Control design that respects characteristic length scales in smart systems and smart structures

摘要

Although there is a mature and continually growing body of knowledge concerning the ways in which the dynamics of fluids and solids depend on characteristic length scales, current theories governing control design do not take explicit account of length scales. Recent research has demonstrated the need to take such considerations into account in designing control systems for smart materials and smart structures in which the goal is to employ small-scale actuators and sensors with characteristic length scales in the micron to millimeter range. For many applications, sensors and actuators will need to be separated by considerable distances (in terms of characteristic length scales). Closed loop feedback designs in this setting may involve communications delays, and both the communications channels and the sensors themselves will typically be relatively noisy. Hence traditional approaches to the design of feedback control laws need to be rethought and modified to work effectively in the noisy, nonlinear, bandlimited world of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). This paper discusses one approach to a robust, length-scale respecting theory of control based on oscillatory actuation. It includes a brief outline of recent developments in the control of mechanical systems using oscillatory actuation, emphasizing the dependence on characteristic length scales. The principal applications with which we are working are micro-pendulum designs, micro-piston actuators for deformable mirrors as well as micro-valves for the control of fluid- structure boundary layer control.