Boundary Control of Beams Using Active Constrained Layer Damping

A variational mathematical model is developed using Hamilton’s principle to describe the dynamics of beams fully-treated with Active Constrained Layer Damping (ACLD) treatments. The resulting distributed-parameter model is utilized in devising a globally stable boundary control strategy which is compatible with the operating nature of the ACLD treatments. The effectiveness of the ACLD in damping out the vibration of cantilevered beams is determined for different control gains and compared with the performance of conventional Passive Constrained Layer Damping (PCLD). The results obtained demonstrate the high damping characteristics of the boundary controller particularly over broad frequency bands.