Dynamic Behavior of Piezoelectric Recurve Actuation Architectures

Abstract

A new family of piezoelectric actuators, called Recurves, exhibits high work per volume and have the extra benefit of performance and packaging tailorability. The focus of this paper is the dynamic performance of this novel actuation scheme. Two dynamic models, a detailed transfer matrix model and a simpler rod approximation model, are presented to predict the steady state frequency response of a general Recurve actuator driving a mass and spring load. Results from a 23 design of experiments are given that validate these models and demonstrate the impact of the architectural design parameters on the dynamic behavior of a generic Recurve actuator.