Active Damping.

Feedback has been used to control the vibration of dynamic structures for a number of years. The choice of sensoractuator has always been the major challenge in feedback control. Piezoelectric materials with their small size and high sensitivity to very small displacement and forces offer a good and practical alternative to traditional magnetic or hydraulic sensoractuators. The inverse piezoelectric effect is a property of piezoelectric materials which can be fully exploited when one component is used as both the sensor and the actuator. The initial aim of this study is to investigate how piezoceramics perform in a feedback control configuration. Subsequently the aim will be to apply the active damping concepts to plate and beam.