Control of hysteresis: theory and experimental results∗

Hysteresis in smart materials hinders the wider applicability of such materials in actuators. In this paper, a systematic approach for coping with hysteresis is presented. The method is illustrated through the example of controlling a commercially available magnetostrictive actuator. We utilize the low-dimensional model for the magnetostrictive actuator that was developed in earlier work. For low frequency inputs, the model approximates to a rate-independent hysteresis operator, with current as its input; magnetization as its output. Magnetostrictive strain is proportional to the square of the magnetization. In this paper, we use a classical Preisach operator for the rate-independent hysteresis operator. In this paper, we present the results of experiments conducted on commercial magnetostrictive actuators, the purpose of which was the control of the displacement/strain output. A constrained least-squares algorithm is employed to identify a discrete approximation to the Preisach measure. We then discuss a nonlinear inversion algorithm for the resulting Preisach operator, based on the theory of strictly-increasing operators. This algorithm yields a control input signal to produce a desired magnetostrictive response. The effectiveness of the inversion scheme is demonstrated via an open-loop trajectory tracking experiment.