DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE OF POST-BUCKLED PRECOMPRESSED PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR ELEMENTS

Post-buckled precompressed (PBP) piezoelectric elements have recently been used to enable a new class of actuators that are able to provide far higher deflections compared to the traditional bimorph piezoelectric actuators while maintaining full force and moment generating capabilities. Past research has proven that PBP actuators are capable of generating deflections three times higher than conventional bimorph actuators. In this paper, this work has been extended to the dynamic response realm and the performance of PBP actuators is investigated under various axial loads, at various actuation frequencies. Both analytical and finite element models have been developed in order to evaluate the performance of the actuator regarding the natural frequency shift under increased axial loads. Experimental verification has shown that the overall damping ratio of the structure is a function of the axial forces. Values derived from experiments have been used in the Finite Element model to predict the displacement output, phase angle shifting and end rotation. Numerical and analytical results correlate very well with the experiments and thus give credit to the formulation presented in this work.

[1]  Roelof Vos,et al.  Post-buckled precompressed (PBP) elements: a new class of flight control actuators enhancing high-speed autonomous VTOL MAVs , 2005, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[2]  Ron Barrett,et al.  TECHNICAL NOTE: Design and testing of a 1/12th-scale solid state adaptive rotor , 1997 .

[3]  Ron Barrett,et al.  Active aeroelastic tailoring of an adaptive Flexspar stabilator , 1996 .

[4]  Ron Barrett,et al.  Morphing wing flight control via postbuckled precompressed piezoelectric actuators , 2007 .

[5]  Ron Barrett,et al.  (Student paper) Nonlinear Semi-Analytical Modeling of Post-Buckled Precompressed (PBP) Piezoelectric Actuators for UAV Flight Control , 2006 .

[6]  Ron Barrett,et al.  Post-buckled precompressed subsonic micro-flight control actuators and surfaces , 2007, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[7]  Javier Monreal,et al.  Snap-through buckling behavior of piezoelectric bimorph beams: II. Experimental verification , 2007 .

[8]  John Vantomme,et al.  Snap-through buckling behavior of piezoelectric bimorph beams: I. Analytical and numerical modeling , 2007 .

[9]  Ron Barrett,et al.  Design, construction and characterization of a flightworthy piezoelectric solid state adaptive rotor , 1998 .

[10]  George A. Lesieutre,et al.  Can a Coupling Coefficient of a Piezoelectric Device be Higher Than Those of Its Active Material? , 1997, Smart Structures.

[11]  Stefano Vidoli,et al.  Distributed piezoelectric actuation of a bistable buckled beam , 2007 .

[12]  Ron Barrett,et al.  Post-buckled precompressed piezoelectric flight control actuator design, development and demonstration , 2006 .