BENDING VIBRATIONS OF ADAPTIVE CANTILEVERS WITH EXTERNAL STORES

The vibrational behavior of cantilevers carrying externally mounted st ores and featuring adaptive capabilities is investigated. The structur e is modeled as a thin-walled beam, and the adaptive capabilities are provided by a system of piezoactuators bonded or embedded into the str ucture. Based on the converse piezoelectric effect, the piezoactuators produce a localized strain held in response to an applied electric fi eld and, as a result, an adaptive change in the dynamic response chara cteristics is achieved. Implementation of a control law relating the a pplied electrical field to one of the mechanical quantities characteri zing the motion of the beam, enables one to obtain the free vibration characteristics as a function of the applied voltage (or in other term s, of the feedback gain). The obtained numerical results suggest that the application of this technology can play a major role in the enhanc ement of the dynamic response and the control of free vibration charac teristics of this type of structures.