Affiliations: State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, School of Aerospace, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Minglong Xu, State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, School of Aerospace, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 28, Xianning West Road, Xi'an 710049, Shaanxi, China. Tel./Fax: +86 29 82669093; E-mail:mlxu@xjtu.edu.cn
Abstract: A piezo-driven antenna orientation stage is presented
where two pairs of rhombic piezoelectric actuators (RPAs) are used to
achieve the out-of-plane antenna motion, and the scanning range of this
stage is maximized by maximizing the strokes of the RPA pairs. Two
maximization strategies are implemented and compared. The first is based on
an analytical model, and the second is based on a finite element (FE) model.
The analytical model usually shows large errors because of the
simplifications that must be made during structural analysis and because it
ignores the electromechanical coupling characteristics of the piezo-stack.
In contrast, the FE model can provide much more accurate solutions by
considering the piezo-stack and its electromechanical coupling
characteristics. Then, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method, which
is independent of the mathematical models, is used to determine the optimal
FE model parameters. In this way, more accurate optimal geometrical
parameters are obtained for the rhombic amplifier. Finally, two specimens,
which have different optimal geometrical parameters from the analytical and
FE models, are fabricated and tested for comparison. The experimental
results show that the optimization method based on the FE model is feasible,
and is more accurate and efficient.
