Optimal design of piezoelectric materials for vibration damping in mechanical systems

This paper examines two different techniques for vibration control in mecha nical systems using piezoceramics: the first one is based on a pure colloca ted damping control and the second uses resonant circuit shunting. Optimiza tion techniques are used to determine the best design parameters with respe ct to performance indexes, which are associated with the dynamical behavior of the system, when several natural frequencies are present in the frequen cy band. The methodology presented in this paper is focused on the design a spects of vibration control devices and it can be extended to more complex structures.