The design and implementation of robust strategies for active vibration control

Theoretical modelling of the vibration of a plate structure incorporating piezoelectric actuators is presented. The equations governing the dynamics of the plate, relating the strains in the piezoelectric elements to the strain induced in the system, are derived for isotropic plates using the Rayleigh-Ritz method. A technique for the optimal placement of piezoelectric actuators is developed using modal controllability and a genetic algorithm (GA) as the search engine. The model was used to design robust controllers (LQG and H^∞) for a cantilever plate. The proposed controllers were then implemented with the measured results comparing favourably with those predicted from simulation