Implementation of modified positive velocity feedback controller for active vibration control in smart structures

This paper introduces the Modified Positive Velocity Feedback (MPVF) controller as an alternative to the conventional Positive Position Feedback (PPF) controller, with the goal of suppressing unwanted resonant vibrations in smart structures. The MPVF controller uses two parallel feedback compensators working on the fundamental modes of the structure. The vibration velocity is measured by a sensor or state estimator and is fed back to the controller as the input. To control n-modes, n sets of parallel compensators are required. MPVF controller gain selection in multimode cases highly affects the control results. This problem is resolved using the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and the M-norm optimization method, which are selected to form the desired performance of the MPVF controller. First, the controller is simulated for the two optimization approaches, and then, experimental investigation of the vibration suppression is performed. The LQR-optimized MPVF provides a better suppression in terms of vibration displacement. The M-norm-optimized MPVF controller focuses on modes with higher magnitudes of velocity and provides a higher level of vibration velocity suppression than LQR-optimized method. Vibration velocity attenuation can be very important in preventing fatigue failures due to the fact that velocity can be directly related to stress.