Newer classes of smart materials are beginning to display the capacity for self-repair, self-diagnosis, self-multiplication, and self-degradation. While there are other candidates, piezoelectric actuators and sensors are proving to be the best choice. This title details the authors' research and development in this area.
A collation of the authors' latest research, this book focuses on control applications that use piezoelectric actuators and sensors. They provide practical examples of engineering applications, such as flexible structures, flexible robotic manipulators, fine motion control, hydraulic control, and shunt damping. For each application, the consecutive process is presented, such as actuator design system modeling, analysis, control strategy formulation, experimental setup, and control performance. This information is useful in the design of new machines or devices featuring smart material actuators and sensors integrating with piezoelectric materials.
