Active modal control for smart structures

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Abstract
Of the multitude of control techniques available, modal control is a favourite amongst structural dynamicists because of its connection to design, intuition and testing. Here we review the state–of–the–art in modal control, point out its weaknesses and strengths and reveal its important connection to the emerging technology of smart structures. Modal control became a powerful tool in the early 1980s when applied in the arena of large flexible spacecraft. However, modal based methods then fell into disfavour as the problems of control spill–over (coupling to truncated modes and unmodelled dynamics) could not be prevented in structures with significant flexibility. Recently, however, modal control methods have reappeared in smart structure's applications because the ready availability of numerous sensors and actuators renders the control spill–over problem manageable. In addition, a number of advanced theories sorted out the spill–over problem. These issues are discussed here, complete with expository numerical examples and experimental verification that modal control, when used with smart structures, is an effective and simple solution to problems associated with control of flexible structures.

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