Variable model reference high precision position control of dual solenoid actuator

This paper presents a new control method for high precision positioning of a dual solenoid actuator system which contains circuital nonlinearities as well as Coulomb friction. A balance control strategy is first applied to control the position actuator consisting of two unipolar solenoids. Variable Model Reference Zero Vibration Balance (VMRZVB) control which combines the advantages of balance control, model reference and input shaping, is introduced to control the position of this actuator and to improve transient response and performance. It is shown that by systematically varying the reference model, settling time of the system can be quantitatively adjusted. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness and practicality of this dual solenoid position actuator with proposed VMRZVB method.