On the structural damping characteristics of active piezoelectric actuators with passive shunt

This paper presents new insights obtained from analyzing the active-passive hybrid piezoelectric network (APPN) concept. It is shown that the shunt ci rcuit not only can provide passive damping, it can also enhance the active action authority if tuned correctly. Therefore, the integrated APPN design is more effective than a system with separated active and passive elements. However, it is also recognized that a systematic design/control method is needed to ensure that the passive and active actions are optimally synthesi zed. Such a method is developed and presented. The characteristics of the c losed-loop system are analyzed. (C) 1999 Academic Press.