Active control of FGM shells subjected to a temperature gradient via piezoelectric sensor/actuator patches

A generic static and dynamic finite element formulation is derived for the modelling and control of piezoelectric shell laminates under coupled displacement, temperature and electric potential fields. The base shell is of functionally graded material (FGM) type, which consists of combined ceramic–metal materials with different mixing ratios of the ceramic and metal constituents. A multi‐input–multi‐output (MIMO) system is applied to provide active feedback control of the laminated shell using self‐monitoring sensors and self‐controlling actuators through a close loop. Numerical studies clearly show the influence of the positional configurations of sensor/actuator pairs on the effectiveness of static and dynamic control for the shell laminates. The effects of the constituent volume fractions on the static and dynamic responses of the shell laminate are also elucidated. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.