RBS Simulation of Integrated Piezo-Ceramic Actuation for Textile Reinforced Composite Compliant Mechanisms

Structure-integrated drives use compliant elements to transmit motion just by structural deformations, and also, integrate piezo-ceramic actuators into the composite’s laminate lay-up to command and control the motion. The transmission of motion sequences can be obtained with reduced number of parts and low structural weight. However, the actual motion of the system can be obtained with the desired accuracy only after tests and re-design. Thus, reliable procedures able to predict the actual motion of compliant mechanisms with integrated actuators are necessary. This paper makes a contribution to the compliant structure simulation by developing a RBS method to obtain the piezo-ceramic actuation simulation for bending actuators using kinematical simulation models with single layer and double layer actuating cells.