Optimum placement of piezoelectric ceramic modules for vibration suppression of highly constrained structures

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. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)