Experimental research on flexible beam modal control

A hardware experiment has been developed to study the active vibration control (low-authority control) of a clamped-free flexible beam, where the design methodology is based on direct velocity feedback control. The objective of the experiment is to demonstrate and verify the dynamics and advanced control laws as applied to a structural element. Another important feature of the experiment is the feasibility of hardware realization, especially the dedicated noncontacting actuating and sensing method. Sensing is provided by a purely optical displacement sensor, while an electrodynamic force system provides the actuation. Experimental results are compared with numerical simulations of open- and closed-loop performance in both the colocated and noncolocated actuator/sensor positions. In most cases, good agreement is achieved between the experiments and theoretical predictions.