Flexible beam control using an adaptive truss

Abstract

To demonstrate the feasibility of adaptive trusses for vibration suppression, a 12-ft-long beam is attached to a single cell of an adaptive truss which has three active battens. With the base of the adaptive truss attached to the laboratory frame, the measured strain of the vibrating beam shows the adaptive truss to be very effective in suppressing vibration when subjected to initial conditions. Control is accomplished by a PC/XT computer that implements an LQR-designed control law.