Comparison of force and moment behavior of bimorph actuator

This paper deals with an actuator based on piezoelectric bimorphs developed at CTU for applications of ASAC on thin structures. The actuator takes the form of two pairs of bimorphs connected separately, so that the actuator can act in both moment and force configurations simultaneously. The ASAC system using this actuator was tested on a simple structure in the form of a steel strip fixed at both ends. The behavior of the actuator was compared with theoretical assumptions including efficiency of the actuator as a function of the position and power input. A good agreement has been demonstrated between the model results and the measurement.