The vibration suppression efficiency of so-called shunted piezoelectric systems is decisively
influenced by the number, shape, dimensions and position of the piezoelectric ceramic
elements integrated into the structure. This paper presents a procedure based on
evolutionary algorithms for optimum placement of piezoelectric ceramic modules on highly
constrained lightweight structures. The optimization loop includes the CAD software
CATIA V5, the FE package ANSYS and DynOPS, a proprietary software tool able to
connect the Evolving Object library with any simulation software that can be started in
batch mode. A user-defined piezoelectric shell element is integrated into ANSYS 9.0. The
generalized electromechanical coupling coefficient is used as the optimization objective.
Position, dimensions, orientation, embedding location in the composite lay-up and
wiring of customized patches are determined for optimum vibration suppression
under consideration of operational and manufacturing constraints, such as added
mass, maximum strain and requirements on the control circuit. A rear wing of
a racing car is investigated as the test object for complex, highly constrained
geometries.