Virtual absorbed energy in decentralized velocity feedback control of a plate with piezoelectric patch actuators

Feedback gain is a key factor in decentralized velocity feedback control. It is known that an optimal feedback gain value exists with which the active damping effect could be maximized. In this paper, a method of finding suitable feedback gains for decentralized velocity feedback control with piezoelectric patch actuators is investigated. The energy absorption of piezoelectric patch actuators is calculated. The concept of virtual energy absorption of the piezoelectric patch actuator is proposed, through which the optimal feedback gain can be got conveniently. Numerical investigations are performed to explore the relationships between the virtual energy absorption by piezoelectric patch actuators and the kinetic energy of the structure. The results show that maximizing the broadband virtual energy absorption is nearly equivalent to minimizing the kinetic energy. A robust self-tuning algorithm is also proposed with maximizing the broadband virtual energy absorption. This algorithm can simultaneously update feedback gains of more than one control units, and find the optimal feedback gains automatically.