Modeling and vibration feedback control of rotating tapered beams incorporating adaptive capabilities

This paper addresses the problem of the modeling and vibration control of tapered rotating blades modeled as thin-walled beams and incorporating adaptive capabilities. The blade model incorporates non-classical features such as anisotropy, transverse shear, secondary warping and includes the centrifugal and Coriolis force fields. For the non-adaptive system, a thorough validation and assessment of a number of nonclassical features including the taper characteristics is accomplished. The adaptive capabilities are provided by a system of piezoactuators bonded or embedded into the structure and spread over the entire span of the beam. Based on the converse piezoelectric effect, the piezoactuators produce a localized strain field in response to a voltage and consequently, a change of the dynamic response characteristics is induced. A combined feedback control law relating the piezoelectrically induced transversal bending moment at the beam tip with the kinematical response quantities appropriately selected is used and the beneficial effects upon the closed-loop dynamic characteristics of the blade are highlighted.