Structural integrity issues during piezoelectric vibration suppression of composite structures

Piezoelectric materials are one of a group of materials used to construct s mart or adaptive structures. The control of structural vibrations is a prom ising real-world application of this technology for aerospace structures. T he modeling and application of piezoelectric vibration suppression technolo gy is reviewed-concentrating on the notable work of the past decade. Severa l real-world aerospace applications are also discussed demonstrating the ne ar-term promise of this technology. Next the structural issues are reviewed establishing that a very limited knowledge of fatigue and fracture behavio r for the adaptive composite structures exist. Therefore, increased attenti on to structural integrity of the vibration suppression systems is required before their real-world application can commence. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd. All rights reserved.