Smart sensors and active adaptive control exploitation for vibration damping of a cantilever beam

Abstract

In this work we present the first experimental results of a new multi-disciplinary activity concerning active structural control. Specifically, exploiting Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors and Piezoelectric actuators, an adaptive control approach was adopted to damp the vibrations of a cantilever beam. The strain sensor used for the structural vibration detection is a Bragg Grating written on a single-mode optical fiber for telecom applications. The reading technique used to detect the variations in the B of the grating due to the local strain variations, exploits a narrow band laser tuned to the mean wavelength of the grating reflectance spectrum roll-off, as it will be better explained in the following. The results obtained so far demonstrate how the combined application of novel strain sensors and a clever control approach can provide a benefit in terms of bandwidth, damping speed and reduced design effort.