1995 Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages 52-60
Though a pneumatic actuator is widely used in industrial applications, it is not easy to control due to the nonlinearity in the valve, compliance variation and generating force. In this paper, we apply a method of feedback linearization for a pneumatic actuator system to handle the nonlinearity. It is shown that SISO pneumatic systems with a linearizable load and an isothermal pneumatic actuator are linearizable. In addition, linearizing control is reformulated so that existing linear controllers can be used without modification. Experiments with a rubber artificial muscle actuator is carried out and the following results are obtained. (1) It is verified that linearizing control is effective for pneumatic systems. (2) The model used here is appropriate for linearizing control. (3) In the linearizing control, there exists the term of estimated value of acceleration based on the model. It is shown that by replacing the estimated value by measured value, effect of model uncertainty can be reduced.
