Development and application of a new piezoelectric actuator for structural vibration control

Aimed to improve the actuating efficiency and avoid installation limits of traditional PZT (piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate) patch actuators for smart structural vibration control, an arching PZT actuator (APA) is designed and manufactured. This new type of piezoelectric actuator is a flexible arching pedestal bonded with a PZT patch. Its configuration makes its installation more optional and being re-usable. In order to study the actuation property and the vibration control power of APA, an APA and a PZT patch actuator are applied for the active vibration control of two same flexible cantilever beams for a comparative study. Thermoelasticity analogy method is adopted to build the state-space model of the active vibration control systems, and the LQR (linear-quadratic regulator) algorithm is used to design the controller. Based on the dSPACE on-line simulation system, comparative experiments of the two active vibration control systems are implemented respectively. Test results demonstrate the vibration control efficiency of. APA is comparatively satisfying.