On High Bandwidth Output Pressure Control Design of Hydraulic Actuators Using Quantitative Feedback Theory

Although high bandwidth for the pressure tracking of hydraulic actuators is highly desirable in many industrial applications, it has been a challenge to achieve, mainly due to the natural velocity feedback path in these actuators. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which a fixed-gain linear controller designed based on quantitative feedback theory (QFT) can improve the pressure tracking bandwidth while considering other design criteria including closed-loop stability, disturbance rejection, and robust tracking. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate that the designed QFT controller satisfies the mentioned design criteria over a wide range of parametric uncertainties, and at the same time provides 6 Hz pressure tracking bandwidth.