Energy efficient actuators in vibration control of plated structures

Abstract

Piezoelectric materials are popularlyused as energytrans ducers in several structural applications such as shape control, vibration suppression, acoustic control, etc. When used as actuators in vibration control, these materials convert electrical energyinto mechanical energyto generate the control forces. In such an application, a critical issue that needs to be considered is the electrical energythat the actuators consume in order to produce the desired response. It is highlyde sirable to minimize the total energyconsu mption of the actuators, as in manypracti cal situations onlylim ited power maybe available. The knowledge of energyco nsumption is also necessaryto design the driving electronics for the active vibration control. One of the ways of achieving efficiency is using optimal actuator configurations. The present work investigates the energyconsump tion characteristics of a modal actuator for a cantilever plate.