Chapter 1

Actuator Principles and Classification

An actuator can be defined [16, 15] as an energy converter which transforms energy
from an external source into mechanical energy in a controllable way. The actuator
input quantities depend on the type of energy used and can be chosen among all the
quantities involved in the energy conversion from the energy source to the output
mechanical quantities. For electromagnetic, piezoelectric and magnetostrictive ac-
tuators the input quantities can be the current, the charge or the voltage; for fluid
power actuators the fluid pressure or the flow; for shape memory alloys and thermal
expansion actuators the temperature. The output quantities are of mechanical nature.
We will distinguish among (primary) output quantities (actuator force and stroke),
and (derived) output quantities, which can be computed on the basis of the primary
quantities. The most used derived output quantities are the actuator work and the
actuator power.
Actuators play a decisive role in industrial mechatronic systems. They are re-
sponsible of moving the load to the required set point transforming an input energy
source into mechanical energy. This can be done transferring energy from the power
source to the mechanical load when working as motors or actuators, but also return-
ing the energy to the power source when they have to brake, operating as generators.
A typical mechatronic system scheme can be seen in Figure 1.2, including the
usual elements:
• The power source provides the energy needed to drive the actuator. In industrial
systems the most common power sources are electrical or fluid power.
• The power converter supplies (or returns) the energy from the power source to the
actuator according to the controller orders. Some industrial examples of power
converters are electrical inverters or hydraulic proportional valves.
• The actuator is the energy converter which converts the power source energy into
mechanical energy.
• The mechanical load is the mechanical system being driven.
• The controller is responsible of making the whole system follow the reference
set points established by an external system operator. This is achieved by sensing
the critical quantities and applying appropriate control algorithms.

3
4 1 Actuator Principles and Classification

Fig. 1.1 Example industrial system. Press transfer system in sheet-metal working. Courtesy of
Bosch Rexroth AG

Fig. 1.2 Usual block diagram of a mechatronic system

The present chapter deals with actuator principles and classification. Firstly, dif-
ferent actuator principles and technologies are described. Then the main distinction
between conventional and solid-state actuators is introduced and discussed.