MODULAR PIEZOELECTRIC DAMPING ELEMENT FOR FLEXIBLE STRUCTURES

THIS PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL INTEGRATE RECENTLY DEVELOPED PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VIBRATION SUPPRESSION PIEZOELECTRIC DESIGN CONCEPTS INTO AN INNOVATIVE VIBRATION AND MOTION CONTROL MODULE OR PATCH WHICH CAN BE ATTACHED TO THE SURFACE OF VARIOUS TYPE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS. EACH PATCH UNIT WILL BE DESIGNED TO SENSE AND CONTROL TYPICAL AXIAL, BENDING AND TORSIONAL DEFORMATIONS INPUTS. DESIGN CONCEPTS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND DEMONSTRATED TO PAVE THE WAY FOR A FULL-SCALE PHASE II DEMONSTRATION. TECHNIQUES FOR CONSTRUCTING ACTUATORS, SENSORS AND CONTROL ELECTRONICS WILL BE ESTABLISHED WHICH ALLOW THE INTEGRATION INTO A SINGLE MODULE. MULTILAYER PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS WILL BE USED AS ACTUATORS TO CANCEL UNWANTED VIBRATIONS. CONCEPTS FOR THE ATTACHMENT METHOD WILL ALSO BE DEVELOPED. THE MAIN BENEFIT OF THIS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING EFFORT WOULD BE THE TRANSFER OF EXTENSIVE, PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED CONTROL THEORY AND TECHNOLOGY TO ACTUAL APPLICATIONS. IN THE LONG TERM THESE DEVICES COULD BE PROVIDED IN A PRODUCTIZED FORM.