Control of Flexible Structures by Distributed Piezofilm Actuators and Sensors

This paper presents control algorithms to suppress flexural vibration of a cantilever beam using distributed piezofilm actuators and sensors. A modified constantamplitude controller is proposed to overcome practical drawbacks associated with conventional constantamplitude and constantgain feedback controllers. The proposed controller is established on the basis of the velocity signals as well as the oscillation magnitudes of the beam. Computer simulations and experimental tests are undertaken in order to compare suppression capabilities between the proposed and conventional control algorithms. In addition, simultaneous controllability of various vibrational modes under random excitation is experimentally verified.