Design and testing of a hybrid polymeric electrostrictive/piezoelectric beam with bang–bang control

Electrostrictive materials, hard ceramics and soft polymers, have been used as precision actuators in many engineering applications. This study is to examine bang–bang control performance of a hybrid Plexiglas beam laminated with polymeric electrostrictive (RTV 270) actuator and piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensor layers using both analytical and experimental techniques. Material characteristics are calibrated via static testing first; a hybrid beam model is then fabricated and an experiment set-up, consisting of a bang–bang controller, high-voltage amplifier, data acquisition system and the hybrid beam system, is designed to evaluate vibration control characteristics (i.e., damping ratio estimation) of the hybrid beam subjected to various control conditions. Due to the quadratic behaviour of electrostrictive materials, the controller activates the electrostrictive actuator only in upward motion of the beam, with reference to signals generated from the piezoelectric sensor. Base on constitutive equations and dynamic/control characteristics, a mathematic hybrid beam model is also derived from the electrostrictive thin shell theory and its dynamic responses, based on the finite difference discretization, are simulated to predict damping ratios resulting from control forces induced by the electrostrictive actuators. Dynamic responses (with and without control) of the physical beam model are measured and compared with simulation results. Favourable comparison suggests that the mathematical model describes the experimental model very well and its application to other advanced structures can be proceeded.