Optimal piezo-actuator locations/lengths and applied voltage for shape control of beams

Abstract

Shape control of beams under general loading conditions is implemented using piezoceramic actuators to provide the control forces. The objective of the shape-control is to minimize the maximum deflection of the beam to obtain a min-max deflection configuration with respect to loading and piezo-actuators. In practice, the loading on a beam is a variable quantity with respect to its magnitude, and this aspect can be handled easily by optimizing the magnitude of the applied voltage to achieve the min-max deflection. This property of the smart materials technology overcomes the problem of one-off conventional optimal designs which become suboptimal when the loading magnitude changes.