Cylinder position control driven by pneumatic digital bridge circuit using a fuzzy algorithm under large stroke and varying load conditions

Abstract

A digital bridge circuit based on the concept of independent metering control can enable the precise position control of a pneumatic cylinder, but large strokes and variable loads still cause challenges. To solve this problem, a piecewise on/off valve flow compensator and a composite friction observer were innovatively designed in this study, and they were combined with a multiple fuzzy intelligent algorithm to ensure the accuracy and robustness of pneumatic position control. Considering the starting and stopping delays and the response processes of on/off valves, a six-stage flow–duty ratio linearization relationship was proposed. Employing a parameter identification method, a static and dynamic composite friction model was presented. Then, a fuzzy PID controller was proposed, and a genetic algorithm was used to optimize the control parameters. Experiment results showed that, when focusing on a large stroke (250 mm) and varying loads (8.5–18.5 kg), for sinusoidal signal with amplitude of 150 mm and frequency of 0.125 Hz and the air supply pressure is 0.5 Mpa, the algorithm in this study could ensure that the steady-state step response error was less than 1% and the root mean squared error of the sinusoidal trajectory tracking was less than 3%.