Smart panels with velocity feedback control systems using triangularly shaped strain actuators

In this paper we present a theoretical study on the active structural acoustic control of a new smart panel with sixteen triangularly shaped piezoelectric patch actuators, having their base edges evenly distributed along the perimeter of the panel, and velocity sensors positioned at the vertices opposite the base edges. The performance is assessed and contrasted with that of a conventional smart panel using a 4 x 4 array of square piezoelectric patch actuators evenly distributed over the surface of the panel with velocity sensors at their centers. For both systems the control effectiveness and stability of MIMO decentralized or SISO direct velocity feedback control architectures have been analyzed. The two control systems are arranged to generate active damping which reduces the response and sound radiation of the panel in the lightly damped and well separated low-frequency resonances. In particular the new control system can be seen as a set of sixteen "active wedges" which absorb energy from the incident flexural waves to the borders of the panel so that the panel could be considered anechoic. This study shows that the new arrangement with triangularly shaped actuators can achieve better control than the corresponding system using square actuators.