Design, development and control of flexure mounted linear displacement electromagnetic actuator

Abstract

This paper presents design, development and control of Flexure Mounted Linear Displacement Electromagnetic Actuator (FMLDEA). In FMLDEA, an electromagnet is fixed to one end of the flexural arm which generates magnetic field to attract the opposite free end of the flexural arm and produces the desired displacement and force. The load–displacement analysis and harmonic analysis of the flexural arm is carried out using ANSYS analysis software. Mathematical modelling and simulation of the FMLDEA is carried out in MATLAB/Simulink to study its voltage-displacement characteristics. The linear power amplifier is designed to amplify the control voltage signal generated by MATLAB/Simulink through dSPACE DS1104 R&D control board. The experiments are carried out for input voltage signal and the resulting displacement of FMLDEA is measured and compared with the simulated results. Simulations for the closed loop tracking control of FMLDEA using PID controller is performed in MATLAB/Simulink. The experimental desired displacement of FMLDEA is controlled using PID controller through dSPACE DS1104 R&D controller board and a linear power amplifier. The suitable PID parameters are determined by Ziegler-Nichols second method. Experiments are carried out on the displacement control of the FMLDEA with sine and triangular actuation signal for different frequencies. The PID tuning is performed to obtain the smooth displacement of the developed FMLDEA. Position tracking control of the FMLDEA is simulated and compared with the experimental results and the maximum error was estimated.