Nonlinear effects of a modal domain fiber-optic sensor in a vibration suppressor control loop for a flexible structure

The performance of a velocity feedback control system for vibration suppression in a flexible beam using a modal domain fiber-optic sensor is discussed. The degradation in performance due to a sine wave nonlinearity at the output of the sensor is studied. It is shown that limit cycles could exist for certain parameter values; in particular, when a lightly damped beam has low natural frequencies, the loop gain of the control system is large, and the sensor has limited dynamic range. A one-mode model of the beam with static velocity feedback is assumed.<
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