Intelligent Material Actuators and Their Applications for Structural Dynamic Control

Abstract

Recently various intelligent materials have become the subject of scientific interest all around the world. The unusual properties of intelligent materials result in their numerous applications, but most of all their controllable properties make them scientifically very attractive. For those reasons intelligent materials such like: piezoelectric materials, electro- and magnetorheological fluids, thermally and magnetically activated shape memory alloys, for many years now have stayed in the focus of many researchers and have remained of their high interest. The exceptional physical properties of the intelligent materials allow them to be integrated within other materials in order to obtain structural characteristics that are uncommon in nature. In such a manner new types of materials of controllable and adjustable properties can be produced. Following that they can be integrated within various engineering structures or their elements in order to enable one to control static, dynamic or damping characteristics. The aim of this paper is to explore the applicability of the intelligent materials in that control process. This was achieved and demonstrated by the Authors based on a simple case study, in which a layered cantilever composite beam was considered as the object of investigation. Next, the application of various intelligent material actuators in the form of magnetorheological fluid and thermally or magnetically activated shape memory alloys were taken into account. Their influence on selected dynamic characteristics of the beam was carefully investigated. Necessary numerical calculations were performed by the Authors by the use of the finite element method and their own numerical codes written in MATLAB. The results of these calculations are presented in this work.