Active vibration reduction with piezoceramic actuators on an elastic beam structure

To investigate the effects of active vibration control on an elastic structure a model of a clamped cantilever beam with attached piezoceramic actuators is formed. The model has thirty degrees of freedom and the actuator forces are modelled as external bending moments acting on the beam. The dynamic behaviour of the beam is simulated with MATLAB and the model is then integrated within a feedback control loop. For this purpose an optimal control strategy was developed and tested. The model of the beam can be validated through tests with an experimental set up. However, the actuators clearly show a non-linear dynamic behaviour resulting from the electro mechanic interactions between the beam and the PZT elements. Feedback control allows to independently influence the lower three eigenmodes and in experiments a remarkable vibration reduction can be achieved.