ACTIVE VIBRATION CONTROL BY PIEZOCERAMIC ACTUATORS OF A CAR FLOOR PANEL

Active vibration control was successfully tested in many automotive and aeronautical applications. The main purpose of this work is the implementation and experimental investigation of the applicability and efficiency of an active vibration control (AVC) concept for vibration reduction in an automobile passenger compartment. In the contest of the presented activity, the floor panel of a medium-class test car has been studied as test case for an AVC implementation based on the use of piezoelectric actuators. A preliminary numerical activity has been performed for the correct evaluation of the dynamic behaviour of the system under the specific external disturbance spectra; based upon this information, a procedure for the correct positioning of sensors and actuators devices has been implemented. The following experimental activity has then been dedicated to the implementation of both SISO (Single Input Single Output) and SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output) feedforward control applications, under simulated conditions of external disturbance field. The principal results that will be discussed within the paper show a good ability of the actuation system to manage the control signals in terms of vibrational energy; this circumstance, candidate piezoelectric patches as adequate actuation devices. Under the specific control point of view, it appears evident that SISO results are appreciable only at error sensor, while uncontrollable conditions emerge at other locations. This limitation may be partially overcome with the SIMO architecture, but a review of the main limitations concerning this architecture are also presented.