Modeling the dynamic behavior of manipulator joint based on giant magnetostrictive material

The existing space manipulator joints with permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) have many deficiencies, such as large size, low output torque, and long settling time. In this paper, the dynamic behavior of space manipulators with smart giant magnetostrictive material (GMM) joints is studied. A nonlinear dynamic model considering the magneto-thermal-mechanical coupling for the manipulator is established, and an experiment is conducted to evaluate the performance of the GMM joint. After verifying the accuracy and availability of the model, we find that comparing with the PMSM joint, manipulators with the GMM joint have better performance, which has large output torque, fast settling time, and wide temperature adaptation range. These essential investigations will be of significant benefit to the applications in space manipulators.