Piezoelectric Actuators: Vector Control Method: Base, Modelling and Mechatronic Design of Ultrasonic Devices guides researchers and engineers through the process of implementing the vector control method (VCM) in their systems. The book presents which measurements can be made, how to visualize a variable as a rotating vector, about the angular position of the rotating reference frame, how to calculate the parameters of the controllers, and how to observe key variables. Additionally, the book focuses on the modeling of PE ultrasonic transducers and investigates the energy conversion process in an ultrasonic transducer. Presents the fundamentals of the VCM at a basic level for researchers and practitioners who are new to the field Simulates several MATLAB and Simulink examples for deeper learning of the subject matter Presents the application to several test cases, with actual measurements obtained on experimental test benches Describes practical implementations of the method

Piezoelectric Actuators: Vector Control Method: Base, Modeling and Mechatronic Design of Ultrasonic Devices guides researchers and engineers through the process of implementing the vector control method (VCM) in their systems. The book presents which measurements can be made, how to visualize a variable as a rotating vector, about the angular position of the rotating reference frame, how to calculate the parameters of the controllers, and how to observe key variables. Additionally, the book focuses on the modeling of PE ultrasonic transducers and investigates the energy conversion process in an ultrasonic transducer. - Presents the fundamentals of the VCM at a basic level for researchers and practitioners who are new to the field - Simulates several MATLAB and Simulink examples for deeper learning of the subject - Presents the application to several test cases, with actual measurements obtained on experimental test benches - Describes practical implementations of the method

Currently, many smart materials exhibit one or multifunctional capabilities that are being effectively exploited in various engineering applications, but these are only a hint of what is possible. Newer classes of smart materials are beginning to display the capacity for self-repair, self-diagnosis, self-multiplication, and self-degradation. Ultimately, what will make them practical and commercially viable are control devices that provide sufficient speed and sensitivity. While there are other candidates, piezoelectric actuators and sensors are proving to be the best choice. Piezoelectric Actuators: Control Applications of Smart Materials details the authors’ cutting-edge research and development in this burgeoning area. It presents their insights into optimal control strategies, reflecting their latest collection of refereed international papers written for a number of prestigious journals. Piezoelectric materials are incorporated in devices used to control vibration in flexible structures. Applications include beams, plates, and shells; sensors and actuators for cabin noise control; and position controllers for structural systems such as the flexible manipulator, engine mount, ski, snowboard, robot gripper, ultrasonic motors, and various type of sensors including accelerometer, strain gage, and sound pressure gages. The contents and design of this book make it useful as a professional reference for scientists and practical engineers who would like to create new machines or devices featuring smart material actuators and sensors integrated with piezoelectric materials. With that goal in mind, this book: Describes the piezoelectric effect from a microscopic point of view Addresses vibration control for flexible structures and other methods that use active mount Covers control of flexible robotic manipulators Discusses application to fine-motion and hydraulic control systems Explores piezoelectric shunt technology This book is exceptionally valuable as a reference for professional engineers working at the forefront of numerous industries. With its balanced presentation of theory and application, it will also be of special interest to graduate students studying control methodology.

Remarkable developments have taken place in the field of mechatronics in recent years. As symbolized by the "Janglish (Japanese English)" word, mechatronics, the technology and the social adaptation for introducing electronics into mechanics has been readily accepted in Japan. Currently robots are producing many products under computer control in Japanese factories, and supermarkets are utilizing automation systems for sample displays and sales. Further, the fast paced change in semiconductor chip technology has given rise to the need for micro-displacement positioning techniques. Actuators utilizing piezoelectridelectrostrictive effects are expected to meet these needs in mechanical components in the next micro mechatronic age. This book, in English, builds on my earlier publications concerned with ceramic actuators. The first edition titled "Essentials for Development and Applications of Piezoelectric Actuators" was published in 1984 through the Japan Industrial Technology Center. The second edition "PiezoelectriclElectrostrictive Actuators" published in Japanese through Morikita Pub. Co. (Tokyo) became one of the best sellers in that company in 1986, and was then translated into Korean. The problem solving edition "Piezoelectric Actuators -Problem Solving" was also published through Morikita, which was sold in conjunction with a 60 minute video tape to provide easy understanding.

Taking advantage of high resolution, rapid response, and compact structure, piezoelectric actuators are widely employed for achieving precision positioning in both scientific research and industrial application. With the development of science and technology, the requirements for precision positioning are increasing. Accordingly, great efforts have been made to improve the performances of piezoelectric actuators, and significant progress has been achieved. This book discusses some recent achievements and developments of piezoelectric actuators, in terms of piezoelectric material, driving principle, structural design, modeling, and control, as well as applications.

The aim of this book is to provide insight on the vibration problem in structurally flexible mechanisms, particularly robotic manipulators. The book covers different aspects of flexible structures. It partially includes the fundamental formulations for modelling of a flexible structure actuated with piezoelectric actuators. Mathematical modelling, when possible, as well as experimental techniques for obtaining models of flexible structures are discussed. Additionally, different control techniques adapted for flexible robotic manipulators equipped with piezoelectric actuators and sensors are covered in the book. Depending on the system, linear and non-linear control techniques for stabilising residual vibrations in the system are discussed.

Piezoelectric actuators have proven to be useful in suppressing disturbances and shape control of flexible structures. Large space structures such as solar arrays are susceptible to large amplitude vibrations while in orbit. Moreover, Shape control of many high precision structures such as large membrane mirrors and space antenna is of great importance. Since most of these structures need to be ultra-light-weight, only a limited number of actuators can be used. Consequently, in order to obtain the most effcient control system, the locations of the piezoelectric elements as well as the feedback gain should be optimized. These optimization problems are generally non-convex. In addition, the models for these systems typically have a large number of degrees of freedom. Researchers have used numerous optimization criteria and optimization techniques to find the optimal actuator locations in structural shape and vibration control. Due to the non-convex nature of the problem, evolutionary optimization techniques are extensively used. However, One drawback of these methods is that they do not use the gradient information and so convergence can be very slow. Classical gradient-based techniques, on the other hand, have the advantage of accurate computation; however, they may be computationally expensive, particularly since multiple initial conditions are typically needed to ensure that a global optimum is found. Consequently, a fast, yet global optimization method applicable to systems with a large number of degrees of freedom is needed. In this study, the feedback control is chosen to be an optimal linear quadratic regulator. The optimal actuator location problem is reformulated as a convex optimization problem. A subgradient-based optimization scheme which leads to the global solution of the problem is introduced to optimize the actuator locations. The optimization algorithm is applied to optimize the placement of piezoelectric actuators in vibration control of flexible structures. This method is compared with a genetic algorithm, and is observed to be faster in finding the global optimum. Moreover, by expanding the desired shape into the structure's modes of vibration, a methodology for shape control of structures is presented. Applying this method, locations of piezoelectric actuators on flexible structures are optimized. Very few experimental studies exist on shape and vibration control of structures. To the best knowledge of the author, optimal actuator placement in shape control has not been experimentally studied in the past. In this work, vibration control of a cantilever beam is investigated for various actuator locations and the effect of optimal actuator placement is studied on suppressing disturbances to the beam. Also using the proposed shape control method, the effect of optimal actuator placement is studied on the same beam. The final shape of the beam and input voltages of actuators are compared for various actuator placements.