Indirect model reference distributed adaptive control of flexible structures

In this paper a new method of distributed parameter adaptive control of vibration in flexible structures is considered. It is based on finite element approximation, from which the auto-regressive (AR) model representation of the distributed parameter system is derived. A recursive least squares (RLS) estimation algorithm to estimate mass, stiffness and damping coefficient of the structure based on this AR model, is presented. It is then combined with the model reference control (MRC) algorithm to form a distributed adaptive control system for vibration suppression in flexible structures. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the parameter estimation and the adaptive control algorithms