Microvalves are essential components of the miniaturization of the fluidic systems to control of fluid flow in a variety of applications as diverse as chemical analysis systems, micro-fuel cells, and integrated fluidic channel arrangements for electronic cooling. Using microvalves, these systems offer important advantages: they can operate using small sample volumes and provide rapid response time. This PhD dissertation presents the world first electromagnetically actuated microvalve fabricated on a single wafer with CMOS compatibility. In this dissertation, the design, fabrication, and testing results of two different types of electromagnetic microvalves are presented: the on/off microvalve and the bistable microvalve with latching mechanism. The microvalves operate with power consumption of less than 1.5 W and can control the volume flow rate of DI water, or a 50% diluted methanol solution in the range 1 - 50 µL in. The leaking rate of the on/off microvalve is the order of 30 nL/min. The microvalve demonstrated a response time for latching of 10 ms in water and 0.2 ms in air. This work has resulted in a US patent, application no. 10/699,210.Other inventions that have been developed as a result of this research are bidirectional, and bistable-bidirectional microactuators with latching mechanism, that can be utilized for optical switch, RF relay, micro mirror, nano indenter, or nano printings.

Shape plays an important role in our everyday life to interpret information about the surroundings whether we are aware or not. Together with visual and auditory information, we are able to obtain and process information for different purposes. Output devices such as monitors and speakers convey visual and auditory information while input devices such as touch screen and microphones receive that information for human machine interaction. Such devices have become commonplace but there has yet to be a fitting input/output device utilizing our haptic perception. Digital Clay is a next generation Human Machine Interface (HMI) device for 2.5D shape input/output via an array of hydraulic actuators. This device potentially has wide applications in the areas of engineering, sciences, medicine, military, entertainment etc. The user can perceive the shape of a computer programmed model in a tangible and concrete manner which means an added realism with the addition of the sense of touch. Conversely, the user can also use Digital Clay as an input device to the computer, by shaping and molding desired shapes on the device, no longer limited to drawing models with a mouse on CAD software. Shape display has been achieved with the current 5x5 prototype at the Georgia Institute of Technology but this research seeks to expand its capability to include haptic feedback and consequently shaping mode. This thesis gives an overview of the current 5x5 prototype and implements 2 commonly used haptic control methods, the admittance control and the impedance control. For implementing the admittance control, actuator displacement and velocity controllers and a proportional integral observer (PIO) are designed. The model-based unknown input observer is a solution for force estimation without added sensors in the actuators. For implementing the impedance control, a novel pressure control technique is designed to provide pressure feedback to the actuators array along with accurate and reliable displacement measurement. Both of the haptic control methods are evaluated, hardware and software limitations are outlined and possible future improvements are suggested.

In this thesis, a new Poly Phase Motor (rotary actuator) based on the Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) is presented. Details of Design, Modeling, Characterization, Realization and Control of Poly Phase SMA Motor are presented. Motor with 3 and 6 Phases, with appropriate Control circuit have been realized in laboratory and simulated results have been verified experimentally. In literature, broadly two types of Shape Memory Alloy based motors namely limited rotation motor and unlimited rotation motor are found. In the unlimited rotation type SMA based motor the SMA element is in the spring form. Hence, an attempt has been made in this research to develop an Unlimited Rotating type Balanced Poly Phase Motor based on SMA wire in series with a spring in each phase. By isolating SMA actuation and spring action a constant force by the SMA wire through out its range of operation is achieved. While designing the motor, similarity in function between Poly Phase SMA Motor and Stepper Motor was found. Hence, the Poly Phase Motor is characterized similar to that of a Stepper Motor. Functionally, the Poly Phase Motor can be used in stepping mode for generating incremental motion and servo mode for generating continuous motion. Various parameters of the motor have been defined. The motor can be actuated in either direction with different Phase sequencing methods, which are presented in this work. While explaining sequencing methods, effect of the thermal time constants has also been presented. The lumped thermal model is used for dynamic simulation of motor. The motor has been modeled with a new approach to the SMA wire Hysteresis model. This model is simple and useful for real time control applications. Model is implemented using Simulink and used for the simulation of the motor. Generalization of the motor concept is done and motor up to 16 Phases are studied and the simulation results done using MATLAB are discussed. It could be observed that the torque generated by the motor increases with increased number of phases while the torque ripple reduces. The motor torque ripple is better for motor with odd number of phases due to its construction. Two methods of achieving servo motion are presented. The first method is Micro Stepping, consisting of controlling single phase temperature with a position feedback. The second method is Antagonistic Control of temperatures of phases with position feedback. Both the above methods use PID Controller with optical encoder feedback for position sensing. Performance of the actuator with step, ramp and triangle inputs has been simulated using Simulink and verified experimentally for various loads and disturbances. Positional accuracy of 0.07% for the Step input and for the full rotation of 3600 is achieved. Vector Control of SMA Motor is presented. By this method Speed and the torque of the motor will be effectively controlled. Since the temperatures of the wires are controlled in this research, this method is named as Thermal Space Phasor or Vector Based Control. This method of rotation of motor is simulated using Simulink and verified experimentally. Here the current through the SMA is controlled so as to get near sinusoidal variation in temperature. This leads to a near Sinusoidal variation of force. It is shown that by controlling the temperature of phases Sinusoidally with a phase shift of 1200, the Resultant Force will be a constant over the Spatial angle of 3600 and its Velocity of rotation will be Constant. Open loop and closed loop control of the speed and torque is presented. While the motor rotates at fixed Speed and Torque in Open Loop Control, motor adopts to change in torque and velocity in Closed Loop control with reduced ripple. PID Controller is used for closed loop control. The presented rotary actuator and their experimental results set a new standard for SMA based new generation rotary actuators and control.

Περίληψη Σκοπός της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής είναι η διατύπωση µοντέλων µηχανικής και η ανάπτυξη µεθοδολογίας πεπερασµένων στοιχείων, για τηv αριθµητική επίλυση τoυ προβλήµατος της συζευγµένης µη-γραµµικής απόκρισης πιεζοηλεκτρικών κελυφών και πλακών µε εµφυτευµένα πιεζοηλεκτρικά στοιχεία. Η ανάπτυξη της παρούσας µεθόδου στηρίχθηκε σε θεωρίες µεσοµηχανικής για τη ανάλυση στρωµατοποιηµένων πιεζοηλεκτρικών κελυφών και κατά επέκταση πλακών και δοκών. Πιο συγκεκριµένα διατυπώνονται σε επίπεδο στρώσης, οι καταστατικές εξισώσεις του ηλεκτροµηχανικού πεδίου, οι εξισώσεις συµβιβαστού των παραµορφώσεων-µετατοπίσεων, που εµπεριέχουν την γεωµετρική µη γραµµικότητα, καθώς και οι γενικευµένες εξισώσεις κίνησης (εξισώσεις ισορροπίας των τάσεων στο µηχανικό και διατήρησης ηλεκτρικού φορτίου στο ηλεκτρικό πεδίο). Στη συνέχεια δύναται να γραφούν οι παραπάνω εξισώσεις κίνησης σε ολοκληρωτική µορφή, µε την βοήθεια της αρχής των φανταστικών µετατοπίσεων, ώστε να ισχύουν για ολόκληρη την πιεζοηλεκτρική πολύστρωτη δοµή. Τα παραπάνω ολοκληρώµατα όγκου υποβιβάζονται σε ολοκληρώµατα επιφάνειας µε την εισαγωγή των κινηµατικών υποθέσεων για τις ελαστικές και ηλεκτρικές µεταβλητές κατάστασης. Για την επίλυση των παραπάνω συζευγµένων µη γραµµικών ολοκληρωτικών εξισώσεων αναπτύχθηκε µέθοδος πεπερασµένων στοιχείων. ∆υο 8-κοµβα συζευγµένα µη γραµµικά ισοπαραµετρικά πεπερασµένα στοιχεία κελύφους και πλάκας αναπτύσσονται. Στο εσωτερικό των στοιχειών το παραµορφωσιακό πεδίο προσεγγίζεται µε πολυώνυµικές εξισώσεις δευτέρου βαθµού, που ονοµάζονται συναρτήσεις µορφής. Με την βοήθεια των συναρτήσεων µορφής προκύπτουν οι συζευγµένες µη γραµµικές εξισώσεις σε µητρωική µορφή, και λόγω του ότι εξαρτώνται από τη λύση δεν µπορούν να λυθούν απευθείας αλλά χρησιµοποιείται µια σταδιακή- επαναληπτική µέθοδος βασισµένη στη Newton-Raphson τεχνική. Αφού πραγµατοποιηθεί η σύνθεση των ολικών µητρώων, εφαρµοστούν οι µηχανικές και ηλεκτρικές συνοριακές συνθήκες τελικά επιλύονται οι προκύπτουσες γραµµικοποιηµένες συζευγµένες εξισώσεις σε κάθε επανάληψη εως ότου επιτευχθεί σύγκλιση της λύσης. Σε κάθε επανάληψη υπολογίζονται ταπραγµατικά και εφαπτοµενικά µη γραµµικά µητρώα καθώς επίσης και τα διανύσµατα ανισορροπίας µεταξύ των εξωτερικών και εσωτερικών δυνάµεων και ηλεκτρικών φορτίων. Τα µη γραµµικά ελαστικά και πιεζοηλεκτρικά µητρώα, που εµπεριέχουν τη γεωµετρική µη γραµµικότητα, καθώς και τα γραµµικά επιλύονται αριθµητικά µε τη µέθοδο Gauss. Η παρούσα µέθοδος µπορεί να εφαρµοστεί για τη διερεύνηση και αριθµητική επίλυση µιας σειράς προβληµάτων ευφυών πιεζοηλεκτρικών κατασκευών, όπου η γεωµετρική µη γραµµικότητα (µεγάλες µετατοπίσεις και περιστροφές σε σχέση µε το πάχος, αλλά µικρές παραµορφώσεις) παίζει σηµαντικό ή πρωτεύοντα ρόλο, µε ιδιαίτερη έµφαση στα εξής προβλήµατα: Μοντελοποίηση ευφυών κατασκευών υπό µεγάλη κάµψη. Εφαρµογές σε κατασκευές, στις οποίες επιδιώκονται µεγάλες αλλαγές στο σχήµα τους µέσω µεγάλων ενεργών µετατοπίσεων και περιστροφών, υπό την επιβολή ηλεκτρικού πεδίου στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς διεγέρτες (morphing structures) . Πρόβλεψη κρίσιµων επίπεδων µηχανικών δυνάµεων και ηλεκτρικών τάσεων λυγισµού, οι οποίες µπορεί να οδηγήσουν τις ευφυείς πλάκες και τα κελύφη σε συνθήκες λυγισµού και απώλειας ευστάθειας. Πρόβλεψη και προσοµοίωση του λυγισµού και µετα-λυγισµού σε panel αεροναυπηγικών κατασκευών, µέσω παρακολούθησης της µεταβολής των φυσικών συχνοτήτων της κατασκευής ή της αναπτυσσόµενης ηλεκτρικής τάσης στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς αισθητήρες. Την ενεργή µεταβολή της δυσκαµψίας (αύξηση ή µείωση) ευφυών κατασκευών µε την επιβολή κατάλληλου ηλεκτρικού δυναµικού στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς διεγέρτες. Πρόβλεψη της µετάβασης των πιεζοηλεκτρικών κελυφών από τη µια θέση ισορροπίας σε άλλη (snap-through), υπό την επιβολή µηχανικού φορτίου ή πιεζοηλεκτρικής καµπτικής ροπής µέσω των πιεζοηλεκτρικών διεγερτών.πραγµατικά και εφαπτοµενικά µη γραµµικά µητρώα καθώς επίσης και τα διανύσµατα ανισορροπίας µεταξύ των εξωτερικών και εσωτερικών δυνάµεων και ηλεκτρικών φορτίων. Τα µη γραµµικά ελαστικά και πιεζοηλεκτρικά µητρώα, που εµπεριέχουν τη γεωµετρική µη γραµµικότητα, καθώς και τα γραµµικά επιλύονται αριθµητικά µε τη µέθοδο Gauss. Η παρούσα µέθοδος µπορεί να εφαρµοστεί για τη διερεύνηση και αριθµητική επίλυση µιας σειράς προβληµάτων ευφυών πιεζοηλεκτρικών κατασκευών, όπου η γεωµετρική µη γραµµικότητα (µεγάλες µετατοπίσεις και περιστροφές σε σχέση µε το πάχος, αλλά µικρές παραµορφώσεις) παίζει σηµαντικό ή πρωτεύοντα ρόλο, µε ιδιαίτερη έµφαση στα εξής προβλήµατα: Μοντελοποίηση ευφυών κατασκευών υπό µεγάλη κάµψη. Εφαρµογές σε κατασκευές, στις οποίες επιδιώκονται µεγάλες αλλαγές στο σχήµα τους µέσω µεγάλων ενεργών µετατοπίσεων και περιστροφών, υπό την επιβολή ηλεκτρικού πεδίου στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς διεγέρτες (morphing structures) . Πρόβλεψη κρίσιµων επίπεδων µηχανικών δυνάµεων και ηλεκτρικών τάσεων λυγισµού, οι οποίες µπορεί να οδηγήσουν τις ευφυείς πλάκες και τα κελύφη σε συνθήκες λυγισµού και απώλειας ευστάθειας. Πρόβλεψη και προσοµοίωση του λυγισµού και µετα-λυγισµού σε panel αεροναυπηγικών κατασκευών, µέσω παρακολούθησης της µεταβολής των φυσικών συχνοτήτων της κατασκευής ή της αναπτυσσόµενης ηλεκτρικής τάσης στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς αισθητήρες. Την ενεργή µεταβολή της δυσκαµψίας (αύξηση ή µείωση) ευφυών κατασκευών µε την επιβολή κατάλληλου ηλεκτρικού δυναµικού στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς διεγέρτες. Πρόβλεψη της µετάβασης των πιεζοηλεκτρικών κελυφών από τη µια θέση ισορροπίας σε άλλη (snap-through), υπό την επιβολή µηχανικού φορτίου ή πιεζοηλεκτρικής καµπτικής ροπής µέσω των πιεζοηλεκτρικών διεγερτών.πραγµατικά και εφαπτοµενικά µη γραµµικά µητρώα καθώς επίσης και τα διανύσµατα ανισορροπίας µεταξύ των εξωτερικών και εσωτερικών δυνάµεων και ηλεκτρικών φορτίων. Τα µη γραµµικά ελαστικά και πιεζοηλεκτρικά µητρώα, που εµπεριέχουν τη γεωµετρική µη γραµµικότητα, καθώς και τα γραµµικά επιλύονται αριθµητικά µε τη µέθοδο Gauss. Η παρούσα µέθοδος µπορεί να εφαρµοστεί για τη διερεύνηση και αριθµητική επίλυση µιας σειράς προβληµάτων ευφυών πιεζοηλεκτρικών κατασκευών, όπου η γεωµετρική µη γραµµικότητα (µεγάλες µετατοπίσεις και περιστροφές σε σχέση µε το πάχος, αλλά µικρές παραµορφώσεις) παίζει σηµαντικό ή πρωτεύοντα ρόλο, µε ιδιαίτερη έµφαση στα εξής προβλήµατα: Μοντελοποίηση ευφυών κατασκευών υπό µεγάλη κάµψη. Εφαρµογές σε κατασκευές, στις οποίες επιδιώκονται µεγάλες αλλαγές στο σχήµα τους µέσω µεγάλων ενεργών µετατοπίσεων και περιστροφών, υπό την επιβολή ηλεκτρικού πεδίου στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς διεγέρτες (morphing structures) . Πρόβλεψη κρίσιµων επίπεδων µηχανικών δυνάµεων και ηλεκτρικών τάσεων λυγισµού, οι οποίες µπορεί να οδηγήσουν τις ευφυείς πλάκες και τα κελύφη σε συνθήκες λυγισµού και απώλειας ευστάθειας. Πρόβλεψη και προσοµοίωση του λυγισµού και µετα-λυγισµού σε panel αεροναυπηγικών κατασκευών, µέσω παρακολούθησης της µεταβολής των φυσικών συχνοτήτων της κατασκευής ή της αναπτυσσόµενης ηλεκτρικής τάσης στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς αισθητήρες. Την ενεργή µεταβολή της δυσκαµψίας (αύξηση ή µείωση) ευφυών κατασκευών µε την επιβολή κατάλληλου ηλεκτρικού δυναµικού στους πιεζοηλεκτρικούς διεγέρτες. Πρόβλεψη της µετάβασης των πιεζοηλεκτρικών κελυφών από τη µια θέση ισορροπίας σε άλλη (snap-through), υπό την επιβολή µηχανικού φορτίου ή πιεζοηλεκτρικής καµπτικής ροπής µέσω των πιεζοηλεκτρικών διεγερτών. / -

The continuously increasing demand for clean renewable energy has rekindled interest in multi-terminal high voltage direct current (HVDC) grids. Although such grids have several advantages and a great potential, their materialization has been thwarted due to the absence of HVDC breakers. In comparison with traditional alternating current (AC) breakers, they should operate and interrupt fault currents in a time frame of a few milliseconds. The aim of this thesis is focused on the design of ultra-fast electro-mechanical actuator systems suitable for such HVDC breakers.Initially, holistic multi-physics and hybrid models with different levels of complexity and computation time were developed to simulate the entire switch. These models were validated by laboratory experiments. Following a generalized analysis, in depth investigations involving simulations complemented with experiments were carried out on two of the sub-components of the switch: the ultra-fast actuator and the damper. The actuator efficiency, final speed, peak current, and maximum force were explored for different design data.The results show that models with different levels of complexity should be used to model the entire switch based on the magnitude of the impulsive forces. Deformations in the form of bending or elongation may deteriorate the efficiency of the actuator losing as much as 35%. If that cannot be avoided, then the developed first order hybrid model should be used since it can simulate the behavior of the mechanical switch with a very good accuracy. Otherwise, a model comprising of an electric circuit coupled to an electromagnetic FEM model with a simple mechanics model, is sufficient.It has been shown that using a housing made of magnetic material such as Permedyn, can boost the efficiency of an actuator by as much as 80%. In light of further optimizing the ultra-fast actuator, a robust optimization algorithm was developed and parallelized. In total, 20520 FEM models were computed successfully for a total simulation time of 7 weeks. One output from this optimization was that a capacitance of 2 mF, a charging voltage of 1100 V and 40 turns yields the highest efficiency (15%) if the desired velocity is between 10 m/s and 12 m/s.The performed studies on the passive magnetic damper showed that the Halbach arrangement gives a damping force that is two and a half times larger than oppositely oriented axially magnetized magnets. Furthermore, the 2D optimization model showed that a copper thickness of 1.5 mm and an iron tube that is 2 mm thick is the optimum damper configuration. / <p>QC 20150422</p>

Today's globally competitive market and its associated environmental and social issues of sustainable development are major challenges for the automobile industry. To meet them, the industry needs to invest in high performance development tools. For improving engine performance in terms of consumption and emission, the interactions between the subsystems of the engine air-path need to be understood. This thesis followed two major axes of research in this context. First, the problems related to the modeling of the global air-path system were studied, which include the airflow characteristics between the different subsystems of the air-path, high frequency combustion modeling and pulsating airflow, and estimation of the exhaust aerodynamic force on the vanes of variable geometry turbochargers (VGT). The detailed modeling study was used for developing an engine air-path simulator, which takes into account these interactions and predicts the influence of subsystems on the global air-path. The second axis of research was focused on modeling of mechatronic actuators of the air-path, taking into account their nonlinear behavior due to friction and changes in operating conditions. A generic nonlinear dynamic model was developed and included in the simulator. This model can be adapted to most commercial actuators. The complete simulator has been implemented using AMESim for engine and air-path modeling, and Simulink for control. It has been parameterized according to the specifications of a commercial diesel engine and validated against experimental data. Finally, robust local controllers were studied for actuator position control, aimed at guaranteeing the performance of the actuators under parametric uncertainty and external disturbances. An advanced controller was developed, which adapts to changes in friction characteristics of the actuator and external load changes. The performance of all controllers has been demonstrated experimentally.

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology has blossomed into a major new technology fundamentally influencing the sciences of life and nature. From a systemic point of view however, microfluidics is still in its infancy. Here, we present the concept of a microfluidic central processing unit (CPU) which shows remarkable similarities to early electronic Von Neumann microprocessors. It combines both control and execution units and, moreover, the complete power supply on a single chip and introduces the decision-making ability regarding chemical information into fluidic integrated circuits (ICs). As a consequence of this system concept, the ICs process chemical information completely in a self-controlled manner and energetically self-sustaining. The ICs are fabricated by layer-by-layer deposition of several overlapping layers based on different intrinsically active polymers. As examples we present two microchips carrying out long-term monitoring of critical parameters by around-the-clock sampling. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

The conventional Mini and Large scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicle systems span anywhere from approximately 12 inches to 12 feet; endowing them with larger propulsion systems, batteries/fuel-tanks, which in turn provide ample power reserves for long-endurance flights, powerful actuators, on-board avionics, wireless telemetry etc. The limitations thus imposed become apparent when shifting to Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) and trying to equip them with equal or near-equal flight endurance, processing, sensing and communication capabilities, as their larger scale cousins. The conventional MAV as outlined by The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a vehicle that can have a maximum dimension of 6 inches and weighs no more than 100 grams. Under these tight constraints, the footprint, weight and power reserves available to on-board avionics and actuators is drastically reduced; the flight time and payload capability of MAVs take a massive plummet in keeping with these stringent size constraints. However, the demand for micro flying robots is increasing rapidly. The applications that have emerged over the years for MAVs include search&rescue operations for trapped victims in natural disaster succumbed urban areas; search&reconnaissance in biological, radiation, natural disaster/hazard succumbed/prone areas; patrolling&securing home/office/building premises/urban areas. VTOL capable rotary and fixed wing flying vehicles do not scale down to micro sized levels, owing to the severe loss in aerodynamic efficiency associated with low Reynolds number physics on conventional airfoils; whereas, present state of the art in flapping wing designs lack in one or more of the minimum qualities required from an MAV: Appreciable flight time, appreciable payload capacity for on-board sensors/telemetry and 6DoF hovering/VTOL performance. This PhD. work is directed towards overcoming these limitations. Firstly, this PhD thesis presents the advent of a novel Quad-Wing MAV configuration (called the QV). The Four-Wing configuration is capable of performing all 6DoF flight maneuvers including VTOL. The thesis presents the design, conception, simulation study and finally hardware design/development of the MAV. Secondly, this PhD thesis proves and demonstrates significant improvement in on-board Energy-Harvesting resulting in increased flight times and payload capacities of the order of even 200%-400% and more. Thirdly, this PhD thesis defines a new actuation principle called, Fixed Frequency, Variable Amplitude (FiFVA). It is demonstrated that by the use of passive elastic members on wing joints, a further significant increase in energy efficiency and consequently reduction in input power requirements is observed. An actuation efficiency increase of over 100% in many cases is possible. The natural evolution of actuation development led to invention of two novel actuation systems to illustrate the FiFVA actuation principle and consequently show energy savings and flapping efficiency improvement. Lastly, but not in the least, the PhD thesis presents supplementary work in the design, development of two novel Micro Architecture and Control (MARC) avionics platforms (autopilots) for the application of demonstrating flight control and communication capability on-board the Four-Wing Flapping prototype. The design of a novel passive feathering mechanism aimed to improve lift/thrust performance of flapping motion is also presented.

The interaction of a shock wave with a boundary layer is a classic viscous/inviscid interaction problem that occurs over a wide range of high speed aerodynamic flows. For example, on transonic wings, in supersonic air intakes, in propelling nozzles at offdesign conditions and on deflected controls at supersonic/transonic speeds, to name a few. The transonic interaction takes place at Mach numbers typically between 1.1 and 1.5. On an aerofoil, its existence can cause problems that range from a mild increase in section drag to flow separation and buffeting. In the absence of separation the drag increase is predominantly due to wave drag, caused by a rise in entropy through the interaction. The control of the turbulent interaction as applied to a transonic aerofoil is addressed in this thesis. However, the work can equally be applied to the control of interaction for numerous other occurrences where a shock meets a turbulent boundary layer. It is assumed that, for both swept normal shock and unswept normal shock interactions, as long as the Mach number normal to the shock is the same, then the interaction, and therefore its control, should be the same. Numerous schemes have been suggested to control such interaction. However, they have generally been marred by the drag reduction obtained being negated by the additional drag due to the power requirements, for example the pumping power in the case of mass transfer and the drag of the devices in the case of vortex generators. A system of piezoelectrically controlled flaps is presented for the control of the interaction. The flaps would aeroelastically deflect due to the pressure difference created by the pressure rise across the shock and by piezoelectrically induced strains. The amount of deflection, and hence the mass flow through the plenum chamber, would control the interaction. It is proposed that the flaps will delay separation of the boundary layer whilst reducing wave drag and overcome the disadvantages of previous control methods. Active control can be utilised to optimise the effects of the boundary layer shock wave interaction as it would allow the ability to control the position of the control region around the original shock position, mass transfer rate and distribution. A number of design options were considered for the integration of the piezoelectric ceramic into the flap structure. These included the use of unimorphs, bimorphs and polymorphs, with the latter capable of being directly employed as the flap. Unimorphs, with an aluminium substrate, produce less deflection than bimorphs and multimorphs. However, they can withstand and overcome the pressure loads associated with SBLI control. For the current experiments, it was found that near optimal control of the swept and unswept shock wave boundary layer interactions was attained with flap deflections between 1mm and 3mm. However, to obtain the deflection required for optimal performance in a full scale situation, a more powerful piezoelectric actuator material is required than currently available. A theoretical model is developed to predict the effect of unimorph flap deflection on the displacement thickness growth angles, the leading shock angle and the triple point height. It is shown that optimal deflection for SBLI control is a trade-off between reducing the total pressure losses, which is implied with increasing the triple point height, and minimising the frictional losses.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / With improvements in actuation technology and sensory systems, it is becoming increasingly feasible to create powered exoskeletal garments that can assist with the movement of human limbs. This class of robotics referred to as human-machine interfaces will one day be used for the rehabilitation of paralysed, damaged or weak upper and lower extremities. The focus of this project was the development of an exoskeletal interface for the rehabilitation of the hands. A novel sensor was designed for use in such a device. The sensor uses simple optical mechanisms centred on a spring to measure force and position simultaneously. In addition, the sensor introduces an elastic element between the actuator and its corresponding hand joint. This will allow series elastic actuation (SEA) to improve control and safely of the system. The Hand Rehabilitation Device requires multiple actuators. To stay within volume and weight constraints, it is therefore imperative to reduce the size, mass and efficiency of each actuator without losing power. A method was devised that allows small efficient actuating subunits to work together and produce a combined collective output. This work summation method was successfully implemented with Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) based actuators. The actuation, sensory, control system and human-machine interface concepts proposed were evaluated together using a single-joint electromechanical harness. This experimental setup was used with volunteer subjects to assess the potentials of a full-hand device to be used for therapy, assessment and function of the hand. The Rehabilitation Glove aims to bring significant new benefits for improving hand function, an important aspect of human independence. Furthermore, the developments in this project may one day be used for other parts of the body helping bring human-machine interface technology into the fields of rehabilitation and therapy.