Displacement control of an antagonistic-type twisted and coiled polymer actuator

作者：Suzuki Motoya^*; Kamamichi Norihiro

来源：Smart Materials and Structures, 2018, 27(3): 035003.

DOI：10.1088/1361-665X/aaa587

• twisted and coiled polymer actuator
• soft actuator
• displacement control
• modeling
• PID control
• smart materials

A novel artificial muscle actuator referred to as a twisted and coiled polymer actuator can be easily fabricated by commercially available nylon fibers. It can be thermally activated and has remarkable properties such as large deformation and flexibility. The actuator uses conductive nylon fibers and can be activated by Joule heating and is easily controlled electrically. However, asymmetric response characteristics due to a speed difference in heating-cooling are a problem. In the case of actuation in air, the cooling speed depends on the external temperature, and is slower than the heating speed. To solve these problems, we apply an antagonistic structure. The validity of the applied method is investigated through numerical simulations and experiments. The response characteristics of the PID feedback control and the 2-DOF control of the displacement are investigated.

• 出版日期2018-3