Development of an electrostatic actuator exceeding 10 N propulsive force

The actuator developed consists of a stack of ten thin actuators previously developed by the authors. The stacked actuator is 120 mm*110 mm*5 mm in overall size and 70 g in weight. It is equipped with a position sensor with an 80- mu m resolution and embedded in a closed-loop control, improving speed and power performance by a factor of about two, reaching top values of 16 cm/s and 1.2 W of mechanical power. The maximum values of force/weight and power/weight ratio of the stacked actuator are 290 N/kg and 17 W/kg, respectively. A propulsive force of 21 N has been achieved with a +or-1000-V excitation voltage.<
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