Dynamic analysis of nonlinear behaviour in inertial actuators

Inertial actuators are devices typically used to generate the control force on a vibrating structure. Generally, an inertial actuator comprises a proof-mass suspended in a magnetic field. The inertial force due to the moving mass is used to produce the secondary force needed to control the vibration of the primary structure. Inertial actuators can show nonlinear behaviour, such as stroke saturation when driven at high input voltages. If the input voltage is beyond their limit, they can hit the end stop of the actuator casing and saturate. In this paper, the force generated by an inertial actuator is measured experimentally and numerical simulations of a linear piecewise stiffness model are carried out and compared with the results of analytical methods. First, a numerical model for a symmetric bilinear stiffness is derived and a parametric study is carried out to investigate the change of the end stop stiffness. In addition, the variation of the amplitude of the excitation is considered and a comparison is made with the analytical solution using the harmonic balance method. Finally, experimental measurements are carried out and the results are compared with simulated data to establish the accuracy of the model.