Experimental/analytical determination of optimal piezoelectric actuator locations on complex structures based on the actuator power factor

The actuator power factor is defined as the ratio of the total dissipative mechanical power of a PZT actuator to the total supplied electrical power to the PZT actuator. If measured experimentally, it can be used to optimize the actuator location and configuration for complex structures. The concept of actuator power factor is based on the ability of an integrated induced strain actuator such as a PZT actuator to transfer supplied electrical energy into structural mechanical energy. For a given structure such as a beam or a plate, the location and configuration of an actuator will directly influence the authority of the actuator towards driving the structure. Therefore by maximizing the average power factor for a given frequency interval, the actuator driving authority and thus the supply power utilization can be maximized.

This thesis describes an experimental technique, based on the actuator power factor, for determining the optimal PZT actuator location(s) on complex structures for actuator power factor maximization and for active structural vibrational and acoustic control. For the actuator power factor analysis, the design of a removable PZT actuator unit is described. The concept of actuator power factor is ini tial1 y evaluated for the simple case of a cantilever beam and there is good agreement between the experimental and theoretical actuator power factor results. The optimization technique is then developed for the case of a complex structure designed to resemble an aircraft panel and shows good prediction for narrow-band as well as broadband power factor maximization.