Compensating hysteresis and mechanical misalignment in piezo-stepper actuators

Journal Article (2025)
Author(s)

Max van Meer (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Tim van Meijel (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Emile van Halsema (Thermo Fisher Scientific)

Edwin Verschueren (Thermo Fisher Scientific)

Gert Witvoet (Eindhoven University of Technology, TNO)

Tom Oomen (TU Delft - Team Jan-Willem van Wingerden, Eindhoven University of Technology)

DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechatronics.2025.103394 Final published version
More Info
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Publication Year
2025
Language
English
Journal title
Mechatronics
Volume number
111
Article number
103394
Downloads counter
125
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Abstract

Piezo-stepper actuators enable accurate positioning through the sequential contraction and expansion of piezoelectric elements, generating a walking motion. The aim of this paper is to reduce velocity ripples caused by parasitic effects, due to hysteresis in the piezoelectric material and mechanical misalignments, through suitable feedforward control. The presented approach involves the integration of a rate-dependent hysteresis model with a position-dependent feedforward learning scheme to compensate for these effects. Experimental results show that this approach leads to a significant reduction in the velocity ripples, even when the target velocity is changed. These results enable the use of piezo-stepper actuators in applications requiring high positioning accuracy and stiffness over a long stroke, without requiring expensive position sensors for high-gain feedback.