A method for evaluating the electro-mechanical characteristics of piezoelectric actuators during motion

Abstract

The electro-mechanical characteristics of piezoelectric actuators which have being driven are evaluated in this paper. The force generated by actuators is measured as an inertial force of a corner cub prism which is attached to the actuators. The Doppler frequency shift of a laser beam, due to the motion of actuator, is accurately measured by a heterodyne interferometer. Subsequently, the mechanical quantities, such as velocity, acceleration, force, power and displacement, are calculated from the Doppler frequency shift. With the measurement results of current and voltage of the actuator, the relationships between electrical and mechanical characteristics are evaluated. © 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.