Adaptive Structures with Vibration Control Applications

Vibration control is a useful technique for aerospace, mechanical and automotive systems. This can be accomplished either by active or passive vibration control techniques. Active control system needs distributed actuators, sensors and processor. Piezoelectric materials can be employed as actuators and sensors in adaptive structures for structural control applications. The present book addresses the modelling techniques of piezoelectric materials with multi-field coupling and their use in distributed active vibration control of laminated composite sandwich beams, plates and shells. Finite Element formulations are derived in detail with suitable validation studies. Control schemes are explained in a simplified manner, so that graduate students, research scholars and practising engineers can adopt active control concepts easily in their works. Finally the real time vibration control applications in aerospace structures are presented to highlight the technology related implementation issues.