Modeling and Identification of a Pneumatic Muscle Actuator System Controlled by an On/Off Solenoid Valve

The objective of this research is to develop an analytical model of the system which includes the nonlinearities of the system, and the transformation of the discontinuities into a continuous form. The use of analytical models enables the implementation of conventional analytical control approaches, such as sliding mode control, and provides a tool for the analysis of stability and robustness. In this paper, the modeling process is applied to a one degree of freedom pneumatic system for which the analytical nonlinear system model is developed by a combination of physical and empirical methods. An extensive set of experimental tests are performed to characterize the dynamics of the overall system. A non-analytic and analytic model of the system are developed and validated by a comparison of the simulated results with the experimental implementation of the system.