Beam vibration control using cellulose-based Electro-Active Paper sensor

Cellulose based Electro-Active Paper (EAPap) has recently shown a great potential as an environment-friendly smart material due to its biodegradability, biocompatibility and flexibility. Lots of studies have been conducted to investigate the basic smart characteristics of EAPap, but its application has not yet developed well. In this paper, the possibility of cellulose-based Electro-Active Paper (EAPap) as a piezoelectric sensor was investigated by the vibration control of the cantilevered beam. The EAPap sample was attached at the root of the cantilevered beam and used as a vibration sensor. The piezoceramic patch was also attached at the root of the beam and played as an actuator. The voltage output of EAPap showed exact dynamic characteristics of the cantilevered beam. The frequency bandwidth and quality factor of EAPap were similar to those of piezoceramic patch, which results EAPap has similar sensing capability of piezoceramic patch. To find the application of EAPap sensor, beam vibration control was performed. EAPap sensor output was considered as a position error of the cantilevered beam and a simple PID controller was designed to suppress the vibration of the beam. The EAPap sensor output provided clear time response of the beam. The controlled system showed good vibration control performance of the beam. The results provided that the piezoelectric characteristic of EAPap has a great potential as a sensor and also as a new smart material.