Dynamic Model of Flexible Structures with Twisted-and-Coiled Polymer Actuators

With the increasing exploitation of space, ultra-large spacecraft or giant deployable spatial structure becomes a new trend. These large structures suffer from dynamic loads, such as structural deformation and low-frequency vibration caused by on-board equipment and the thermal shock. In this paper, twisted and coiled polymer actuators (TCPAs) were used to suppress the low-frequency vibration of flexible structure. Two TCPAs were symmetrically mounted on both sides of a cantilever beam, to generate sinusoidal actuation force. The model of thermally driven TCPA was developed for force control of TCPAs, and a dynamic response model of cantilever beam with TCPAs was then proposed. Actuating experiment in forced air was implemented based on proposed model using identified parameters from experimental data. The results showed that in actuating experiment, the average errors between the experiment and model are within 5% at different current amplitudes.