Semi-passive piezoelectric structural damping based on a pulse-width modulation switching circuit

Abstract

Studies in the past focused on the implementation of semi-passive damping techniques that could significantly reduce structural vibration. Recently, the performances of these damping techniques have been enhanced by artificially increasing the voltage amplitude delivered by the piezoelectric patches with an external voltage source. To maintain the stability of this damping method, an adaptive voltage source must be used. To satisfy this requirement, this study proposes an enhanced semi-passive damping technique based on pulse-width modulation. The proposed method allows the waveform of the piezoelectric voltage to adapt to the vibration velocity. Thus, this method can maintain its stability with a constant voltage source and simultaneously exhibit superior performance. This study consists of a theoretical part and an experimental proof-of-concept demonstration of the proposed damping technique.