Comparison of a PWM and a hybrid force control for a pneumatic actuator using on/off solenoid valves

This paper presents a new predictive hybrid control law for the control of electro-pneumatic systems using solenoid valves. The method is based on a predictive model of the mass flow rate of the valves. In order to evaluate this strategy, a comparison study in simulation has been performed with a classical PWM control for a force tracking problem. The results show that the accuracy in steady state but also the dynamic behavior of the pressures are better in the case of the hybrid control than the PWM control. The validity of the theory has been verified through simulations.