Vibration Control of Active Structures: An Introduction

This text is an introduction to the feedback control of lightly damped flexible structures; the emphasis is placed on basic issues such as actuator and sensor selection, placement and dynamics, and actual implementation for solving practical problems.
The book consists of 11 chapters; in chapters 2 to 5, the open-loop transfer functions of various active structures are derived from their constitutive equations; the discussion includes a truss and sandwich beams and plates with embedded piezoelectric actuators and sensors. The virtues of collocated actuator-sensor configurations are pointed out and used to develop active damping with guaranteed stability. Chapters 6 to 8 are devoted to the model-based control of SISO systems; optimal control is developed graphically using the symmetric root locus; the gain-phase relationship is discussed and the design tradeoffs are explained in the frequency domain. The issues of robustness with respect to the parametric uncertainty and the spillover instability are examined. After two short chapters on controllability (ch. 9) and stability (ch. 10), the book concludes with a set of applications to active damping and precision positioning of a set of aerospace, mechanical and civil engineering structures.
The book is intended for structural engineers who want to acquire some background in vibration control; it can be used as a textbook for a graduate course on vibration control or active structures. The text is supplemented with 98 problems.

This text is an introduction to the dynamics of active structures and to the feedback control of lightly damped flexible structures; the emphasis is placed on basic issues and simple control strategies that work.

Now in its third edition, more chapters have been added, and comments and feedback from readers have been taken into account, while at the same time the unique premise of bridging the gap between structure and control has remained.  Many examples and problems bring the subject to life and take the audience from theory to practice.

The book has chapters dealing with some concepts in structural dynamics; electromagnetic and piezoelectric transducers; piezoelectric beam, plate and truss; passive damping with piezoelectric transducers; collocated versus non-collocated control; active damping with collocated systems; vibration isolation; state space approach; analysis and synthesis in the frequency domain; optimal control; controllability and observability; stability; applications; tendon control of cable structures; active control of large telescopes; and semi-active control. The book concludes with an exhaustive bibliography and index.

 

This book is intended for structural engineers who want to acquire some background in vibration control; it can be used as a textbook for a graduate course on vibration control or active structures.

A solutions manual is available through the publisher to teachers using this book as a textbook.