Experimental research on the operating conditions of PZT stack actuator

In the space industry, the problem of reducing mass-dimensional parameters of a spacecraft (SC) system is especially urgent. One of the current solutions is the replacement of electromechanical driving systems in different SC units by piezo drives, which enable a decrease in mass-dimensional parameters by several fold.
The basic element of a piezo drive is a PZT stack actuator whose construction and operating conditions determine the efficiency and service life of the oscillating system.
This work is aimed at experimental investigating the influence of the preload force of the PZT stack actuator on frequency-response characteristics and energy parameters of the oscillating system. The experimental studies were carried out on test stands which allow one to implement physical modeling of oscillating systems with different types of loads. It is shown experimentally that an increase in the preload force significantly changes the frequency characteristics. With in increase in the preload, frequency characteristics of dynamic forces change, dynamic forces of intermediate resonances decrease, and one main resonance is formed.
The results of the study have confirmed the calculation data: for the taken values of the load, the resonant frequency of oscillating systems falls in the low-frequency region (up to 1 kHz); with an increase in the preload, the dynamic force on the load increases, especially at low frequencies.