title: Reconfiguration of a smart surface using heteroclinic connections.
abstract: A reconfigurable smart surface with multiple equilibria is presented, modelled using discrete point masses and linear springs with geometric nonlinearity. An energy-efficient reconfiguration scheme is then investigated to connect equal-energy unstable (but actively controlled) equilibria. In principle, zero net energy input is required to transition the surface between these unstable states, compared to transitions between stable equilibria across a potential barrier. These transitions between equal-energy unstable states, therefore, form heteroclinic connections in the phase space of the problem. Moreover, the smart surface model developed can be considered as a unit module for a range of applications, including modules which can aggregate together to form larger distributed smart surface systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XJ, UK; School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Jiaying
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7308-5090
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering , University of Glasgow , Glasgow G12 8QQ , UK.
authors.forename: Colin R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: McInnes
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK; School of Astronautics, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: energy efficiency; heteroclinic connections; reconfigurable smart surface