Active vibration control of a smart pultruded fiber-reinforced polymer I-beam

Abstract

Advanced and innovative materials and structures are increasingly used in civilinfrastructure applications. By combining the advantages of composites and smart sensorsand actuators, active or smart composite structures can be created and be efficientlyadopted in practical structural applications. This paper presents results on active vibrationcontrol of pultruded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite thin-walled I-beams usingsmart sensors and actuators. The FRP I-beams are made of E-glass fibers and polyesterresins. The FRP I-beam is in a cantilevered configuration. The PZT (lead zirconatetitanate) type of piezoelectric ceramic patches are used as smart sensors andactuators. These patches are surface bonded near the cantilevered end of the I-beam.Utilizing results from modal analyses and experimental modal testing, severalactive vibration control methods, such as position feedback control, strain ratefeedback control and lead compensation, are investigated. Experimental resultsdemonstrate that the proposed methods achieve effective vibration control ofFRP I-beams. For instance, the modal damping ratio of the strong direction firstbending mode increases by more than 1000% with positive position feedback control.