System Identification and Modelling of A High Performance Hydraulic Actuator

Detailed knowledge of actuator properties is a prerequisite for advanced manipulator design and control. This paper deals with the experimental identification and modelling of the nonlinear dynamics of a high performance hydraulic actuator. Such actuators are of interest for applications which require both high power and high bandwidth. An analytical model of the system is formulated, and a software simulator implementing the force-controlled actuator model including all the nonlinear elements is shown to predict the real system's behavior quite well. The actuator properties and performance are also discussed.