Robust control of conjugated polymer actuators considering the spatio-temporal dynamics

Abstract

Conjugated polymers are emerging materials which have a wide range of applications including biomimetic robots and biomedical devices. These novel materials attract considerable attention owing to their interesting sensing and actuating behavior. However, complicated electro-chemo-mechanical dynamics is a drawback for their application in functional devices. Although extensive research has been conducted on static modeling of conductive polymers, the dynamic modeling is not well understood. In this paper we focus on dynamic modeling and robust control of a fast trilayer polypyrrole actuator as a distributed parameter system. The Euler–Bernoulli beam model with inclusion of Kelvin–Voigt damping and tip loading is utilized for vibration analysis of the smart actuator. Considering the spatio-temporal dynamics of the actuator, a one-point feedback controller based on quantitative feedback theory is designed that can suppress arbitrary external disturbances and consistently track desired inputs.