Vibration control of honeycomb sandwich panel using multi-layer piezoelectric actuator

A novel multi-layer piezoelectric actuator (MPA) is developed and used to control the vibration of honeycomb sandwich panel (HSP). The governing equation of the system is derived with the Hamilton principle considering third-order shearing deformation of HSP. The formulation of the actuation force is obtained and indicates the actuation force is a fourth-order polynomial function of the piezoelectric layers number. The influences of physical parameters of the actuator on its actuation capability are also examined. Finally, active control using the MPA is simulated and compared with that using the distributed piezoelectric actuator (DPA). The results show the proposed actuator can attenuate the vibration of HSP well in the interested frequency range. The control performance per voltage by the MPA can be improved significantly through increasing the piezoelectric layers number. Consequently, the MPA exhibits better actuation capability than the DPA.