The electrostatic levitation system for active suspension control of test sample in horizontal and vertical axes

Abstract

An electrostatic levitation system (ESLS) with active control model is proposed to realize the noncontact suspension of test sample for analyzing material properties. The characteristics about the electric field force and the electric image force of ESLS are firstly analyzed, and then the dynamic functions of test sample in the ESLS are developed. Furthermore, the conditions of test sample’s stable suspensions in horizontal and vertical directions are proposed, it shows that the control voltage is regulated to guarantee suspension stability of test sample considering the gravity and the displacement deflection in vertical direction. The control models of test sample in the ESLS are established to realize the active suspension in vertical and horizontal directions. Finally, both simulation and experiment with different suspension conditions are conducted to test the suspension characteristics of test sample in ESLS, and results indicate that the ESLS could stably suspend the test sample through regulating control voltages of high voltage electrodes and the displacements of test sample. Therefore, the ESLS could be used as a noncontact holder of test sample in materials testing instruments.