Controlling the Positioning 3D Rotational Piezoelectric Deflector using ERF: An Experimental Study

The paper presents the design and study the effect of electrorheological fluids (ERF) on the 3 Dimensional Rotational Piezoelectric Deflector (3D RPD) as a positioning controlling mechanism. The 3D RPD has been widely studied. Due to inertia forces acting on the 3D RPD, a high precision positioning is difficult to obtain. The hemispherical body of the 3D RPD slips when controlling the position, as a result, a precise angular position is difficult to obtain. In this paper, a novel form of controlling the 3D RPD using ERF was introduced. The article presented an experimental study by using shear forces created by ERF as a controlling medium for the 3D RPD. A review of the characteristics ERF has made it one of the most applicable positions controlling media for the 3D RPD. The experimental results presented the torque performance of the 3D RPD without the application of the ERF and when ERF is applied. The experimental results presented in this research measured and verified the precision positioning of 3D RPD when ERF is applied and without ERF application. The results presented an improvement of the step resolution of the 3D RPD of 85% when ERF was applied.