The dynamic coupling between piezoceramic actuators and a beam

This paper describes the coupling between piezoceramic actuators and flexural and longitudinal vibration of a beam. A comprehensive model, which incorporates the mass and stiffness of the actuator elements, is used to couple the actuators to a beam using the wave approach. Experimental results are presented, and it is shown that at high frequencies it is necessary to consider the dynamic loading of the actuator to accurately model the characteristics of the flexural vibration actuator. For the longitudinal actuator, however, it is shown that it is acceptable to neglect the dynamic loading of the actuator. The way in which the actuator affects the passive behavior of the beam is also considered by investigating the scattering of waves by the actuator. Wave scattering by a single-element piezoceramic actuator is also investigated and is shown to be negligibly small for the practical structures generally in current use. (C) 1997 Acoustical Society of America. [S0001-4966(97)04909-6] PACS numbers: 43.10.Ln, 43.40.Vn, 43.40.Cw [PJR].