Efficiency Improvement of Nonlinear Actuators by Cascade Model Approximations

Many actuators are inherently nonlinear. If linear controls are used, the installed energy can be used only partially, if some boundary conditions like absence of overshooting have to be respected. This paper discusses the advantages in terms of efficiency of using a linear-bilinear model and the differential geometric approach respect to the classical linear approach. The efficiency is expressed both in terms of cycle time - related to the rise time - and in terms of energy consumption. It is found that the nonlinear approach allows a double production rate with the same installed power.