The propagation of transverse waves in periodic rotating shafts is controlled actively by using piezoelectric inserts which are placed periodically along these shafts. The control strategies aim at tuning the unique filtering characteristis of the periodic shafts in such manner that prevent the propagation of the waves within specific frequency bands called “stop bands.” The spectral characteristics of these “stop bands” are controlled in response to the shaft vibration. A finite element model is developed for this class of actively controlled periodic shafts which is then used to generate the “transfer matrix” for the unit cell of these shafts. The eigenvalues of the resulting transfer matrix are utilized to predict the characteristics of the stop and the pass bands of the rotating shaft as function of the shaft geometry, rotation speed, and control gains of the active inserts. The obtained characteristics are validated experimentally using shafts driven via gearbox assembly which subject the shafts to broadband excitations. The obtained results are also compared with the characteristics of passive shafts with stepped periodic geometries. Such a comparison aims at demonstrating the effectiveness of the active periodic shafts in redistributing the energy spectrum by confining the propagation to specific frequency bands. Particular emphasis is placed on studying the effect of the active control strategies on the vibration damping characteristics of the shafts. The proposed class of active periodic shafts can be useful in numerous critical applications such as the drive shafts of helicopters where transmitted vibrations can have detrimental effect on the performance of the tail rotor. Other applications are only limited by our imagination.

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