Control of twisted and coiled polymer actuator with anti-windup compensator. (31st May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Suzuki, Motoya; Kamamichi, Norihiro
• Is Part Of: Smart materials and structures. Volume 27:Number 7(2018:Jul.)
• Publication Date: 2018-05-31
• Subjects: soft actuator -- control system design -- position control -- twisted and coiled polymer actuator -- super coiled polymer actuator; Smart materials -- Periodicals; Strucural design -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-665X/aabcb0
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0964-1726

Abstract

Abstract: A twisted and coiled polymer actuator (TCPA) is a novel soft actuator. It is fabricated by twisting nylon thread or fishing line. It can be thermally activated and has remarkable properties such as high power/mass ratio and large deformation. By applying conductive nylon fibers to the actuator, it can be electrically driven by Joule heating. However, if a controller of the actuator is designed without considering an input saturation, the control performance may be descended by windup phenomena. In this paper, to solve this problem, a feedback control with an anti-windup compensator is applied. The validity of the applied method is investigated through numerical simulations and experiments.