A Novel Semi-Active Control Approach for Flexible Structures: Vibration Control through Boundary Conditioning Using Magnetorheological Elastomers

Abstract

This research study explores an alternative method of vibration control of flexible beam type structures via boundary conditioning using magnetorheological elastomer at the support location. The Rayleigh–Ritz method has been used to formulate dynamic equations of motions of the beam with MRE support and to extract its natural frequencies and mode shapes. The MRE-based adaptive continuous beam is then converted into an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom system for the purpose of control implementation, assuming that the system’s response is dominated by its fundamental mode. Two different types of control strategies are formulated including proportional–integral–derivative control and on–off control. The performance of controllers is evaluated for three different loading conditions including shock, harmonic, and random vibration excitations.