Theoretical Research and Design of a New piezoelectric/electrorheological hybrid hydraulic step actuator

A new step actuator is designed based on piezoelectric/ electrorheological hybrid hydraulic theory. Firstly, a new kind of driving system is proposed. The piezoelectric pump is adopted for the actuator's hydro- drive and the electrorheological valve(ER valve) is adopted for the actuator's control, which are working together to realize the step actuator's high frequency, hydraulic step drive in a hybrid mode. Then the step actuator's working principle and sequence control system are presented. The ER valve's maximum response frequency is 600Hz, which should be promoted to improve the system operating frequency. Thirdly, the step actuator's diving characteristics are theoretically deduced. The resolution and the driving force of the step actuator that provide the actuator's design principle are got.