This paper was produced for the 2019 NAFEMS World Congress in Quebec Canada

Resource Abstract

Integration of classical, passive structures and multi-functional material based active elements has resulted in a novel concept of structural design denoted as ‘active’, ‘adaptive’, or ‘smart’ structures. The concept is characterized by self-sensing and actuation coupled by control capabilities thus enabling a number of additional functionalities such as vibration suppression, noise attenuation, structural health monitoring, shape control, etc. Obviously, active structures offer immense advantages over passive ones and this is reflected in improved robustness and safety in their application.



Expectedly, such an enticing field has attracted a great deal of attention. The research covers different aspects of active structures – from modelling to specific designs for various applications. With the focus set on modelling, one has to emphasize the complexity of the task when compared to passive structures. The use of active elements based on multi-functional materials demands models that cover coupled-field effects. The active elements offer sufficiently strong coupling between the mechanical field and another field, so that this can be used for both sensing and actuation. For instance, the piezoelectric materials that offer coupling between the mechanical and electric fields are the typical choice for this role. Additionally, a model of an active structure has to include the control algorithm that implements the strategy of enforcing the desired structural behaviour.



This work presents FEM-based test environment for interactive simulation of active structures. The idea is to provide a tool that can be used for fast assessment of proposed designs including both structural design and control algorithm design. The test environment offers the possibility of direct interaction with the model in real-time and thus to assess the structural behaviour with or without active elements in use. In order to improve the computational efficiency, model reduction based on the modal superposition technique is used. The test environment may also operate with full FEM models of moderate size. Several models are chosen to demonstrate the functionality.