Vibration control of thin-walled circular plate structures based on piezoelectric shunt arrays

This study systematically investigates the effectiveness of piezoelectric shunt damping technology in vibration control for thin-walled circular plate structures using the commercial finite element analysis software COMSOL. The experimental setup consists of an epoxy resin circular thin plate uniformly distributed with 16 identical piezoelectric patches, each independently connected to a parallel shunt circuit. The research methodology is divided into three critical phases: first, validating the constructed model by replicating and comparing reference cases from existing studies; second, performing theoretical calculations of the equivalent elastic modulus for piezoelectric patches in series resistor-parallel circuits, revealing the existence of an optimal resistance value that maximizes energy dissipation; finally, conducting comprehensive computational analyses on three shunt damping circuit configurations—namely the pure resistor circuit, series resistor-inductor (R-L) resonant circuit, and series negative-capacitor-resistor circuit—evaluating their vibration control performance under varying parameters, and investigating vibration suppression effects under different electrical configurations through multiple COMSOL simulation iterations.