Dynamics of Smart Structures

Dynamics of Smart Structures is a practical, concise and integrated text that provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of a field that has evolved over the recent years into an independent and identifiable subject area. Bringing together the concepts, techniques and systems associated with the dynamics and control of smart structures, it comprehensively reviews the differing smart materials that are employed in the development of the smart structures and covers several recent developments in the field of structural dynamics.

Dynamics of Smart Structures has been developed to complement the author's new interdisciplinary programme of study at Queen Mary, University of London that includes courses on emerging and new technologies such as biomimetic robotics, smart composite structures, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and their applications and prosthetic control systems. It includes chapters on smart materials and structures, transducers for smart structures, fundamentals of structural control, dynamics of continuous structures, dynamics of plates and plate-like structures, dynamics of piezoelectric media, mechanics of electro-actuated composite structures, dynamics of thermo-elastic media: shape memory alloys, and controller designs for flexible structures.

Dr Ranjan Vepa is lecturer in avionics in the Department of Engineering at QMUL. Since joining in 1984 he has taught undergraduate avionics related courses, and conducted research into the aspects of the design, analysis, simulation, and implementation of avionics and avionics-related systems including non-linear aerospace vehicle kinematics, dynamics, vibration, control and filtering. Dr Ranjan Vepa is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. In addition to journal and conference papers, he has contributed to the textbook Application of Artificial Intelligence in Process Control and is currently completing a research monograph on Biomimetic Robotics: Mechanisms and Control, due to be published in June 2008 by Cambridge University Press.