Novel Vanadium Dioxide-based Self-Sensing Microactuators: Modeling, Control, and Application to Micromanipulation

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The research objective of this project is to investigate modeling and control methods for vanadium dioxide-based microactuators, to enable robust, precise, and efficient control of these actuators. Vanadium dioxide is a smart material, whose unique actuation potential has not been noticed until recently, and it has advantages of high volumetric energy density, superior durability, and excellent repeatability. However, pronounced hysteresis from phase transition, together with sophisticated, coupled electro-thermo-mechanical dynamics, presents significant challenges in the control of vanadium dioxide-based microactuators. The research approach consists of creating a model that captures hysteresis across multiple physical domains with high fidelity and minimal complexity, developing algorithms for self-sensing and for controlling systems with non-monotonic hysteresis, designing and fabricating vanadium dioxide-based multi degree-of-freedom micromanipulators, and experimentally validating the developed modeling and control methods.By exploiting the synergy between control theory and novel actuation materials, the project will advance the state of the art in both. If successful, the results from this award will facilitate the realization of the full potential of vanadium dioxide-based actuators in areas such as microsurgery, microrobotics, memory technology, and microassembly, with positive impact on biotechnology and micro/nano-manufacturing. Besides curriculum enrichment, the project will provide unique interdisciplinary training opportunities for graduate and undergrad students. Both PIs have a strong track record in recruiting and advising female and minority students, with the co-PI himself being a successful role model for Hispanic students. A number of outreach activities will be developed to engage K-12 students and the public, to pique their interest in science and engineering. Examples of these activities include teacher training, interactive demos, and ?dancing with the micro stars?, where students act as choreographers and make arrays of vanadium dioxide-coated micro-cantilevers ?dance? to music through laser scan programming.