Active Vibration Control in Smart Structural Systems

Active vibration control in smart structural systems utilises embedded sensors and actuators—most commonly piezoelectric or magnetostrictive—to detect and suppress unwanted oscillations in real time. By integrating closed-loop feedback algorithms such as velocity or displacement feedback, proportional-derivative controllers and model-based regulators, these systems dynamically adjust structural stiffness and damping properties. Advances in finite element modelling, higher-order shear deformation theories and optimisation techniques have enabled the design of lightweight, multifunctional components capable of attenuating vibrations across targeted frequency bands. Practical applications span aerospace structures, civil infrastructure, industrial piping, underwater acoustics and high-precision instrumentation, underscoring the global significance of active vibration control for noise reduction, structural health monitoring and system resilience.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Research from all publishers

Recent work has introduced a finite element formulation based on third-order shear deformation theory to control vibrations of piezoelectric functionally graded porous plates in thermal environments. A closed-loop displacement-velocity feedback scheme effectively suppresses thermal-mechanical vibration modes, validated through numerical case studies that explore varying porosity and material gradation profiles. Another study proposes an acoustic radiation-based optimisation of actuator placement in active structural acoustic control. By focusing on modes that contribute most to noise transmission, this method improves controllability measures by more than 5 dB without adding hardware, thereby reducing control effort and cost. In the context of industrial piping, research on active constrained layer damping (ACLD) systems has shown that tuning the viscoelastic layer thickness, actuator coverage and applied voltage can achieve substantial low-frequency attenuation where passive damping falls short. These findings provide practical guidance for implementing ACLD in pipeline networks subject to mechanical excitation.

Active Vibration Control in Smart Structural Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in active vibration control in smart structural systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Smart Structural System: An engineered assembly that integrates sensors, actuators and control algorithms to adapt its dynamic response to applied loads and environmental changes.

Piezoelectric Material: A material that produces electric charge under mechanical stress and conversely deforms when an electric field is applied, serving dual sensing and actuation roles.

Feedback Control: A control strategy that continually adjusts actuators based on real-time measurements of structural response to achieve desired vibration suppression.

Modal Controllability: A measure of how effectively a control input can influence individual vibration modes of a structure.

Active Constrained Layer Damping (ACLD): A damping treatment combining a viscoelastic layer with piezoelectric sensors and actuators, allowing controlled shear deformation to enhance vibration energy dissipation.

References

1. Vibration and dynamic control of piezoelectric functionally graded porous plates in the thermal environment using FEM and Shi’s TSDT. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (2023).
2. Acoustic radiation-based optimization of the placement of actuators for active control of noise transmitted through plates. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing (2021).
3. Vibration and Damping Analysis of Pipeline System Based on Partially Piezoelectric Active Constrained Layer Damping Treatment. Materials (2021).