An Operator-based Nonlinear Vibration Control System Using a Flexible Arm with Shape Memory Alloy

In the past, arms used in the fields of industry and robotics have been designed not to vibrate by increasing their mass and stiffness. The weight of arms has tended to be reduced to improve speed of operation, and decrease the cost of their production. Since the weight saving makes the arms lose their stiffness and therefore vibrate more easily, the vibration suppression control is needed for realizing the above purpose. Incidentally, the use of various smart materials in actuators has grown. In particular, a shape memory alloy (SMA) is applied widely and has several advantages: light weight, large displacement by temperature change, and large force to mass ratio. However, the SMA actuators possess hysteresis nonlinearity between their own temperature and displacement obtained by the temperature. The hysteretic behavior of the SMA actuators affects their control performance. In previous research, an operator-based control system including a hysteresis compensator has been proposed. The vibration of a flexible arm is dealt with as the controlled object; one end of the arm is clamped and the other end is free. The effectiveness of the hysteresis compensator has been confirmed by simulations and experiments. Nevertheless, the feedback signal of the previous designed system has increased exponentially. It is difficult to use the system in the long-term because of the phenomenon. Additionally, the SMA actuator generates and radiates heat because electric current passing through the SMA actuator provides heat, and strain on the SMA actuator is generated. With long-time use of the SMA actuator, the environmental temperature around the SMA actuator varies through radiation of the heat. There exists a risk that the ambient temperature change dealt with as disturbance affects the temperature and strain of the SMA actuator. In this research, a design method of the operator-based control system is proposed considering the long-term use of the system. In the method, the hysteresis characteristics of the SMA actuator and the temperature change around the actuator are considered. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulations and experiments.