Improvement of potential energy exchange using nonlinear control

This study proposes a nonlinear control method for improving the energy exchange between a structure and actuators. A modal development of the control and the mechanical work of actuators emphasizes independent "stiffness actions" and "damping actions". This paper deals with the improvement of stiffness actions for which emulated strain energy is accumulated by actuators and then released to the structure. A fuzzy modal control design aimed at improving this emulated potential energy control is proposed. Energy released to the structure is then minimized and transient responses are reduced. Its efficiency is first analyzed on the control of a single mode of the structure and a decrease of maximum control voltage is obtained. Then the method is applied to the modal control of a smart structure actuated by a PZT component. Improvements are shown on transient responses for several types of disturbances by comparison to a linear control