Design and Verifications of an Autonomous Gain–Phase Sensor for Thick Beams

Both theoretical analysis and experimental verifications are performed on distributed sensors for Timoshenko beams. Development of a modal sensor for thick beams is hindered by the fact that it cannot be observed. It has been found that if we consider a modal sensor that neglects the shear strain effect in thick beams, we can develop an approximated modal sensor for thick beams. In addition, a previous concept is extended based on an APROPOS device (Autonomous Phase–gain Rotational/linear Optimum Piezoelectric Sensing) originally developed for thin beams to thick beams. Our successful results clearly show that autonomous gain and phase of thick-beam-based sensors and actuators are feasible.