Use of an active element for dynamic control of a thin-walled laminated beam with kinematic excitation

The paper describes the dynamics of a composite cantilever beam with an active element. The vibrations of the kinematically excited beam are controlled with the use of a Macro Fiber Composite actuator. A proportional control algorithm is considered. During the analysis, actuator is powered by a time-varying voltage signal that is changed proportionally to the beam deflection. The MFC element control system with the implemented algorithm allowed for changing the stiffness of the tested structure. This is confirmed by the numerical and experimental results. Resonance curves for the beam with and without control are determined. The results show a very good agreement in qualitative terms.