Active control of laminated cylindrical shells using piezoelectric fiber reinforced composites

This paper deals with the analysis of active constrained layer damping (ACLD) of laminated thin composite shells using piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) materials. The constraining layer of the ACLD treatment is considered to be made of the PFRC materials. A finite element model of the smart composite shells integrated with the patches of such ACLD treatment has been developed to demonstrate the performance of these patches on enhancing the damping characteristics of thin symmetric and antisymmetric cross-ply and anti-symmetric angle ply laminated composite shells. The effect of variation of piezoelectric fiber orientation in the constraining PFRC layer on the control authority of the patches has also been investigated.