Hybrid Control of a Cantilevered ER Sandwich Beam for Vibration Suppression

In this paper experimental studies on vibration suppression of a cantilevered ER sandwich beam subjected to periodic disturbances are conducted. The employed controller combines a semi-active controller with an active controller and is thus termed hybrid controller. The semi-active controller is based on fuzzy-like control strategy and the active controller uses a plant disturbance canceler for disturbance canceling The semi-active controller can apply an optimal electric field to the ER sandwich beam for improving the transient response, while the active controller provides a negating actuation force for improving the steady state response. Experimental results show that performance of the hybrid controller is superior to those of the semi-active and active controllers in suppressing the undesired vibration of the ER sandwich beam.