Suppression of nonlinear composite panel flutter with active/passive hybrid piezoelectric networks using finite element method

For the suppression of nonlinear panel flutter, a new optimal active/passive hybrid control design with piezoceramic actuators is proposed using finite element methods. This approach has the advantages of both active (high performance, feedback action) and passive (stable, low power requirement) systems. Piezoceramic actuators are connected in series with an external voltage source and a passive resonant shunt circuit which consists of an inductor and resistor. The shunt circuit should be tuned correctly to suppress the flutter effectively with less control effort as compared to purely active control. To obtain the best effectiveness, active control gains are simultaneously optimized together with the value of the resistor and inductor through a sequential quadratic programming method. The governing equations of the electromechanically coupled composite panel flutter are derived through an extended Hamilton’s principle, and a finite element discretization is carried out. The adopted aerodynamic theory is based on the quasi-steady first-order piston theory, and the von Kármán nonlinear strain–displacement relation is used. Nonlinear modal equations are obtained through a modal reduction technique. Optimal control design is based on linear modal equations of motion, and numerical simulations are based on nonlinear-coupled modal equations. Using the Newmark integration method, suppression results of a hybrid control and a purely active control are presented in the time domain.