Active vibration damping of composite beam using smart sensors and actuators

This paper discusses active vibration control of an E-glass/epoxy-laminated composite beam using smart sensors and actuators. The smart sensors and actuators used in this study are piezoelectric ceramic patches. The composite beam is in a cantilevered configuration. Both theoretical and numerical (finite-element analysis) studies of the laminated composite beam are conducted to reveal the beam's fundamental modal frequencies and modal shapes. The results based on the theoretical predication and numerical simulation are then compared with those from experimental modal testing, and a good correlation is obtained. Utilizing results from the model analysis and experimental modal testing, two control algorithms, namely, positive position feedback control and strain rate feedback control, are designed. Both single-mode vibration suppression and multimode vibration suppression are studied. An experimental apparatus has been developed to implement the control algorithms. The apparatus consists of a voltage amplifier and a data acquisition and real-time control system, in addition to the composite beam with bonded piezoelectric ceramic sensors and actuators. Experiments show that the proposed controllers can achieve active vibration damping of the composite beam.