Experimental investigation of vibration attenuation on a cantilever beam using air-jet pulses with the particle swarm optimized quasi bang–bang controller

Abstract

This study deals with the vibration reduction of a cantilever beam using air-jet thruster actuators controlled by the particle swarm optimized quasi bang–bang controller. In this study, the finite element model of a cantilever beam with the lumped mass of actuators is formed for the numerical simulations. Furthermore, the first-order plus dead time transfer function of the air-jet thruster actuator is found between the inlet pressure and the thrust. The quasi bang–bang control is proposed to suppress vibrations on the beam with impulsive air-jet pulses. The optimal location of the actuators and control parameters are determined with parametric study and particle swarm optimization, respectively. The performance of the control method is measured with the experiments of initial displacement, the presence of tip masses, and external disturbances. According to all results obtained in this study, it has been observed that the air-jet pulses successfully and rapidly attenuate vibration on the cantilever beam with the quasi bang–bang controller.