CONTROL OF VIBRATIONAL SYSTEMS

Vibrational systems, characterized by their second-order or ''spring-m ass'' nature, occur throughout engineering. Examples range from lightl y damped structures, such as the proposed space station, to regional p ower system models. While the study of such vibrational systems has a long and rich history, concern has traditionally focused on the proper ties of passive, uncontrolled systems. The growing neeed to actively c ontrol large, complex systems of this type leads us to the study of co ntrolled vibrational systems. We provide stability assuring constraint s for compensator design. These constraints directly use the initial s ystem model, thus avoiding the need for order reduction techniques wit h the associated problems of ''spill-over'' from the full to the reduc ed system model.