Este trabalho trata do desenvolvimento de um sistema de controle para um módulo do instrumento astronômico BTFI (Brazilian Tunable Filter Imager), um filtro óptico sintonizável altamente versátil que está instalado no telescópio SOAR, localizado no Chile. Será empregado neste instrumento um novo interferômetro Fabry-Perot, capaz de realizar observações em uma ampla faixa de resoluções espectrais. Para operar com resolução espectral variável, o Fabry-Perot proposto neste projeto terá uma faixa mais ampla de ajuste do vão entre suas placas refletivas, utilizando atuadores piezelétricos amplificados com grande capacidade de deslocamento e sensores capacitivos de alta precisão. O novo controlador apresenta uma malha de controle totalmente digital, implementada com um DSP (Digital Signal Processor) sintetizado num dispositivo FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Array). Na primeira etapa do desenvolvimento, trabalhou-se com um sistema de posicionamento nanométrico utilizando um protótipo simplificado com um canal composto por um sensor capacitivo de distância e um atuador piezelétrico. A partir dos bons resultados obtidos no sistema de um canal, realizou-se a expansão para um sistema de controle multi-malha de três canais com protótipo do Fabry-Perot, mas sem o uso das placas de vidro refletivas definitivas. O sistema permite controlar o posicionamento para cada canal individualmente ou os três em simultâneo, com desempenho adequado para os requisitos do filtro óptico sintonizável Fabry-Perot. / This work aims the development of a control system for a module of the BTFI astronomical instrument (Brazilian Tunable Filter Imager), a highly versatile optical tunable filter, deployed on the SOAR Telescope. The instrument will employ a new Fabry-Perot interferometer, which is able to provide observations in a wide range of spectral resolutions. In order to achieve variable spectral resolution, the new Fabry- Perot proposed in this project will present a larger range for adjusting the air gap between its reflective plates, using amplified piezoelectric actuators presenting high stroke capability and high precision capacitive sensors. The new controller presents a full digital control loop, implemented in a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) synthesized through a FPGA device (Field-programmable Gate Array). During the first phase of the development, it was used a nanometric positioning system using a single channel prototype comprising one capacitive sensor and one piezoelectric actuator. The good results obtained using the single channel prototype led to the expansion to a 3- channel multi-loop control system on a Fabry-Perot prototype which comprises dummy plates. The system allows controlling the position of each channel separately or simultaneously, presenting performance in accordance with the requirements of a Fabry-Perot optical tunable filter.

Este trabalho trata do desenvolvimento de um sistema de controle para um módulo do instrumento astronômico BTFI (Brazilian Tunable Filter Imager), um filtro óptico sintonizável altamente versátil que está instalado no telescópio SOAR, localizado no Chile. Será empregado neste instrumento um novo interferômetro Fabry-Perot, capaz de realizar observações em uma ampla faixa de resoluções espectrais. Para operar com resolução espectral variável, o Fabry-Perot proposto neste projeto terá uma faixa mais ampla de ajuste do vão entre suas placas refletivas, utilizando atuadores piezelétricos amplificados com grande capacidade de deslocamento e sensores capacitivos de alta precisão. O novo controlador apresenta uma malha de controle totalmente digital, implementada com um DSP (Digital Signal Processor) sintetizado num dispositivo FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Array). Na primeira etapa do desenvolvimento, trabalhou-se com um sistema de posicionamento nanométrico utilizando um protótipo simplificado com um canal composto por um sensor capacitivo de distância e um atuador piezelétrico. A partir dos bons resultados obtidos no sistema de um canal, realizou-se a expansão para um sistema de controle multi-malha de três canais com protótipo do Fabry-Perot, mas sem o uso das placas de vidro refletivas definitivas. O sistema permite controlar o posicionamento para cada canal individualmente ou os três em simultâneo, com desempenho adequado para os requisitos do filtro óptico sintonizável Fabry-Perot. / This work aims the development of a control system for a module of the BTFI astronomical instrument (Brazilian Tunable Filter Imager), a highly versatile optical tunable filter, deployed on the SOAR Telescope. The instrument will employ a new Fabry-Perot interferometer, which is able to provide observations in a wide range of spectral resolutions. In order to achieve variable spectral resolution, the new Fabry- Perot proposed in this project will present a larger range for adjusting the air gap between its reflective plates, using amplified piezoelectric actuators presenting high stroke capability and high precision capacitive sensors. The new controller presents a full digital control loop, implemented in a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) synthesized through a FPGA device (Field-programmable Gate Array). During the first phase of the development, it was used a nanometric positioning system using a single channel prototype comprising one capacitive sensor and one piezoelectric actuator. The good results obtained using the single channel prototype led to the expansion to a 3- channel multi-loop control system on a Fabry-Perot prototype which comprises dummy plates. The system allows controlling the position of each channel separately or simultaneously, presenting performance in accordance with the requirements of a Fabry-Perot optical tunable filter.

Piezoelectric actuators (PEA) hold the most promise for precision positioning applications due to their capability of producing extremely small displacements down to 10 pm (1 pm = 10-12 m) as well as their high stiffness and force output. The piezoelectric-driven stick-slip (PDSS) actuator, working on the friction-inertia concept, has the capacity of accomplishing an unlimited range of motion. It also holds the promises of simple configuration and low cost. On the other hand, the PDSS actuator has a relatively low efficiency and low loading capability, which greatly limits its applications. The purpose of this research is to improve the performance of the PDSS actuators by employing specially-designed working surfaces.<p> The working surfaces, referred as anisotropic friction (AF) surfaces in this study, can provide different friction forces depending on the direction of relative motion of the two surfaces, and are used in this research to accomplish the aforementioned purpose. To fabricate such surfaces, two nanostructure technologies are employed: hot filament chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) and ion beam etching (IBE). The HFCVD is used to deposit diamond on silicon substrates; and the IBE is used to etch the diamond crystalloid with a certain angle with respect to the coating surface to obtain an unsymmetrical-triangle microstructure. <p> A PDSS actuator prototype containing the AF surfaces was developed in this study to verify the function of the AF surfaces and characterize the performance of PDSS actuators. The designed surfaces were mounted on the prototype; and the improvement in performance was characterized by conducting a set of experiments with both the normal isotropic friction (IF) surfaces and the AF surfaces, respectively. The results illustrate that the PDSS actuator with the AF surface has a higher efficiency and improved loading capability compared to the one with the IF surfaces.<p> A model was also developed to represent the displacement of the novel PDSS actuator. The dynamics of the PEA and the platform were approximated by using a second order dynamic system. The pre-sliding friction behaviour involved was investigated by modifying the LuGre friction model, in which six parameters (Note that three parameters are used in the LuGre model) were employed to represent the anisotropic friction. By combining the PEA mechanism model, the modified friction model, and the dynamics of end-effector, a model for the PDSS actuator with the AF surface was developed. The model with the identified parameters was simulated in MATLAB Simulink and the simulation results obtained were compared to the experimental results to verify the model. The comparison suggests that the model developed in this study is promising to represent the displacement of the novel PDSS actuators with AF surfaces.

Previous studies show that the Piezoelectric-Driven Stick-Slip (PDSS) actuator is a promising device in many micropositioning and micromanipulation applications, where positioning with a long range and a high resolution is required. However, research in this area is still in its early stage and many issues remain to be addressed. One key issue is the representation of the dynamic displacement of the end-effector. It is known that such factors as the dynamics of piezoelectric actuator (PEA) and the presliding friction involved can significantly contribute to the displacement dynamics. Although this has been widely accepted, specific quantitative relationship between the aforementioned factors and the displacement dynamics has rarely been defined. The aim of this research is to develop a model to represent the displacement of the end-effecter of the PDSS actuators, in which both the presliding friction and the PEA dynamics are addressed. <p>In order to represent the presliding friction, the models reported in literatures, including Dahl model [Olsson, et al., 1998], Reset Integrator model [Haessig and Friedland 1991], LuGre model [Canudas de Wit et al., 1995] and Elastoplastic model [Dupont et al., 2002] were reviewed and examined; and the LuGre model was chosen to be used because of its efficiency and simple formulation. On the other hand, a linear second order dynamic system model was employed to represent the combination of a PEA and its driven mechanism. On the basis of the pre-sliding friction model and the linearized PEA dynamics model, a model representative of the end-effector displacement of the PDSS actuator model was developed. <p>In order to validate experimentally the developed PDSS model, a displacement measuring and data acquisition experiment system was established and a prototype was developed based on dSPACE and Simulink. On the prototyped actuator, two experiments were designed and conducted to identify the parameters involved in the model. One experiment is for the determination of the parameters of the second order system for the dynamics of the combination of a PEA and its driven mechanism; and other one is for the determination of the parameters of the chosen friction model. The identified parameters were then employed in the developed PDSS model to simulate the displacements and the results were compared with the experimental results that were obtained under the same operating conditions as the simulation. The comparison suggests that the model developed in this study is promising for the end-effector displacement of the PDSS actuator.

Previous studies show that the Piezoelectric-Driven Stick-Slip (PDSS) actuator is a promising device in many micropositioning and micromanipulation applications, where positioning with a long range and a high resolution is required. However, research in this area is still in its early stage and many issues remain to be addressed. One key issue is the representation of the dynamic displacement of the end-effector. It is known that such factors as the dynamics of piezoelectric actuator (PEA) and the presliding friction involved can significantly contribute to the displacement dynamics. Although this has been widely accepted, specific quantitative relationship between the aforementioned factors and the displacement dynamics has rarely been defined. The aim of this research is to develop a model to represent the displacement of the end-effecter of the PDSS actuators, in which both the presliding friction and the PEA dynamics are addressed. <p>In order to represent the presliding friction, the models reported in literatures, including Dahl model [Olsson, et al., 1998], Reset Integrator model [Haessig and Friedland 1991], LuGre model [Canudas de Wit et al., 1995] and Elastoplastic model [Dupont et al., 2002] were reviewed and examined; and the LuGre model was chosen to be used because of its efficiency and simple formulation. On the other hand, a linear second order dynamic system model was employed to represent the combination of a PEA and its driven mechanism. On the basis of the pre-sliding friction model and the linearized PEA dynamics model, a model representative of the end-effector displacement of the PDSS actuator model was developed. <p>In order to validate experimentally the developed PDSS model, a displacement measuring and data acquisition experiment system was established and a prototype was developed based on dSPACE and Simulink. On the prototyped actuator, two experiments were designed and conducted to identify the parameters involved in the model. One experiment is for the determination of the parameters of the second order system for the dynamics of the combination of a PEA and its driven mechanism; and other one is for the determination of the parameters of the chosen friction model. The identified parameters were then employed in the developed PDSS model to simulate the displacements and the results were compared with the experimental results that were obtained under the same operating conditions as the simulation. The comparison suggests that the model developed in this study is promising for the end-effector displacement of the PDSS actuator.

Piezoelectric actuators (PEA) hold the most promise for precision positioning applications due to their capability of producing extremely small displacements down to 10 pm (1 pm = 10-12 m) as well as their high stiffness and force output. The piezoelectric-driven stick-slip (PDSS) actuator, working on the friction-inertia concept, has the capacity of accomplishing an unlimited range of motion. It also holds the promises of simple configuration and low cost. On the other hand, the PDSS actuator has a relatively low efficiency and low loading capability, which greatly limits its applications. The purpose of this research is to improve the performance of the PDSS actuators by employing specially-designed working surfaces.<p> The working surfaces, referred as anisotropic friction (AF) surfaces in this study, can provide different friction forces depending on the direction of relative motion of the two surfaces, and are used in this research to accomplish the aforementioned purpose. To fabricate such surfaces, two nanostructure technologies are employed: hot filament chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) and ion beam etching (IBE). The HFCVD is used to deposit diamond on silicon substrates; and the IBE is used to etch the diamond crystalloid with a certain angle with respect to the coating surface to obtain an unsymmetrical-triangle microstructure. <p> A PDSS actuator prototype containing the AF surfaces was developed in this study to verify the function of the AF surfaces and characterize the performance of PDSS actuators. The designed surfaces were mounted on the prototype; and the improvement in performance was characterized by conducting a set of experiments with both the normal isotropic friction (IF) surfaces and the AF surfaces, respectively. The results illustrate that the PDSS actuator with the AF surface has a higher efficiency and improved loading capability compared to the one with the IF surfaces.<p> A model was also developed to represent the displacement of the novel PDSS actuator. The dynamics of the PEA and the platform were approximated by using a second order dynamic system. The pre-sliding friction behaviour involved was investigated by modifying the LuGre friction model, in which six parameters (Note that three parameters are used in the LuGre model) were employed to represent the anisotropic friction. By combining the PEA mechanism model, the modified friction model, and the dynamics of end-effector, a model for the PDSS actuator with the AF surface was developed. The model with the identified parameters was simulated in MATLAB Simulink and the simulation results obtained were compared to the experimental results to verify the model. The comparison suggests that the model developed in this study is promising to represent the displacement of the novel PDSS actuators with AF surfaces.

Gradient Enhanced Piezoelectric Actuators (GEPAC) are thin piezoelectric plates embedded between two composites layers having different thermal properties. Compared to standard unimorph bending actuators, GEPACs offer superior performances for operations at low frequencies. Potential applications are in the area of multifunctional aircraft skins. In practice, delaminations or debonding within the actuator itself can occur, and it is highly desirable to develop an ultrasonic nondestructive method to monitor the integrity of the actuator in real time. For this study, the composite material is unidirectional Kevlar-epoxy, with fibers oriented at 90 and 0 for the upper and lower layers to achieve different coefficient of thermal expansion. A thin PZT plate is inserted between the two layers, and extended copper foil is used for electrodes on the PZT. The first objective of the research is to demonstrate that, by using segmented electrodes, one can simultaneously launch an ultrasonic pulse (1 MHz) for NDE testing while the actuator is undergoing low frequency actuation (less than 100 Hz). The second objective is to show that the ultrasonic signal can be used to detect damage induced during fatigue testing of the actuator. The third objective is to use the technique to monitor the integrity of a composite plate containing several embedded GEPACs.

Flow control is an area of research of particular interest within automotive and aerospace industries since methods used to affect the fluid flow around vehicles can reduce drag and therefore lower their fuel consumption. One of these methods, which has generated a lot of interest in later years, is called active flow control and uses different types of actuators to impact the surrounding flow. In this thesis a model of a piezoelectric actuator for active flow control has been developed using Lumped Element Modelling and equivalent circuits. This approach, together with the chosen software for implementation, Simulink, provides models which are easy to simulate and evaluate. The actuator model has been validated using a novel methodology with sub-models with the purpose of reducing computational costs. The actuator is therefore divided into two submodels,one for structural and one for fluid dynamics, which are validated separately. This enables the use of simple yet accurate FEM and CFD models instead of time consuming FSI software which the complete model requires. The three implemented models have been validated using cases presented in previous studies and data from CFD-simulations. The results show that the decoupled models can be validated separately and its results can be integrated into the complete model, although further tests with a real actuator is needed. In addition to the modelling, a parameter study of the actuator has been performed in order to prepare for prototype design.

This thesis deals with the design, fabrication and analysis of a novel actuator for a fish-like swimming mini robot. The developed actuator is tested on a mini boat. The actuator relies on a novel piezoelectric ultrasonic motor, developed according to the design requirements of actuator for fish-like swimming mini robots. Developed motor is within the dimensions of 25x6x6 mm in a simple mechanical structure with simple driving circuitry compared to its predecessor. Bidirectional rotation of the motor is transformed to a flapping tail motion for underwater locomotion in a simple mechatronic structure. The simplicity in the motor and actuator enables further development on the miniaturization, improvement on the performances as well as easy and low cost manufacturing. The developed actuator is a candidate to be used in mini swimming robot with fish- like locomotion.

Atuadores piezelétricos são dispositivos que permitem a conversão de energia elétrica em energia mecânica. Dentre os atuadores piezelétricos, destacam-se os bilaminares, que consistem em duas piezocerâmicas de polarização oposta (ou excitadas com cargas de sinal contrário) com um substrato entre elas. Os atuadores piezelétricos também podem ser miniaturizados, alcançando a escala de MEMS (Micro-Electric-Mechanical System). Este trabalho tem por objetivo desenvolver uma metodologia utilizando o Método de Otimização Topológica (MOT) para o projeto de atuadores piezelétricos com múltiplos graus de liberdade baseados no princípio bilaminar. A fase de projeto consiste na utilização do MOT para a determinação de uma configuração de atuadores que maximizem o deslocamento numa direção e sentido especificados para uma restrição na quantidade de material utilizado em cada camada, considerando a polarização da cerâmica piezelétrica presente nessa configuração e o acoplamento e simetria entre as camadas. Para a simulação do atuador é utilizado o Método dos Elementos Finitos (MEF) através de um elemento de placa piezelétrica isoparamétrico de oito nós expandido. O MOT, neste trabalho, utiliza o modelo de material denominado PEMAP-P (Material Piezelétrico com Penalização e Polarização). A técnica de projeção é utilizada junto ao MOT para a obtenção de um resultado com uma geometria bem definida. O problema de otimização é resolvido através de Programação Matemática Sequencial (PMS) através do algoritmo GCMMA (Globally Convergent Method of Moving Asymptotes). Como exemplo é estudado o projeto de um atuador piezelétrico para microespelhos. Dentre as configurações obtidas pelo MOT, uma é fabricada utilizando as técnicas de corte a laser e colagem e, posteriormente, é caracterizada. Finalmente, é realizada a comparação entre os resultados de simulação e experimentais do protótipo. / Piezoelectric actuators are devices that allow the conversion of electric energy to mechanical energy. Among the piezoelectric, the bimorph stands. It consists of two piezoceramic plates with opposite polarization (or excited with opposite sign charges) with a substrate between them. The piezoelectric actuators can also be miniaturized in a MEMS scale. This work aims the design of a methodology using the Topology Optimization Method (TOM) for the design of piezoelectric actuators with multiple degrees of freedom using the bimorph principle. The design phase applies the TOM to determine an optimized configuration of actuators that maximizes the output displacement in a specified direction and orientation for a constraint in the amount of material used at each layer, by considering the polarization of the piezoelectric ceramic present on this configuration and the coupling and symmetry between layers. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is applied for actuator simulation through an extended piezoelectric plate isoparametric element with 8 nodes. The TOM in this work employs a material model called PEMAP-P (Piezoelectric Material with Penalization and Polarization). The projection technique is implemented with TOM to obtain a result with a well-defined geometry. The optimization problem is solved by using Sequential Mathematical Programming (SMP) through the GCMMA algorithm (Globally Convergent Method of Moving Asymptotes). As an example, the design of a piezoelectric actuator for micromirrors is studied. Among the configurations obtained by the TOM, one is manufactured using laser cutting and bonding techniques and it is tested. Finally, a comparison between the simulated and experimental results from prototype is performed.