Control-focused, nonlinear and time-varying modelling of dielectric elastomer actuators with frequency response analysis

Jacobs, W.R., Wilson, E.D., Assaf, T., Rossiter, J., DODD, Tony, Porrill, J. and Anderson, S.R. (2015) Control-focused, nonlinear and time-varying modelling of dielectric elastomer actuators with frequency response analysis. Smart Materials and Structures, 24 (5). ISSN 0964-1726

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Abstract or description

Current models of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are mostly constrained to first principal descriptions that are not well suited to the application of control design due to their computational complexity. In this work we describe an integrated framework for the identification of control focused, data driven and time-varying DEA models that allow advanced analysis of nonlinear system dynamics in the frequency-domain. Experimentally generated input?output data (voltage-displacement) was used to identify control-focused, nonlinear and time-varying dynamic models of a set of film-type DEAs. The model description used was the nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous input structure. Frequency response analysis of the DEA dynamics was performed using generalized frequency response functions, providing insight and a comparison into the time-varying dynamics across a set of DEA actuators. The results demonstrated that models identified within the presented framework provide a compact and accurate description of the system dynamics. The frequency response analysis revealed variation in the time-varying dynamic behaviour of DEAs fabricated to the same specifications. These results suggest that the modelling and analysis framework presented here is a potentially useful tool for future work in guiding DEA actuator design and fabrication for application domains such as soft robotics.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Smart Materials and Structures. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	nonlinear modelling; electro active polymer; frequency response; control; time-varying
Faculty:	School of Creative Arts and Engineering > Engineering
Depositing User:	Library STORE team
Date Deposited:	15 Jul 2020 15:10
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2023 13:58
URI:	https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/6244

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