Title: Simulation-optimisation in modelling ionic polymer-metal composites actuators

Authors: Gabriella Dellino; Paolo Lino; Carlo Meloni; Alessandro Rizzo; Claudia Bonomo; Luigi Fortuna; Pietro Giannone; Salvatore Graziani

Addresses: IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Research Area in Economics and Institutional Change, Piazza San Ponziano 6 – 55100 Lucca, Italy. ' DEE – Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica ed Elettronica, Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona 4 – 70125 Bari, Italy. ' DEE – Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica ed Elettronica, Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona 4 – 70125 Bari, Italy. ' DEE – Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica ed Elettronica, Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona 4 – 70125 Bari, Italy. ' DIEEI – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica, Elettronica ed Informatica, Università degli Studi di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6 – 95125 Catania, Italy. ' DIEEI – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica, Elettronica ed Informatica, Università degli Studi di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6 – 95125 Catania, Italy. ' DIEEI – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica, Elettronica ed Informatica, Università degli Studi di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6 – 95125 Catania, Italy. ' DIEEI – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica, Elettronica ed Informatica, Università degli Studi di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6 – 95125 Catania, Italy

Abstract: The increasing pressure on the development time of new materials and devices has changed the modelling and design process over the years. In the past, they mainly consisted of experimentation and physical prototyping. Clearly, it is hard to incorporate changes in finished prototypes, while producing a variety of different prototypes at once may be very expensive. To this aim, computer simulation models such as circuit design models and continuous system simulation models are widely used in engineering modelling, design and analysis. The studies towards a better understanding of complex systems require quantitative model development, making optimisation and experimental data fitting tools indispensable. In this framework, the modelling of ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) is studied. In particular, this paper deals with simulation-optimisation issues arising in the model calibration of a particular IPMC-based actuator in air. We consider a non-linear dynamical model of the device, with lumped parameters, able to estimate the IPMC actuator absorbed current, together with the mechanical quantities of interest, which, in the case under study, are the free deflection and/or the blocked force. Two optimisation problems have been formulated, focusing on different stages of the model parameters identification. The strategies adopted to solve the problems allow to achieve some promising - although preliminary - results.

Keywords: model identification; simulation; optimisation; IPMC actuators; ionic polymer-metal composites; model calibration; nonlinear dynamic modelling; lumped parameters; parameter identification.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIC.2012.048635

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control, 2012 Vol.17 No.1, pp.8 - 18

Published online: 17 Dec 2014 *

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