THE STATIC SHAPE CONTROL FOR INTELLIGENT STRUCTURES

A finite element formulation is presented for modeling the plate struc ture containing distributed piezoelectric sensors and actuators (S/As) . A new plate bending element for analysis of the plate with distribut ed piezoelectric S/As is developed. This element saves much memory and computation time. Using the bending plate element, a general method o f static shape control for the intelligent structure is put forth. Two examples are given to illustrate the application of the method presen ted in this paper. The purpose of the first example is to check the ac curacy of the finite element method presented in this paper. The secon d example is to study the problem of the static shape control for the intelligent structure. It is concluded that the shape of the intellige nt structure can reach the desired shape through passive control or ac tive control. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.