Numerical Investigation on Vibration Performance of Flexible Plates Actuated by Pneumatic Artificial Muscle

This paper theoretically introduced the feasibility of changing the vibration characteristics of flexible plates by using bio-inspired, extremely light, and powerful Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM) actuators. Many structural plates or shells are typically flexible and show high vibration sensitivity. For this reason, this paper provides a way to achieve active vibration control for suppressing the oscillations of these structures to meet strict stability, safety, and comfort requirements. The dynamic behaviors of the designed plates are modeled by using the finite element (FE) method. As is known, the output force vs. contraction curve of PAM is nonlinear generally. In this present finite element model, the maximum forces provided by PAM in different air pressure are adopted as controlling forces for applying for the plate. The non-linearity between the output force and displacement of PAM is avoided in this study. The dynamic behaviors of plates with several independent groups of controlling forces are observed and studied. The results show that the natural frequencies of the plate can be varying and the max amplitude decreases significantly if the controlling forces are applied. The present work also demonstrates the potential of the PAM actuators as valid means for damping out the vibration of flexible systems.     

Distributed Consensus Tracking Control of Chaotic Multi-Agent Supply Chain Network: A New Fault-Tolerant,Finite-Time,and Chatter-Free Approach

Over the last years, distributed consensus tracking control has received a lot of attention due to its benefits, such as low operational costs, high resilience, flexible scalability, and so on. However, control methods that do not consider faults in actuators and control agents are impractical in most systems. There is no research in the literature investigating the consensus tracking of supply chain networks subject to disturbances and faults in control input. Motivated by this, the current research studies the fault-tolerant, finite-time, and smooth consensus tracking problems for chaotic multi-agent supply chain networks subject to disturbances, uncertainties, and faults in actuators. The chaotic attractors of a supply chain network are shown, and its corresponding multi-agent system is presented. A new control technique is then proposed, which is suitable for distributed consensus tracking of nonlinear uncertain systems. In the proposed scheme, the effects of faults in control actuators and robustness against unknown time-varying disturbances are taken into account. The proposed technique also uses a finite-time super-twisting algorithm that avoids chattering in the system’s response and control input. Lastly, the multi-agent system is considered in the presence of disturbances and actuator faults, and the proposed scheme’s excellent performance is displayed through numerical simulations.     

Adaptive active control of periodic vibration using maglev actuators

In this paper, active control of periodic vibration is implemented using maglev actuators which exhibit inherent nonlinear behaviors. A multi-channel feedforward control algorithm is proposed to solve these nonlinear problems, in which maglev actuators are treated as single-input–single-output systems with unknown time-varying nonlinearities. A radial basis function network is used by the algorithm as its controller, whose parameters are adapted only with the model of the linear system in the secondary path. Compared with the strategies in the conventional magnetic-levitation system control as well as nonlinear active noise/vibration control, the proposed algorithm has the advantage that the nonlinear modeling procedure of maglev actuators and the usage of displacement sensors could be both avoided. Numerical simulations and real-time experiments are carried out based on a multiple-degree-of-freedom vibration isolation system. The results show that the proposed algorithm not only could efficiently compensate for the actuators’ time-varying nonlinearities, but also has the ability to greatly attenuate the energy of periodic vibration.     

MODELLING DYNAMICS OF A CONTINUOUS STRUCTURE WITH A PIEZOELECTRIC SENSORACTUATOR FOR PASSIVE STRUCTURAL CONTROL

This paper presents the concept of a vibration control system in which motions of a continuous structure with piezoelectric sensors/actuators can be suppressed (or activated) through transforming mechanical energy to electrical one and vice versa. The study is focused on distributed parameter structures, in which electromechanical variables are spatially dependent, and therefore traditional methods of design of piezoelectric transformers do not apply. In this case, a different approach is necessary to account for the spatial dependency of the variables. To examine the feasibility of the proposed vibration control system, we have performed the vibration suppression analysis of the cantilevered beam with piezoelectric sensors/actuators subjected to an exciting force/moment(s). The experimental results indicate that the damping of the composite system increases by 8-10 times in comparison with the mechanical system.As a result, the paper significantly expands the concept of passive damping mechanism for structural systems to take into account the dynamics of a continuous elastic structure piezoelectrically coupled to electrical network.     

A modal disturbance estimator for vibration suppression in nonlinear flexible structures

This paper presents a control strategy for the suppression of vibration due to unknown disturbance forces in large, nonlinear flexible structures. The control action proposed, based on the modal approach, consists of two contributions. The first is the well-known Independent Modal-Space Control, which increases system damping and improves its behavior close to the resonance frequencies. The second is a disturbance estimator, which calculates the modal components of the external forces acting on the system and compensates for them using actuator forces. The system modal coordinates, required by both logics, are estimated through a modal state observer.The proposed control logic is tested on a flexible boom. The paper reports the numerical and experimental results both for the linear and nonlinear (large motion) boom configuration.     

Passive-active vibration isolation systems to produce zero or infinite dynamic modulus: theoretical and conceptual design strategies

The application of mechanical springs connected in parallel and/or in series with active springs can produce dynamical systems characterised by infinite or zero value stiffness. This mathematical model is extended to more general cases by examining the dynamic modulus associated with damping, stiffness and mass effects. This produces a theoretical basis on which to design an isolation system with infinite or zero dynamic modulus, such that stiffness and damping may have infinite or zero values. Several theoretical designs using a mixture of passive and active systems connected in parallel and/or in series are proposed to overcome limitations of feedback gain experienced in practice to achieve an infinite or zero dynamic modulus. It is shown that such systems can be developed to reduce the weight supported by active actuators as demonstrated, for example, by examining suspension systems of very low natural frequency or with a very large supporting stiffness or with a viscous damper or a self-excited vibration oscillator. A more general system is created by combining these individual systems allowing adjustment of the supporting stiffness and damping using both displacement and velocity feedback controls. Frequency response curves show the effects of active feedback control on the dynamical behaviour of these systems. The theoretical design strategies presented can be applied to design feasible hybrid vibration control systems displaying increased control performance.     

Active control of geometrically nonlinear transient vibration of composite plates with piezoelectric actuators

In this paper, the incremental finite element equations for geometric non-linear analysis of piezoelectric smart structures are developed using a total Lagrange approach by using virtual velocity incremental variational principles. A four-node first order shear plate element model with reduced and selective integration is also developed. Geometrically non-linear transient vibration response and control of plates with piezoelectric patches subjected to pulse loads are investigated. Active damping is introduced on the plates by coupling a self-sensing and negative velocity feedback algorithm in a closed control loop. The numerical results show that piezoelectric actuators can introduce significant damping and suppress transient vibration effectively. The effects of the number and locations of the piezoelectric actuators on the control system are also discussed.     

Nonlinear optimization of acoustic energy harvesting using piezoelectric devices

In the first part of the paper, a single degree-of-freedom model of a vibrating membrane with piezoelectric inserts is introduced and is initially applied to the case when a plane wave is incident with frequency close to one of the resonance frequencies. The model is a prototype of a device which converts ambient acoustical energy to electrical energy with the use of piezoelectric devices. The paper then proposes an enhancement of the energy harvesting process using a nonlinear processing of the output voltage of piezoelectric actuators, and suggests that this improves the energy conversion and reduces the sensitivity to frequency drifts. A theoretical discussion is given for the electrical power that can be expected making use of various models. This and supporting experimental results suggest that a nonlinear optimization approach allows a gain of up to 10 in harvested energy and a doubling of the bandwidth. A model is introduced in the latter part of the paper for predicting the behavior of the energy-harvesting device with changes in acoustic frequency, this model taking into account the damping effect and the frequency changes introduced by the nonlinear processes in the device.     

Base impedance of velocity feedback control units with proof-mass electrodynamic actuators

Control units comprising a proof-mass electrodynamic actuator and accelerometer-sensor pair with a time integrator and fixed gain controller are an effective way to implement velocity feedback control on thin flexible structures. These control units produce active damping provided the fundamental resonance frequency of the actuators is well below that of the structure under control. Control stability limits arise from the actuators fundamental resonances which introduce a 180° phase lag in the sensor-actuator frequency response functions, thus causing the feedback loops to be only conditionally stable. In contrast to previous studies, this paper discusses the response of a control unit with electrodynamic proof-mass actuator in terms of the open- and closed-loop base impedance that it exerts on the structure. This allows for a straight-forward physical interpretation of both stability and control performance. Experimental and simulation results show that the base impedance can be described as the sum of passive and active frequency response functions, where the active part of the control unit response depends on the actuator electromechanical response and also on the response function of the analogue controller circuit. The results show that the base impedance formulation can be effectively used to investigate new designs of both the actuator and electronic controller in order to optimise the stability and performance properties of the control unit.     

INDIRECT INTELLIGENT SLIDING MODE CONTROL OF A SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY ACTUATED FLEXIBLE BEAM USING HYSTERETIC RECURRENT NEURAL NETWORKS

This paper introduces an indirect intelligent sliding mode controller (IISMC) for shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators, specifically a flexible beam deflected by a single offset SMA tendon. The controller manipulates applied voltage, which alters SMA tendon temperature to track reference bending angles. A hysteretic recurrent neural network (HRNN) captures the nonlinear, hysteretic relationship between SMA temperature and bending angle. The variable structure control strategy provides robustness to model uncertainties and parameter variations, while effectively compensating for system nonlinearities, achieving superior tracking compared to an optimized PI controller.     

Rectangular plate with velocity feedback loops using triangularly shaped piezoceramic actuators: experimental control performance

This paper presents experimental results on the implementation of decentralized velocity feedback control on a new smart panel in order to produce active damping. The panel is equipped with 16 triangularly shaped piezoceramic patch actuators along its border and accelerometer sensors located at the top vertex of the triangular actuators. The primary objective of this paper is to demonstrate the vibration and sound radiation control using the new smart panel. Narrow frequency band experimental results highlight that the 16 control units can produce reductions up to 15 dB at resonance frequencies between 100 and 700 Hz in terms of both structural vibration and sound power radiation.     

Modeling, design and analysis of low frequency platform for attenuating micro-vibration in spacecraft

One of the most important factors that affect the pointing of precision payloads and devices in space platforms is the vibration generated due to static and dynamic unbalanced forces of rotary equipments placed in the neighborhood of payload. Generally, such disturbances are of low amplitude, less than 1 kHz, and are termed as ‘micro-vibrations’. Due to low damping in the space structure, these vibrations have long decay time and they degrade the performance of payload. This paper addresses the design, modeling and analysis of a low frequency space frame platform for passive and active attenuation of micro-vibrations. This flexible platform has been designed to act as a mount for devices like reaction wheels, and consists of four folded continuous beams arranged in three dimensions. Frequency and response analysis have been carried out by varying the number of folds, and thickness of vertical beam. Results show that lower frequencies can be achieved by increasing the number of folds and by decreasing the thickness of the blade. In addition, active vibration control is studied by incorporating piezoelectric actuators and sensors in the dynamic model. It is shown using simulation that a control strategy using optimal control is effective for vibration suppression under a wide variety of loading conditions.     

弹性基础隔振系统的简化性能指标和有源控制力

系统研究了基础弹性对单层隔振系统、双层隔振系统及浮筏隔振系统隔振性能的影响。分析了不同隔振系统与不同弹性基础间的振动耦合特性,讨论了不同隔振系统的振级落差和力传递率特性,给出了振级落差和力传递率的简化计算方法。针对不同隔振系统的有源隔振问题,比较了不同作动器安装方式所需的控制力。研究表明,对于所有隔振系统,增加基础的刚度和阻尼有利于提高振级落差和力传递率;对于浮筏隔振系统,增加筏架的刚度和阻尼有利于提高隔振性能和减少有源隔振所需的控制力。     

Occurrence of stable periodic modes in a pendulum with cubic damping

Dynamical systems with nonlinear damping show interesting behavior in the periodic and chaotic phases. The Froude pendulum with cubical and linear damping is a paradigm for such a system. In this work the driven Froude pendulum is studied by the harmonic balancing method; the resulting nonlinear response curves are studied further for resonance and stability of symmetric oscillations with relatively low damping. The stability analysis is carried out by transforming the system of equations to the linear Mathieu equation.     

Optimal vibration control of smart fiber reinforced composite shell structures using improved genetic algorithm

In the present article, an improved genetic algorithm (GA) based optimal vibration control of smart fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite shell structures has been presented. Layered shell finite elements have been formulated and the formulation has been validated for coupled electromechanical analysis of curved smart FRP composite structures having piezoelectric sensors and actuators patches. An integer-coded GA-based open-loop procedure has been used for optimal placement of actuators for maximizing controllability index and a real-coded GA-based linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control scheme has been implemented for optimal control of the smart shell structures in order to maximize the closed-loop damping ratio while keeping actuators voltages within the limit of breakdown voltage. Results obtained from the present work show that this combined GA-based optimal actuators placement and GA-based LQR control scheme is far superior to conventional active vibration control using LQR schemes and simple placement of actuators reported in literatures. Results also show that the present improved GA-based combined optimal placement and LQR control scheme not only leads to increased closed-loop damping ratio but also shows a drastic reduction in input/actuation voltage compared to the already published results.     

Experimental Investigation of Nonlinear Vibration Isolator with Fluidic Actuators (NLVIFA)

This paper elaborates a nonlinear fluidic low frequency vibration isolator designed with the characteristics of quasi-zero stiffness (QZS). The existing model of QZS vibration isolator enhances amplitude of vibration and attenuating vibration frequencies. This concern with displacement plays a vital role in the performance and instability of oblique spring setup reduces the isolator performance in horizontal non-nominal loads, in this accordance; this paper associates double acting hydraulic cylinder (fluidic actuators in short) in oblique and helical coil spring. An approximate expression of unique analytical relationship between the stiffness of vertical spring and bulk modulus of the fluid is derived for Quasi – Zero Stiffness Non-Linear Vibration Isolator with Fluidic Actuators (NLVIFA in short) system and the force transmissibility is formulated and damping ratio are discussed for characteristic analysis. Modal analysis carried out and compared with analytical results and an experimental prototype is developed and investigated. The performance of the NLVIFA reduces the external embarrassment more at low frequencies and the series of experimental studies showing that the soft nonlinearity causes limitation in the resonant frequency thereupon the isolation will be enhanced and NLVIFA greatly outperform some other type of nonlinear isolators.     

Novel active noise-reducing headset using earshell vibration control

Active noise-reducing (ANR) headsets are available commercially in applications varying from aviation communication to consumer audio. Current ANR systems use passive attenuation at high frequencies and loudspeaker-based active noise control at low frequencies to achieve broadband noise reduction. This paper presents a novel ANR headset in which the external noise transmitted to the user's ear via earshell vibration is reduced by controlling the vibration of the earshell using force actuators acting against an inertial mass or the earshell headband. Model-based theoretical analysis using velocity feedback control showed that current piezoelectric actuators provide sufficient force but require lower stiffness for improved low-frequency performance. Control simulations based on experimental data from a laboratory headset showed that good performance can potentially be achieved in practice by a robust feedback controller, while a single-frequency real-time control experiment verified that noise reduction can be achieved using earshell vibration control.     

FEM dynamic model for active vibration control of flexible linkages and its application to a planar parallel manipulator

Development of dynamic models of flexible linkages, with flexible motion caused by rigid body motion and electromechanical coupling of transduction devices and the host linkage, is very important for the design of active vibration control laws for flexible-link mechanisms. In the first part of this paper, the Lagrange finite element (FE) formulation is used to derive such a dynamic model for a flexible planar linkage with two translational and one rotational degrees of freedom. Linear electromechanical coupling of surface-bonded lead zirconate titanate (PZT) patches with the host linkage is incorporated into the model. In the second part of this paper, this dynamic model is applied to a flexible-link planar parallel manipulator. Based on standard kineto-elastodynamic assumptions, the linkage dynamic model is simplified and simulation of strain rate feedback control using PZT sensors and actuators is performed. Numerical results show that PZT actuators effectively damp vibration of the flexible linkages.     

Active modal control simulation of vibro-acoustic response of a fluid-loaded plate

Active modal control simulation of vibro-acoustic response of a fluid-loaded plate is presented. The active modal control of the vibro-acoustic response is implemented using piezoelectric actuators/sensors. The active modal damping is added to the coupled system via negative velocity feedback. The feedback gain between the piezoelectric actuators/sensors for the modal control is obtained using the in-vacuo modal matrix and the incompressible fluid-loaded modal matrix. The modal control performance of structural vibration and acoustic radiation of a baffled plate is numerically studied. It is shown that the proposed method increases the modal damping ratio and achieves reduction in the mean square velocity and the sound power for given modes of the fluid-loaded plate.     

Active isolation of a flexible structure from base vibration

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation into an active vibration isolation system. Electromagnetic actuators are installed in parallel with each of four passive mounts, which are placed between a flexible equipment structure and a base structure which is either flexible or rigid. Isolation of low-frequency vibration is studied, so that the passive mounts can be modelled as lumped parameter springs and dampers. Decentralized velocity feedback control is employed, where each actuator is operated independently by feeding back the absolute equipment velocity at the same location. Good control and robust stability have been obtained both theoretically and experimentally for the multichannel control systems. This is to be expected if the base structure is rigid, in which case the actuator and sensor are, in principle, collocated and the control system implements a skyhook damper. With a flexible base structure, however, collocation is lost due to the reactive actuator force acting on the base structure, but the control system is still found to be robustly stable and to perform well. Attenuations of 20 dB are obtained in the sum of squared velocities on the equipment structure at the rigid-body mounted resonance frequencies. In addition, attenuations of up to 15 dB are obtained at the resonance frequencies of both the low order flexible modes of the base structure and the equipment structure.