Design Rules for Actuators in Active Mechanical Systems

In active mechanical systems (mechanisms or structures) the possibility of a coupling between active and passive elements at an early stage of the design process is becoming more and more significant. In order to integrate actuators in preliminary design procedures, or in a multidisciplinary optimization approach, reliable models of the actuator performance (actuator force and stroke, loading curves, strength limit, volume and mass specific work and power, frequency range, efficiency) as a function of the design parameters and variables (actuator principle, size of the actuator element) are necessary.

Design Rules for Actuators in Active Mechanical Systems deals with the formulation of model-based design rules to be used in the conception of optimized mechatronic and adaptronic systems. The book addresses the comparison of different actuator classes for given applications and offers answers to the following questions:

• What is the relationship between actuator geometry and primary output quantities?

• How scalable are actuators based on the same principle?

• How are energetic output quantities (work and power) related to mechanical load and geometry?

• How should actuators be designed and sized to obtain the best performance for the chosen actuator kind, and for a given application?

Design Rules for Actuators in Active Mechanical Systems will be of use to industry professionals, such as actuator and machine designers, as well as to researchers and students of mechanical engineering, mechatronics, and electrical engineering.