Smart actuators for active vibration control

In this paper, the design and implementation of smart actuators for active vibration control of mechanical systems are considered. A smart actuator is composed of one or several layers of piezoelectric materials which work both as sensors and actuators. Such a system also includes micro-electronic or power electronic amplifiers, depending on the power requirements and applications, as well as digital signal processing (DSP) systems for digital control implementation. In addition, PWM type micro/ power amplifiers are used for control implementation. Such amplifiers utilize electronic switching components that allow for miniaturization, thermal efficiency, cost reduction, and precision controls that are robust to disturbances and modeling errors. An adaptive control strategy is then developed for vibration damping and motion control of cantilever beams using the proposed smart self-sensing actuators.