Abstract
One of the limitations of a piezoelectric actuator is the amount of force it can exert. Hence, it is important to optimize the locations and sizes of the actuators so that the required control effort is minimal. Similarly, to obtain good signal-to-noise ratio, sensors should be chosen to provide maximum output for the vibration in the modes of interests. These problems become more critical as the number of actuators and sensors increases, and the mode shapes become more complicated. This is true for the case of an inflated torus. In this study, we try to find optimum places and sizes of actuators and sensors attached to an inflated toroidal shell using a genetic algorithm. Using the expressions for the generalized forces and sensor voltages, modal forces and modal sensing constants are determined. To obtain a cumulative performance measure for all the controlled and observed modes, controllability and observability indices are used. Using these performance indices, optimal locations and sizes of the actuators and sensors are determined so that the actuators and sensors provide good control and sensing authorities in the considered modes. Finally, vibration suppression of the inflated torus using these actuators and sensors has been demonstrated using an optimal control technique.
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