Active vibration control of a composite plate

A new active vibration control methodology is proposed and experimentally tested. The technique is applied to a honeycomb panel having a carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) outer skins and a polymer-paper core, subjected to an orthogonal disturbance, due to an electrodynamics exciter. The control is carried out by means of Macro Fibre Composite (MFC) actuators and sensors. MFC parches consist of rectangular piezoceramic rods sandwiched between layers of adhesive, electrodes and polyamide film. The MFC actuators and sensors are controlled by a programmable digital dSPACER controller board. The control algorithm proposed in this paper is based on the Positive Position Feedback (PPF) technique, Single Input - Single Output, MultiSISO and Multi Input Multi Output controls are applied in order to control the first four normal modes. The control appears to be robust and efficient in reducing vibration in linear (small am- plitude) and nonlinear (large amplitude) vibrations regimes, although the structure under investigation exhibits a relativity high modal density, i.e. four resonances in a range of about 100Hz. The control strategy allows to effectively control each resonance both individually or simultaneously.