US-South Africa Cooperative Research: Use of Piezoceramic Materials as Sensors and Actuators in Shell Structures for Vibration Damping and Shape Control

该奖项支持John Bruch和圣巴巴拉加州大学机械与环境工程系J.M. Sloss、纳塔尔大学机械工程系Sarp Adali以及南非德班纳塔尔理工学院机械工程系Ronald Hacking的合作研究项目。研究重点是智能结构领域的分析和实验研究。重点介绍了压电材料在层合壳结构振动控制中的应用。研究人员中有三位是理论学家，一位是实验学家。利用加州大学圣巴巴拉分校和德班的两个机构的设施，研究人员将试图更好地了解目前部署智能结构的一些障碍。这个多学科的美国-南非联合研究项目涉及压电材料、机电效应、结构力学、数学控制以及测试的研究。它的解决方案需要两国具有不同专业知识和设施的研究人员参与的团队方法。该项目将产生有关压电陶瓷材料在振动阻尼和形状控制方面应用的知识。这是一个新兴的技术领域，具有巨大的潜力，可用于改善服役性能的空间结构，用于改善声音和振动控制的航空航天结构，以及用于开发几种消费产品。

9906092BruchThis award supports a cooperative research project between John Bruch and J.M. Sloss, Department of Mechanical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Sarp Adali, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Natal, and Ronald Hacking, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technikon Natal, Durban, South Africa. The research centers on analytical and experimental research in the field of smart structures. The specific focus is on the application of piezoelectric materials for vibration control of laminated shell structures. Three of the investigators are theoreticians and one is an experimentalist. Using facilities at both UC Santa Barbara and the two institutions in Durban, the investigators will attempt to gain an improved understanding of some of the current obstacles to deployment of smart structures. This multidisciplinary US-South Africa joint research project involves the study of piezo materials, electromechanical effects, structural mechanics, and mathematical control as well as testing. Its solution requires a team approach involving researchers from both countries with various fields of expertise and facilities. The project will produce knowledge on the use of piezoceramic materials in applications involving vibration damping and shape control. This is an emerging field of technology with vast potential to be used in space structures for improved in-service performance, in aerospace structures for improved sound and vibration control, and in the development of several consumer products.