex combination of Kalman sub-filters, ensuring an optimal worst-case virtual sensing performance. The virtual sensing and active noise control performance was numerically investigated on a rectangular panel-cavity system. It was demonstrated that the proposed virtual sensor could accurately estimate the interior sound pressure, particularly the one dominated by cavity-controlled modes, by using a structural sensor. With such a virtual sensing technique, effective active noise control performance was also obtained even for the worst-case dynamics. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

Communal Sensor Network for Adaptive Noise Reduction in Aircraft Engine Nacelles

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Kennie H.; Nark, Douglas M.; Jones, Michael G.

2011-01-01

Emergent behavior, a subject of much research in biology, sociology, and economics, is a foundational element of Complex Systems Science and is apropos in the design of sensor network systems. To demonstrate engineering for emergent behavior, a novel approach in the design of a sensor/actuator network is presented maintaining optimal noise attenuation as an adaptation to changing acoustic conditions. Rather than use the conventional approach where sensors are managed by a central controller, this new paradigm uses a biomimetic model where sensor/actuators cooperate as a community of autonomous organisms, sharing with neighbors to control impedance based on local information. From the combination of all individual actions, an optimal attenuation emerges for the global system.

Distributed adaptive diagnosis of sensor faults using structural response data

Science.gov (United States)

Dragos, Kosmas; Smarsly, Kay

2016-10-01

The reliability and consistency of wireless structural health monitoring (SHM) systems can be compromised by sensor faults, leading to miscalibrations, corrupted data, or even data loss. Several research approaches towards fault diagnosis, referred to as ‘analytical redundancy’, have been proposed that analyze the correlations between different sensor outputs. In wireless SHM, most analytical redundancy approaches require centralized data storage on a server for data analysis, while other approaches exploit the on-board computing capabilities of wireless sensor nodes, analyzing the raw sensor data directly on board. However, using raw sensor data poses an operational constraint due to the limited power resources of wireless sensor nodes. In this paper, a new distributed autonomous approach towards sensor fault diagnosis based on processed structural response data is presented. The inherent correlations among Fourier amplitudes of acceleration response data, at peaks corresponding to the eigenfrequencies of the structure, are used for diagnosis of abnormal sensor outputs at a given structural condition. Representing an entirely data-driven analytical redundancy approach that does not require any a priori knowledge of the monitored structure or of the SHM system, artificial neural networks (ANN) are embedded into the sensor nodes enabling cooperative fault diagnosis in a fully decentralized manner. The distributed analytical redundancy approach is implemented into a wireless SHM system and validated in laboratory experiments, demonstrating the ability of wireless sensor nodes to self-diagnose sensor faults accurately and efficiently with minimal data traffic. Besides enabling distributed autonomous fault diagnosis, the embedded ANNs are able to adapt to the actual condition of the structure, thus ensuring accurate and efficient fault diagnosis even in case of structural changes.

HexaMob—A Hybrid Modular Robotic Design for Implementing Biomimetic Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sasanka Sankhar Reddy CH.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Modular robots are capable of forming primitive shapes such as lattice and chain structures with the additional flexibility of distributed sensing. The biomimetic structures developed using such modular units provides ease of replacement and reconfiguration in co-ordinated structures, transportation etc. in real life scenarios. Though the research in the employment of modular robotic units in formation of biological organisms is in the nascent stage, modular robotic units are already capable of forming such sophisticated structures. The modular robotic designs proposed so far in modular robotics research vary significantly in external structures, sensor-actuator mechanisms interfaces for docking and undocking, techniques for providing mobility, coordinated structures, locomotions etc. and each robotic design attempted to address various challenges faced in the domain of modular robotics by employing different strategies. This paper presents a novel modular wheeled robotic design - HexaMob facilitating four degrees of freedom (2 degrees for mobility and 2 degrees for structural reconfiguration on a single module with minimal usage of sensor-actuator assemblies. The crucial features of modular robotics such as back-driving restriction, docking, and navigation are addressed in the process of HexaMob design. The proposed docking mechanism is enabled using vision sensor, enhancing the capabilities in docking as well as navigation in co-ordinated structures such as humanoid robots.

Qualification method for a 1 MGy-tolerant front-end chip designed in 65 nm CMOS for the read-out of remotely operated sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verbeeck, Jens, E-mail: jens.verbeeck@esat.kuleuven.be [KU Leuven (KUL), Div. LRD-MAGyICS, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Cao, Ying [KU Leuven (KUL), Div. LRD-MAGyICS, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Van Uffelen, Marco; Casellas, Laura Mont; Damiani, Carlo; Morales, Emilio Ruiz; Santana, Roberto Ranz [Fusion for Energy (F4E), c/Josep, no. 2, Torres Diagonal Litoral, Ed. B3, 08019 Barcelona (Spain); Meek, Richard; Haist, Bernhard [Oxford Technologies Ltd. (OTL), 7 Nuffield Way, Abingdon OX14 1RL (United Kingdom); Hamilton, David [ITER Organisation (IO), Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul les Durance Cedex (France); Steyaert, Michiel [KU Leuven, ESAT-MICAS, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Leroux, Paul [KU Leuven, ESAT-MICAS, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); KU Leuven, ESAT, Advanced Integrated Sensing Lab (AdvISe), Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel (Belgium)

2015-10-15

This paper describes the radiation qualification procedure for a 1 MGy-tolerant Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) developed in 65 nm CMOS technology. The chip is intended for the read-out of electrical signals of sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER. First the general working principle of the ASIC is shown. The developed IC allows to read-out, condition and digitize multiple low bandwidth (<10 kHz) sensors. In addition the IC is able to multiplex the digitized sensor signals. To comply with ITER-relevant constraints an adapted radiation qualification procedure has been proposed. The radiation-qualification procedure describes the test criteria and test conditions of the developed ASICs, which are also compared with COTS alternatives, to meet the stringent qualification procedures for electronics exposed to radiation in ITER.

Saturated poroelastic actuators generated by topology optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Casper Schousboe; Sigmund, Ole

2011-01-01

the coupling of internal fluid pressure and elastic shear stresses a slab of the optimized porous material deflects/deforms when a pressure is imposed and an actuator is created. Several phenomenologically based constraints are imposed in order to get a stable force transmitting actuator.......In this paper the fluid-structure interaction problem of a saturated porous media is considered. The pressure coupling properties of porous saturated materials change with the microstructure and this is utilized in the design of an actuator using a topology optimized porous material. By maximizing...

Dielectric Actuation of Polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Xiaofan

Dielectric polymers are widely used in a plurality of applications, such as electrical insulation, dielectric capacitors, and electromechanical actuators. Dielectric polymers with large strain deformations under an electric field are named dielectric elastomers (DE), because of their relative low modulus, high elongation at break, and outstanding resilience. Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) are superior to traditional transducers as a muscle-like technology: large strains, high energy densities, high coupling efficiency, quiet operation, and light weight. One focus of this dissertation is on the design of DE materials with high performance and easy processing. UV radiation curing of reactive species is studied as a generic synthesis methodology to provide a platform for material scientists to customize their own DE materials. Oligomers/monomers, crosslinkers, and other additives are mixed and cured at appropriate ratios to control the stress-strain response, suppress electromechanical instability of the resulting polymers, and provide stable actuation strains larger than 100% and energy densities higher than 1 J/g. The processing is largely simplified in the new material system by removal of the prestretching step. Multilayer stack actuators with 11% linear strain are demonstrated in a procedure fully compatible with industrial production. A multifunctional DE derivative material, bistable electroactive polymer (BSEP), is invented enabling repeatable rigid-to-rigid deformation without bulky external structures. Bistable actuation allows the polymer actuator to have two distinct states that can support external load without device failure. Plasticizers are used to lower the glass transition temperature to 45 °C. Interpenetrating polymer network structure is established inside the BSEP to suppress electromechanical instability, providing a breakdown field of 194 MV/m and a stable bistable strain as large as 228% with a 97% strain fixity. The application of BSEP

Electro-optically actuated liquid-lens zoom

Science.gov (United States)

Pütsch, O.; Loosen, P.

2012-06-01

Progressive miniaturization and mass market orientation denote a challenge to the design of dynamic optical systems such as zoom-lenses. Two working principles can be identified: mechanical actuation and application of active optical components. Mechanical actuation changes the focal length of a zoom-lens system by varying the axial positions of optical elements. These systems are limited in speed and often require complex coupled movements. However, well established optical design approaches can be applied. In contrast, active optical components change their optical properties by varying their physical structure by means of applying external electric signals. An example are liquidlenses which vary their curvatures to change the refractive power. Zoom-lenses benefit from active optical components in two ways: first, no moveable structures are required and second, fast response characteristics can be realized. The precommercial development of zoom-lenses demands simplified and cost-effective system designs. However the number of efficient optical designs for electro-optically actuated zoom-lenses is limited. In this paper, the systematic development of an electro-optically actuated zoom-lens will be discussed. The application of aberration polynomials enables a better comprehension of the primary monochromatic aberrations at the lens elements during a change in magnification. This enables an enhanced synthesis of the system behavior and leads to a simplified zoom-lens design with no moving elements. The change of focal length is achieved only by varying curvatures of targeted integrated electro-optically actuated lenses.

Empirical modeling of dynamic behaviors of pneumatic artificial muscle actuators.

Science.gov (United States)

Wickramatunge, Kanchana Crishan; Leephakpreeda, Thananchai

2013-11-01

Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM) actuators yield muscle-like mechanical actuation with high force to weight ratio, soft and flexible structure, and adaptable compliance for rehabilitation and prosthetic appliances to the disabled as well as humanoid robots or machines. The present study is to develop empirical models of the PAM actuators, that is, a PAM coupled with pneumatic control valves, in order to describe their dynamic behaviors for practical control design and usage. Empirical modeling is an efficient approach to computer-based modeling with observations of real behaviors. Different characteristics of dynamic behaviors of each PAM actuator are due not only to the structures of the PAM actuators themselves, but also to the variations of their material properties in manufacturing processes. To overcome the difficulties, the proposed empirical models are experimentally derived from real physical behaviors of the PAM actuators, which are being implemented. In case studies, the simulated results with good agreement to experimental results, show that the proposed methodology can be applied to describe the dynamic behaviors of the real PAM actuators. Copyright © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sealing-free fast-response paraffin/nanoporous gold hybrid actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Xing-Long; Jin, Hai-Jun

2017-09-01

Paraffin-based actuators can deliver large actuation strokes and high actuation stress, but often suffer from a low response rate and leaking problems. Here, we report a new paraffin/metal hybrid actuator, which was fabricated by infiltrating nanoporous gold with paraffin. It exhibits a fast actuation rate owing to the high thermal conductivity of the inter-connected metal phase, and requires no external sealing because liquid paraffin can be well confined in nanoscale channels, due to the large capillarity. We found that in this hybrid actuator, the stress generated by actuation is negligibly small when the characteristic size of the nanoporous gold (L) is above ˜70 nm, and increases dramatically with a decreasing size when L paraffin wax—the paraffin in smaller pores can sustain larger tensile stress, and thus the contraction of paraffin during cooling can be translated into larger compression stress and strain energy in a metal framework, leading to a larger actuation stress and energy. We also demonstrate that complex actuation motions can be achieved by incorporating hierarchical-structured nanoporous metal with paraffin.

Experimental measurements and finite element models of High Displacement Piezoelectric Actuators.

Science.gov (United States)

Camargo, Gilberto; Ashford, Gevale; Naco, Eris; Usher, Tim

2004-03-01

Piezoelectric actuators have many applications including morphable wing technology and piezoelectric transformers. A Piezoelectric ceramic is a material that will move when a voltage is applied and conversely produces a charge when a pressure is applied. In our study, we examine THUNDER (Thin Layer Unimorph Ferroelectric Driver and Sensor) actuators (Thunder TM is a trademark of FACE International Corporation.) Thunder actuators are constructed by bonding thin PZT piezoelectric ceramics to metal sheets. We will present physical measurements of piezoelectric actuators, as well as measurements of the displacements due to applied voltages. In our studies we used a laser micrometer to measure the dimensional characteristics of four sizes of THUNDER actuators including TH-8R, TH-9R, TH-10R, and finally the TH-11R. We also developed computer models using a commercial fine element modeling package (FEM) known as ANSYS6.0®. This software enables us to construct our models controlling such attributes as exact dimensions of the three layers of the piezoelectric actuator, the material properties of each element, the type of load that is to be applied as well as the manner in which the layers are bonded together. The computer model compares favorably with the experimental results. Acknowledgements: NASA Grant No. 0051-0078 Department of Defense (DoD) Control No.ISP02-EUG15

PACS—Realization of an adaptive concept using pressure actuated cellular structures

Science.gov (United States)

Gramüller, B.; Boblenz, J.; Hühne, C.

2014-10-01

A biologically inspired concept is investigated which can be utilized to develop energy efficient, lightweight and applicational flexible adaptive structures. Building a real life morphing unit is an ambitious task as the numerous works in the particular field show. Summarizing fundamental demands and barriers regarding shape changing structures, the basic challenges of designing morphing structures are listed. The concept of Pressure Actuated Cellular Structures (PACS) is arranged within the recent morphing activities and it is shown that it complies with the underlying demands. Systematically divided into energy-related and structural subcomponents the working principle is illuminated and relationships between basic design parameters are expressed. The analytical background describing the physical mechanisms of PACS is presented in concentrated manner. This work focuses on the procedure of dimensioning, realizing and experimental testing of a single cell and a single row cantilever made of PACS. The experimental outcomes as well as the results from the FEM computations are used for evaluating the analytical methods. The functionality of the basic principle is thus validated and open issues are determined pointing the way ahead.

PACS—Realization of an adaptive concept using pressure actuated cellular structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gramüller, B; Boblenz, J; Hühne, C

2014-01-01

A biologically inspired concept is investigated which can be utilized to develop energy efficient, lightweight and applicational flexible adaptive structures. Building a real life morphing unit is an ambitious task as the numerous works in the particular field show. Summarizing fundamental demands and barriers regarding shape changing structures, the basic challenges of designing morphing structures are listed. The concept of Pressure Actuated Cellular Structures (PACS) is arranged within the recent morphing activities and it is shown that it complies with the underlying demands. Systematically divided into energy-related and structural subcomponents the working principle is illuminated and relationships between basic design parameters are expressed. The analytical background describing the physical mechanisms of PACS is presented in concentrated manner. This work focuses on the procedure of dimensioning, realizing and experimental testing of a single cell and a single row cantilever made of PACS. The experimental outcomes as well as the results from the FEM computations are used for evaluating the analytical methods. The functionality of the basic principle is thus validated and open issues are determined pointing the way ahead. (paper)

Actuators Using Piezoelectric Stacks and Displacement Enhancers

Science.gov (United States)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Badescu, Mircea; Lee, Hyeong Jae; Walkenmeyer, Phillip; Lih, Shyh-Shiuh

2015-01-01

Actuators are used to drive all active mechanisms including machines, robots, and manipulators to name a few. The actuators are responsible for moving, manipulating, displacing, pushing and executing any action that is needed by the mechanism. There are many types and principles of actuation that are responsible for these movements ranging from electromagnetic, electroactive, thermo-mechanic, piezoelectric, electrostrictive etc. Actuators are readily available from commercial producers but there is a great need for reducing their size, increasing their efficiency and reducing their weight. Studies at JPL’s Non Destructive Evaluation and Advanced Actuators (NDEAA) Laboratory have been focused on the use of piezoelectric stacks and novel designs taking advantage of piezoelectric’s potential to provide high torque/force density actuation and high electromechanical conversion efficiency. The actuators/motors that have been developed and reviewed in this paper are operated by various horn configurations as well as the use of pre-stress flexures that make them thermally stable and increases their coupling efficiency. The use of monolithic designs that pre-stress the piezoelectric stack eliminates the use of compression stress bolt. These designs enable the embedding of developed solid-state motors/actuators in any structure with the only macroscopically moving parts are the rotor or the linear translator. Finite element modeling and design tools were used to determine the requirements and operation parameters and the results were used to simulate, design and fabricate novel actuators/motors. The developed actuators and performance will be described and discussed in this paper.

Soft Active Materials for Actuation, Sensing, and Electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Rebecca Krone

Future generations of robots, electronics, and assistive medical devices will include systems that are soft and elastically deformable, allowing them to adapt their morphology in unstructured environments. This will require soft active materials for actuation, circuitry, and sensing of deformation and contact pressure. The emerging field of soft robotics utilizes these soft active materials to mimic the inherent compliance of natural soft-bodied systems. As the elasticity of robot components increases, the challenges for functionality revert to basic questions of fabrication, materials, and design - whereas such aspects are far more developed for traditional rigid-bodied systems. This thesis will highlight preliminary materials and designs that address the need for soft actuators and sensors, as well as emerging fabrication techniques for manufacturing stretchable circuits and devices based on liquid-embedded elastomers.

Relaxor-PT Single Crystal Piezoelectric Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoning Jiang

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Relaxor-PbTiO3 piezoelectric single crystals have been widely used in a broad range of electromechanical devices, including piezoelectric sensors, actuators, and transducers. This paper reviews the unique properties of these single crystals for piezoelectric sensors. Design, fabrication and characterization of various relaxor-PT single crystal piezoelectric sensors and their applications are presented and compared with their piezoelectric ceramic counterparts. Newly applicable fields and future trends of relaxor-PT sensors are also suggested in this review paper.

Dynamic analysis of nonlinear behaviour in inertial actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borgo, M Dal; Tehrani, M Ghandchi; Elliott, S J

2016-01-01

Inertial actuators are devices typically used to generate the control force on a vibrating structure. Generally, an inertial actuator comprises a proof-mass suspended in a magnetic field. The inertial force due to the moving mass is used to produce the secondary force needed to control the vibration of the primary structure. Inertial actuators can show nonlinear behaviour, such as stroke saturation when driven at high input voltages. If the input voltage is beyond their limit, they can hit the end stop of the actuator casing and saturate. In this paper, the force generated by an inertial actuator is measured experimentally and numerical simulations of a linear piecewise stiffness model are carried out and compared with the results of analytical methods. First, a numerical model for a symmetric bilinear stiffness is derived and a parametric study is carried out to investigate the change of the end stop stiffness. In addition, the variation of the amplitude of the excitation is considered and a comparison is made with the analytical solution using the harmonic balance method. Finally, experimental measurements are carried out and the results are compared with simulated data to establish the accuracy of the model. (paper)

Sensor fault-tolerant control for gear-shifting engaging process of automated manual transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Liang; He, Kai; Wang, Xiangyu; Liu, Yahui

2018-01-01

Angular displacement sensor on the actuator of automated manual transmission (AMT) is sensitive to fault, and the sensor fault will disturb its normal control, which affects the entire gear-shifting process of AMT and results in awful riding comfort. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a method of fault-tolerant control for AMT gear-shifting engaging process. By using the measured current of actuator motor and angular displacement of actuator, the gear-shifting engaging load torque table is built and updated before the occurrence of the sensor fault. Meanwhile, residual between estimated and measured angular displacements is used to detect the sensor fault. Once the residual exceeds a determined fault threshold, the sensor fault is detected. Then, switch control is triggered, and the current observer and load torque table estimates an actual gear-shifting position to replace the measured one to continue controlling the gear-shifting process. Numerical and experiment tests are carried out to evaluate the reliability and feasibility of proposed methods, and the results show that the performance of estimation and control is satisfactory.

Performance characterization of active fiber-composite actuators for helicopter rotor blade applications

Science.gov (United States)

Wickramasinghe, Viresh K.; Hagood, Nesbitt W.

2002-07-01

The primary objective of this work was to characterize the performance of the Active Fiber Composite (AFC) actuator material system for the Boeing Active Material Rotor (AMR) blade application. The AFCs were a new structural actuator system consisting of piezoceramic fibers embedded in an epoxy matrix and sandwiched between interdigitated electrodes to orient the driving electric field in the fiber direction to use the primary piezoelectric effect. These actuators were integrated directly into the blade spar laminate as active plies within the composite structure to perform structural actuation for vibration control in helicopters. Therefore, it was necessary to conduct extensive electromechanical material characterization to evaluate AFCs both as actuators and as structural components of the rotor blade. The characterization tests designed to extract important electromechanical properties under simulated blade operating conditions included stress-strain tests, free strain tests and actuation under tensile load tests. This paper presents the test results as well as the comprehensive testing process developed to evaluate the relevant AFC material properties. The results from this comprehensive performance characterization of the AFC material system supported the design and operation of the Boeing AMR blade scheduled for hover and forward flight wind tunnel tests.

Macro-Fiber Composite actuated simply supported thin airfoils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilgen, Onur; Kochersberger, Kevin B; Inman, Daniel J; Ohanian, Osgar J III

2010-01-01

A piezoceramic composite actuator known as Macro-Fiber Composite (MFC) is used for actuation in the design of a variable camber airfoil intended for a ducted fan aircraft. The study focuses on response characterization under aerodynamic loads for circular arc airfoils with variable pinned boundary conditions. A parametric study of fluid–structure interaction is employed to find pin locations along the chordwise direction that result in high lift generation. Wind tunnel experiments are conducted on a 1.0% thick, 127 mm chord MFC actuated bimorph airfoil that is simply supported at 5% and 50% of the chord. Aerodynamic and structural performance results are presented for a flow rate of 15 m s −1 and a Reynolds number of 127 000. Non-linear effects due to aerodynamic and piezoceramic hysteresis are identified and discussed. A lift coefficient change of 1.46 is observed, purely due to voltage actuation. A maximum 2D L/D ratio of 17.8 is recorded through voltage excitation

Holistic design and implementation of pressure actuated cellular structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gramüller, B; Köke, H; Hühne, C

2015-01-01

Providing the possibility to develop energy-efficient, lightweight adaptive components, pressure-actuated cellular structures (PACS) are primarily conceived for aeronautics applications. The realization of shape-variable flaps and even airfoils provides the potential to safe weight, increase aerodynamic efficiency and enhance agility. The herein presented holistic design process points out and describes the necessary steps for designing a real-life PACS structure, from the computation of truss geometry to the manufacturing and assembly. The already published methods for the form finding of PACS are adjusted and extended for the exemplary application of a variable-camber wing. The transfer of the form-finding truss model to a cross-sectional design is discussed. The end cap and sealing concept is described together with the implementation of the integral fluid flow. Conceptual limitations due to the manufacturing and assembly processes are discussed. The method’s efficiency is evaluated by finite element method. In order to verify the underlying methods and summarize the presented work a modular real-life demonstrator is experimentally characterized and validates the numerical investigations. (paper)

Active control law design for flutter suppression and gust alleviation of a panel with piezoelectric actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad Fazelzadeh, S; Mohammad Jafari, S

2008-01-01

This paper presents an active optimal integral/feedforward control for a supersonic panel under gust disturbance effects with piezoelectric actuators. Classical laminate theory with induced strain actuation and a generalized form of Hamilton's principle are used to formulate the governing equations of motion. The total charge developed on the sensor layer is calculated from the direct piezoelectric equation. The piezoelectric sensor distributed output is also integrated, since the output voltage is dependent on the integrated strain rates over the sensor area. Aerodynamic modeling is accomplished by first-order piston theory with gust velocity effects. The model reduction is performed to the state space system of equations for the control design and the time domain simulation. Moreover, the disturbance dynamics are modeled through the addition to the equations of motion for various conditions. The optimal control problem is set up to minimize the panel deflection using a linear quadratic regulator (LQR). Using an integral control model as a part of the feedback loop, together with a feedforward of the disturbances, greatly enhances the transient response, and the steady state error characteristics of this system are observed. Also, parametric studies for three piezoelectric actuator configurations are demonstrated. Simulation results show that the controller model is effective for flutter suppression and gust alleviation for various piezo configurations

Note: A novel rotary actuator driven by only one piezoelectric actuator.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Hu; Fu, Lu; Zhao, Hongwei; Shi, Chengli; Ren, Luquan; Li, Jianping; Qu, Han

2013-09-01

This paper presents a novel piezo-driven rotary actuator based on the parasitic motion principle. Output performances of the rotary actuator were tested and discussed. Experiment results indicate that using only one piezoelectric actuator and simple sawtooth wave control, the rotary actuator reaches the rotation velocity of about 20,097 μrad/s when the driving voltage is 100 V and the driving frequency is 90 Hz. The actuator can rotate stably with the minimum resolution of 0.7 μrad. This paper verifies feasibility of the parasitic motion principle for applications of rotary actuators, providing new design ideas for precision piezoelectric rotary actuators.

A MYOELECTRIC PROSTHETIC ARM CONTROLLED BY A SENSOR-ACTUATOR LOOP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrik Kutílek

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes new methods and systems designed for application in upper extremity prostheses. An artificial upper limb with this system is a robot arm controlled by EMG signals and a set of sensors. The new multi-sensor system is based on ultrasonic sensors, infrared sensors, Hall-effect sensors, a CO2 sensor and a relative humidity sensor. The multi-sensor system is used to update a 3D map of objects in the robot’s environment, or it directly sends information about the environment to the control system of the myoelectric arm. Occupancy grid mapping is used to build a 3D map of the robot’s environment. The multi-sensor system can identify the distance of objects in 3D space, and the information from the system is used in a 3D map to identify potential collisions or a potentially dangerous environment, which could damage the prosthesis or the user. Information from the sensors and from the 3D map is evaluated using a fuzzy expert system. The control system of the myoelectric prosthetic arm can choose an adequate reaction on the basis of information from the fuzzy expert system. The systems and methods were designed and verified using MatLab/Simulink. They are aimed for use as assistive technology for disabled people.

Ionic and viscoelastic mechanisms of a bucky-gel actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Kruusamäe, Karl; Sugino, Takushi; Asaka, Kinji

2015-07-01

Ionic electromechanically active polymers (IEAPs) are considered attractive candidates for soft, miniature, and lightweight actuators. The bucky-gel actuator is a carbonaceous subtype of IEAP that due to its structure (i.e. two highly porous electrodes sandwiching a thin ion-permeable electrolyte layer) and composition (i.e. being composed of soft porous polymer, carbon nanotubes, and ionic liquid) is very similar to an electric double-layer capacitor. In response to the voltage applied between the electrodes of a bucky-gel actuator, the laminar structure bends. The time domain behavior exhibits, however, a phenomenon called the back-relaxation, i.e., after some time the direction of bending is reversed even though voltage remains constant. In spite of the working mechanism of IEAP actuators being generally attributed to the transport of ions within the soft multilayer system, the specific details remain unclear. A so-called two-carrier model proposes that the bending and subsequent back-relaxation are caused by the relocation of two ionic species having different mobilities as they enter and exit the electrode layers. By adopting the two-carrier model for bucky-gel actuators, we see very good agreement between the mathematical representation and the experimental data of the electromechanical behavior. Furthermore, since the bucky-gel actuator is viscoelastic, we propose to use the time domain response of a blocking force as the key parameter related to the inner ionic mechanism. We also introduce a method to estimate the viscoelastic creep compliance function from the time domain responses for curvature and blocking force. This analysis includes four types of bucky-gel actuators of varying composition and structure.

Piezoelectric Actuator with Frequency Characteristics for a Middle-Ear Implant.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Dong Ho; Cho, Jin-Ho

2018-05-24

The design and implementation of a novel piezoelectric-based actuator for an implantable middle-ear hearing aid is described in this paper. The proposed actuator has excellent low-frequency output characteristics, and can generate high output in a specific frequency band by adjusting the mechanical resonance. The actuator consists of a piezoelectric element, a miniature bellows, a cantilever membrane, a metal ring support, a ceramic tip, and titanium housing. The optimal structure of the cantilever-membrane design, which determines the frequency characteristics of the piezoelectric actuator, was derived through finite element analysis. Based on the results, the piezoelectric actuator was implemented, and its performance was verified through a cadaveric experiment. It was confirmed that the proposed actuator provides better performance than currently used actuators, in terms of frequency characteristics.

Early-age monitoring of cement structures using FBG sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chuan; Zhou, Zhi; Zhang, Zhichun; Ou, Jinping

2006-03-01

With more and more broad applications of the cement-based structures such as neat cement paste, cement mortar and concrete in civil engineering, people hope to find out what their performances should like. The in-service performances of cement-based structures are highly affected by their hardening process during the early-age. But it is still a big problem for traditional sensors to be used to monitor the early curing of cement-based structures due to such disadvantages as difficulties to install sensors inside the concrete, limited measuring points, poor durability and interference of electromagnetic wave and so on. In this paper, according to the sensing properties of the Fiber Bragg Grating sensors and self-characters of the cement-based structures, we have successfully finished measuring and monitoring the early-age inner-strain and temperature changes of the neat cement paste, concrete with and without restrictions, mass concrete structures and negative concrete, respectively. Three types of FBG-based sensors have been developed to monitor the cement-based structures. Besides, the installation techniques and the embedding requirements of FBG sensors in cement-based structures are also discussed. Moreover, such kind of technique has been used in practical structure, 3rd Nanjing Yangtze Bridge, and the results show that FBG sensors are well proper for measuring and monitoring the temperature and strain changes including self-shrinkage, dry shrinkage, plastic shrinkage, temperature expansion, frost heaving and so on inside different cement-based structures. This technique provides us a new useful measuring method on early curing monitoring of cement-based structures and greater understanding of details of their hardening process.

Toward Smart Aerospace Structures: Design of a Piezoelectric Sensor and Its Analog Interface for Flaw Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamza Boukabache

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Structural health monitoring using noninvasive methods is one of the major challenges that aerospace manufacturers face in this decade. Our work in this field focuses on the development and the system integration of millimetric piezoelectric sensors/ actuators to generate and measure specific guided waves. The aim of the application is to detect mechanical flaws on complex composite and alloy structures to quantify efficiently the global structures’ reliability. The study begins by a physical and analytical analysis of a piezoelectric patch. To preserve the structure’s integrity, the transducers are directly pasted onto the surface which leads to a critical issue concerning the interfacing layer. In order to improve the reliability and mitigate the influence of the interfacing layer, the global equations of piezoelectricity are coupled with a load transfer model. Thus we can determine precisely the shear strain developed on the surface of the structure. To exploit the generated signal, a high precision analog charge amplifier coupled to a double T notch filter were designed and scaled. Finally, a novel joined time-frequency analysis based on a wavelet decomposition algorithm is used to extract relevant structures signatures. Finally, this paper provides examples of application on aircraft structure specimens and the feasibility of the system is thus demonstrated.

Service and device discovery of nodes in a wireless sensor network

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Östmark, Å.; Lindgren, P.; van Halteren, Aart; Meppelink, L.

2006-01-01

Emerging wireless communication standards and more capable sensors and actuators have pushed further development of wireless sensor networks. Deploying a large number of sensor nodes requires a high-level framework enabling the devices to present themselves and the resources they hold. The device

Consensus positive position feedback control for vibration attenuation of smart structures

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Omidi, Ehsan; Nima Mahmoodi, S.

2015-04-01

This paper presents a new network-based approach for active vibration control in smart structures. In this approach, a network with known topology connects collocated actuator/sensor elements of the smart structure to one another. Each of these actuators/sensors, i.e., agent or node, is enhanced by a separate multi-mode positive position feedback (PPF) controller. The decentralized PPF controlled agents collaborate with each other in the designed network, under a certain consensus dynamics. The consensus constraint forces neighboring agents to cooperate with each other such that the disagreement between the time-domain actuation of the agents is driven to zero. The controller output of each agent is calculated using state-space variables; hence, optimal state estimators are designed first for the proposed observer-based consensus PPF control. The consensus controller is numerically investigated for a flexible smart structure, i.e., a thin aluminum beam that is clamped at its both ends. Results demonstrate that the consensus law successfully imposes synchronization between the independently controlled agents, as the disagreements between the decentralized PPF controller variables converge to zero in a short time. The new consensus PPF controller brings extra robustness to vibration suppression in smart structures, where malfunctions of an agent can be compensated for by referencing the neighboring agents’ performance. This is demonstrated in the results by comparing the new controller with former centralized PPF approach.

Method and apparatus for conducting structural health monitoring in a cryogenic, high vibration environment

Science.gov (United States)

Qing, Xinlin (Inventor); Beard, Shawn J. (Inventor); Li, Irene (Inventor)

2013-01-01

Sensors affixed to various such structures, where the sensors can withstand, remain affixed, and operate while undergoing both cryogenic temperatures and high vibrations. In particular, piezoelectric single crystal transducers are utilized, and these sensors are coupled to the structure via a low temperature, heat cured epoxy. This allows the transducers to monitor the structure while the engine is operating, even despite the harsh operating conditions. Aspects of the invention thus allow for real time monitoring and analysis of structures that operate in conditions that previously did not permit such analysis. A further aspect of the invention relates to use of piezoelectric single crystal transducers. In particular, use of such transducers allows the same elements to be used as both sensors and actuators.

SU-8 micro Coriolis mass flow sensor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Monge, Rosa; Groenesteijn, Jarno; Alveringh, Dennis; Wiegerink, Remco J.; Lötters, Joost Conrad; Fernandez, Luis J.

2017-01-01

Abstract This work presents the modelling, design, fabrication and test of the first micro Coriolis mass flow sensor fully fabricated in SU-8 by photolithography processes. The sensor consists of a channel with rectangular cross-section with inner opening of 100 μm × 100 μm and is actuated at

Fabrication of multilayered conductive polymer structures via selective visible light photopolymerization

Science.gov (United States)

Cullen, Andrew T.; Price, Aaron D.

2017-04-01

Electropolymerization of pyrrole is commonly employed to fabricate intrinsically conductive polymer films that exhibit desirable electromechanical properties. Due to their monolithic nature, electroactive polypyrrole films produced via this process are typically limited to simple linear or bending actuation modes, which has hindered their application in complex actuation tasks. This initiative aims to develop the specialized fabrication methods and polymer formulations required to realize three-dimensional conductive polymer structures capable of more elaborate actuation modes. Our group has previously reported the application of the digital light processing additive manufacturing process for the fabrication of three-dimensional conductive polymer structures using ultraviolet radiation. In this investigation, we further expand upon this initial work and present an improved polymer formulation designed for digital light processing additive manufacturing using visible light. This technology enables the design of novel electroactive polymer sensors and actuators with enhanced capabilities and brings us one step closer to realizing more advanced electroactive polymer enabled devices.

A process chain for integrating piezoelectric transducers into aluminum die castings to generate smart lightweight structures

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Stefan; Wedler, Jonathan; Rhein, Sebastian; Schmidt, Michael; Körner, Carolin; Michaelis, Alexander; Gebhardt, Sylvia

The application of piezoelectric transducers to structural body parts of machines or vehicles enables the combination of passive mechanical components with sensor and actuator functions in one single structure. According to Herold et al. [1] and Staeves [2] this approach indicates significant potential regarding smart lightweight construction. To obtain the highest yield, the piezoelectric transducers need to be integrated into the flux of forces (load path) of load bearing structures. Application in a downstream process reduces yield and process efficiency during manufacturing and operation, due to the necessity of a subsequent process step of sensor/actuator application. The die casting process offers the possibility for integration of piezoelectric transducers into metal structures. Aluminum castings are particularly favorable due to their high quality and feasibility for high unit production at low cost (Brunhuber [3], Nogowizin [4]). Such molded aluminum parts with integrated piezoelectric transducers enable functions like active vibration damping, structural health monitoring or energy harvesting resulting in significant possibilities of weight reduction, which is an increasingly important driving force of automotive and aerospace industry (Klein [5], Siebenpfeiffer [6]) due to increasingly stringent environmental protection laws. In the scope of those developments, this paper focuses on the entire process chain enabling the generation of lightweight metal structures with sensor and actuator function, starting from the manufacturing of piezoelectric modules over electrical and mechanical bonding to the integration of such modules into aluminum (Al) matrices by die casting. To achieve this challenging goal, piezoceramic sensors/actuator modules, so-called LTCC/PZT modules (LPM) were developed, since ceramic based piezoelectric modules are more likely to withstand the thermal stress of about 700 °C introduced by the casting process (Flössel et al., [7]). The

Sleeve Muscle Actuator and Its Application in Transtibial Prostheses

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Hao; Shen, Xiangrong

2014-01-01

This paper describes the concept of a new sleeve muscle actuator, and a transtibial prosthesis design powered by this novel actuator. Inspired by the functioning mechanism of the traditional pneumatic muscle actuator, the sleeve muscle actuator incorporates a cylindrical insert to the center of the pneumatic muscle, which eliminates the central portion of the internal volume. As a result of this change, the sleeve muscle provides multiple advantages over the traditional pneumatic muscle, including the increased force capacity over the entire range of motion, reduced energy consumption, and faster dynamic response. Furthermore, utilizing the load-bearing tube as the insert, the sleeve muscle enables an innovative “actuation-load bearing” structure, which has a potential of generating a highly compact actuation system suitable for prosthetic use. Utilizing this new actuator, the preliminary design of a transtibial prosthesis is presented, which is able to provide sufficient torque output and range of motion for a 75 Kg amputee user in level walking. PMID:24187262

Modelling the nonlinearity of piezoelectric actuators in active ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Piezoelectric actuators have great capabilities as elements of intelligent structures for active vibration cancellation. One problem with this type of actuator is its nonlinear behaviour. In active vibration control systems, it is important to have an accurate model of the control branch. This paper demonstrates the ability of neural ...

The Influence of Relative Humidity on Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Flow Control Actuator Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Wicks, M.; Thomas, F. O.; Corke, T. C.; Patel, M.

2012-11-01

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators possess numerous advantages for flow control applications and have been the focus of several previous studies. Most work has been performed in relatively pristine laboratory settings. In actual flow control applications, however, it is essential to assess the impact of various environmental influences on actuator performance. As a first effort toward assessing a broad range of environmental effects on DBD actuator performance, the influence of relative humidity (RH) is considered. Actuator performance is quantified by force balance measurements of reactive thrust while RH is systematically varied via an ultrasonic humidifier. The DBD plasma actuator assembly, force balance, and ultrasonic humidifier are all contained inside a large, closed test chamber instrumented with RH and temperature sensors in order to accurately estimate the average RH at the actuator. Measurements of DBD actuator thrust as a function of RH for several different applied voltage regimes and dielectric materials and thicknesses are presented. Based on these results, several important design recommendations are made. This work was supported by Innovative Technology Applications Company (ITAC), LLC under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Contract No. N00014-11-C-0267 issued by the U.S. Department of the Navy.

Aircraft Interior Noise Control Using Distributed Piezoelectric Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jian Q.

1996-01-01

Developing a control system that can reduce the noise and structural vibration at the same time is an important task. This talk presents one possible technical approach for accomplishing this task. The target application of the research is for aircraft interior noise control. The emphasis of the present approach is not on control strategies, but rather on the design of actuators for the control system. In the talk, a theory of distributed piezoelectric actuators is introduced. A uniform cylindrical shell is taken as a simplified model of fuselage structures to illustrate the effectiveness of the design theory. The actuators developed are such that they can reduce the tonal structural vibration and interior noise in a wide range of frequencies. Extensive computer simulations have been done to study various aspects of the design theory. Experiments have also been conducted and the test results strongly support the theoretical development.

Flight control actuation system

Science.gov (United States)

Wingett, Paul T. (Inventor); Gaines, Louie T. (Inventor); Evans, Paul S. (Inventor); Kern, James I. (Inventor)

2006-01-01

A flight control actuation system comprises a controller, electromechanical actuator and a pneumatic actuator. During normal operation, only the electromechanical actuator is needed to operate a flight control surface. When the electromechanical actuator load level exceeds 40 amps positive, the controller activates the pneumatic actuator to offset electromechanical actuator loads to assist the manipulation of flight control surfaces. The assistance from the pneumatic load assist actuator enables the use of an electromechanical actuator that is smaller in size and mass, requires less power, needs less cooling processes, achieves high output forces and adapts to electrical current variations. The flight control actuation system is adapted for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, and other flight vehicles, especially flight vehicles that are large in size and travel at high velocities.

Design of a Soft Robot with Multiple Motion Patterns Using Soft Pneumatic Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Miao, Yu; Dong, Wei; Du, Zhijiang

2017-11-01

Soft robots are made of soft materials and have good flexibility and infinite degrees of freedom in theory. These properties enable soft robots to work in narrow space and adapt to external environment. In this paper, a 2-DOF soft pneumatic actuator is introduced, with two chambers symmetrically distributed on both sides and a jamming cylinder along the axis. Fibers are used to constrain the expansion of the soft actuator. Experiments are carried out to test the performance of the soft actuator, including bending and elongation characteristics. A soft robot is designed and fabricated by connecting four soft pneumatic actuators to a 3D-printed board. The soft robotic system is then established. The pneumatic circuit is built by pumps and solenoid valves. The control system is based on the control board Arduino Mega 2560. Relay modules are used to control valves and pressure sensors are used to measure pressure in the pneumatic circuit. Experiments are conducted to test the performance of the proposed soft robot.

High-Compression-Ratio; Atkinson-Cycle Engine Using Low-Pressure Direct Injection and Pneumatic-Electronic Valve Actuation Enabled by Ionization Current and Foward-Backward Mass Air Flow Sensor Feedback

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harold Schock; Farhad Jaberi; Ahmed Naguib; Guoming Zhu; David Hung

2007-12-31

This report describes the work completed over a two and one half year effort sponsored by the US Department of Energy. The goal was to demonstrate the technology needed to produce a highly efficient engine enabled by several technologies which were to be developed in the course of the work. The technologies included: (1) A low-pressure direct injection system; (2) A mass air flow sensor which would measure the net airflow into the engine on a per cycle basis; (3) A feedback control system enabled by measuring ionization current signals from the spark plug gap; and (4) An infinitely variable cam actuation system based on a pneumatic-hydraulic valve actuation These developments were supplemented by the use of advanced large eddy simulations as well as evaluations of fuel air mixing using the KIVA and WAVE models. The simulations were accompanied by experimental verification when possible. In this effort a solid base has been established for continued development of the advanced engine concepts originally proposed. Due to problems with the valve actuation system a complete demonstration of the engine concept originally proposed was not possible. Some of the highlights that were accomplished during this effort are: (1) A forward-backward mass air flow sensor has been developed and a patent application for the device has been submitted. We are optimistic that this technology will have a particular application in variable valve timing direct injection systems for IC engines. (2) The biggest effort on this project has involved the development of the pneumatic-hydraulic valve actuation system. This system was originally purchased from Cargine, a Swedish supplier and is in the development stage. To date we have not been able to use the actuators to control the exhaust valves, although the actuators have been successfully employed to control the intake valves. The reason for this is the additional complication associated with variable back pressure on the exhaust valves when

Finite element analysis and validation of dielectric elastomer actuators used for active origami

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGough, Kevin; Ahmed, Saad; Frecker, Mary; Ounaies, Zoubeida

2014-01-01

The field of active origami explores the incorporation of active materials into origami-inspired structures in order to serve as a means of actuation. Active origami-inspired structures capable of folding into complex three-dimensional (3D) shapes have the potential to be lightweight and versatile compared to traditional methods of actuation. This paper details the finite element analysis and experimental validation of unimorph actuators. Actuators are fabricated by adhering layers of electroded dielectric elastomer (3M VHB F9473PC) onto a passive substrate layer (3M Magic Scotch Tape). Finite element analysis of the actuators simulates the electromechanical coupling of the dielectric elastomer under an applied voltage by applying pressures to the surfaces of the dielectric elastomer where the compliant electrode (conductive carbon grease) is present. 3D finite element analysis of the bending actuators shows that applying contact boundary conditions to the electroded region of the active and passive layers provides better agreement to experimental data compared to modeling the entire actuator as continuous. To improve the applicability of dielectric elastomer-based actuators for active origami-inspired structures, folding actuators are developed by taking advantage of localized deformation caused by a passive layer with non-uniform thickness. Two-dimensional analysis of the folding actuators shows that agreement to experimental data diminishes as localized deformation increases. Limitations of using pressures to approximate the electromechanical coupling of the dielectric elastomer under an applied electric field and additional modeling considerations are also discussed. (paper)

ECCE Toolkit: Prototyping Sensor-Based Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Bellucci

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Building and exploring physical user interfaces requires high technical skills and hours of specialized work. The behavior of multiple devices with heterogeneous input/output channels and connectivity has to be programmed in a context where not only the software interface matters, but also the hardware components are critical (e.g., sensors and actuators. Prototyping physical interaction is hindered by the challenges of: (1 programming interactions among physical sensors/actuators and digital interfaces; (2 implementing functionality for different platforms in different programming languages; and (3 building custom electronic-incorporated objects. We present ECCE (Entities, Components, Couplings and Ecosystems, a toolkit for non-programmers that copes with these issues by abstracting from low-level implementations, thus lowering the complexity of prototyping small-scale, sensor-based physical interfaces to support the design process. A user evaluation provides insights and use cases of the kind of applications that can be developed with the toolkit.

Context-aware system for pre-triggering irreversible vehicle safety actuators.

Science.gov (United States)

Böhmländer, Dennis; Dirndorfer, Tobias; Al-Bayatti, Ali H; Brandmeier, Thomas

2017-06-01

New vehicle safety systems have led to a steady improvement of road safety and a reduction in the risk of suffering a major injury in vehicle accidents. A huge leap forward in the development of new vehicle safety systems are actuators that have to be activated irreversibly shortly before a collision in order to mitigate accident consequences. The triggering decision has to be based on measurements of exteroceptive sensors currently used in driver assistance systems. This paper focuses on developing a novel context-aware system designed to detect potential collisions and to trigger safety actuators even before an accident occurs. In this context, the analysis examines the information that can be collected from exteroceptive sensors (pre-crash data) to predict a certain collision and its severity to decide whether a triggering is entitled or not. A five-layer context-aware architecture is presented, that is able to collect contextual information about the vehicle environment and the actual driving state using different sensors, to perform reasoning about potential collisions, and to trigger safety functions upon that information. Accident analysis is used in a data model to represent uncertain knowledge and to perform reasoning. A simulation concept based on real accident data is introduced to evaluate the presented system concept. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soft Robotic Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, Juleon Taylor

In this thesis a survey on soft robotic actuators is conducted. The actuators are classified into three main categories: Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAM), Electronic Electroactive Polymers (Electric EAP), and Ionic Electroactive Polymers (Ionic EAP). Soft robots can have many degrees and are more compliant than hard robots. This makes them suitable for applications that are difficult for hard robots. For each actuator background history, build materials, how they operate, and modeling are presented. Multiple actuators in each class are reviewed highlighting both their use and their mathematical formulation. In addition to the survey the McKibben actuator was chosen for fabrication and in-depth experimental analysis. Four McKibben actuators were fabricated using mesh sleeve, barbed hose fittings, and different elastic bladders. All were actuated using compressed air. Tensile tests were performed for each actuator to measure the tension force as air pressure increased from 20 to 100 psi in 10 psi increments. To account for material relaxation properties eleven trials for each actuator were run for 2-3 days. In conclusion, the smallest outer diameter elastic bladder was capable of producing the highest force due to the larger gap between the bladder and the sleeve.

Transitory Control of Unsteady Separation using Pulsed Actuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, George T K; Glezer, Ari

2011-01-01

The dynamic mechanisms of transitory flow attachment effected by pulsed actuation of the separated flow over a stalled airfoil are investigated experimentally. Actuation is effected by momentary pulsed jets generated by a spanwise array of combustion-based actuators such that the characteristic time of jet duration is nominally an order of magnitude shorter than the flow's convective time scale. The transitory flow field in the cross stream plane above the airfoil and in its near wake is investigated using multiple high-resolution PIV images that are obtained phase-locked to the actuation for continuous tracking of vorticity concentrations. The brief actuation pulse leads to severing of the separated vorticity layer and the subsequent shedding of large-scale vortical structures owing to the collapse of the separated flow domain which is accompanied by strong changes in the circulation about the entire airfoil. By exploiting the disparity between the characteristic times of flow response to actuation and relaxation, it is shown that successive actuation pulses can extend the flow attachment and enhance the global aerodynamic performance. It is also shown that coupling of the actuation to the airfoil's motion during cyclical pitch enhances the effect of transitory flow control and leads to a significant suppression of dynamic stall.

Design and Implementation of Output Feedback Control for Piezo Actuated Structure Using Embedded System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.Maheswari

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design of periodic output feedback control using state feedback gain to control the vibration of piezo actuated cantilever beam. The effectiveness of the controller is evaluated through simulation and experimentally by exciting the structure at resonance. Real time implementation of the controller is done using microcontroller. The closed loop eigen values of the system with periodic output feedback and state feedback are identical.

Photonic Crystal Structures with Tunable Structure Color as Colorimetric Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hui; Zhang, Ke-Qin

2013-01-01

Colorimetric sensing, which transduces environmental changes into visible color changes, provides a simple yet powerful detection mechanism that is well-suited to the development of low-cost and low-power sensors. A new approach in colorimetric sensing exploits the structural color of photonic crystals (PCs) to create environmentally-influenced color-changeable materials. PCs are composed of periodic dielectrics or metallo-dielectric nanostructures that affect the propagation of electromagnetic waves (EM) by defining the allowed and forbidden photonic bands. Simultaneously, an amazing variety of naturally occurring biological systems exhibit iridescent color due to the presence of PC structures throughout multi-dimensional space. In particular, some kinds of the structural colors in living organisms can be reversibly changed in reaction to external stimuli. Based on the lessons learned from natural photonic structures, some specific examples of PCs-based colorimetric sensors are presented in detail to demonstrate their unprecedented potential in practical applications, such as the detections of temperature, pH, ionic species, solvents, vapor, humidity, pressure and biomolecules. The combination of the nanofabrication technique, useful design methodologies inspired by biological systems and colorimetric sensing will lead to substantial developments in low-cost, miniaturized and widely deployable optical sensors. PMID:23539027

Photonic Crystal Structures with Tunable Structure Color as Colorimetric Sensors