The effect of the shape of piezoceramic actuators on the vibration response of a simply supported beam is investigated. An equation is derived to convert between the shape of the piezoceramic actuator and the resulting moment distribution caused on the structure. A beam simulation program is then created to model the vibrations caused by various shaped moment distributions exciting a simply supported beam. The length of the moment distribution is iterated from the length of the beam to zero length, within the program, to show the trends in modal amplitudes. The amplitude of each mode is then plotted for each length of the moment distribution.

An equation is then derived to explain the resulting minimums and maximums of the modal amplitudes. The equation is shown to be a useful tool in designing shapes to meet specific control criteria. An example is given showing how the shape of the actuator can be designed to give superior performance for specific control criteria than a traditional rectangular shape. Two possible actuator shapes are shown for the situation. One shape is optimized for the given control criteria by causing the maximum response for the critical mode. The results from the beam simulation for both shapes are shown. The shape of the actuator may now be used as a variable in the cost function for control optimization.