Synchronized Switch Damping with Diode (SSDD) Based on a Network of Piezoelectric Elements for Improved Vibration Damping of Smart Structure

Abstract

The proposed work is based on the Synchronized Switch Damping technique (SSD) which has already been applied in reducing and suppressing structure vibration, a new approach called Synchronized Switch Damping with Diode (SSDD) for enhanced vibration damping of smart structure is developed, and it applies on energy redistribution with the piezoelectric elements network. The SSD technique reveals that the damping performance is strongly related to a build-up voltage which results from the continuous switching. It hints that the enhanced piezoelectric voltage results in the improved damping performance. In SSDD technique, diodes and switches are used to form a combinational network, and it is able to achieve a low-loss energy transfer from the source piezoelectric elements which extract the vibration energy of the structure to a target end piezoelectric element for increasing its operative energy aiming to improve a given mode damping. In this work, the simulation of a clamped plate with four piezoelectric elements modelled in the Matlab/SimulinkTM environment is shown. The damping performance can achieve an increase of 8 dB at least in some weak excitation case, for example, the coupled piezoelectric elements are excited in the pulse stimulus. The simulation results show the relationship between the damping performance on a given targeted mode and the established power flow. The importance of non-linear multi-actuator approach for improved vibration damping of extended smart structure is revealed by the experimental data.