Active Vibration Control of a Double-Curved Shell Structure Using the Example of Stuttgart Smartshell

The present contribution deals with concepts for active vibration control of a thin double-curved shell structure. The structure, Stuttgart SmartShell, is located at the University of Stuttgart. It is made of softwood and is equipped with strain gages to determine the state of static and dynamic loading. Furthermore a force input is provided at the supports of the structure using hydraulic cylinders. Here a model-based two-degree-of-freedom control concept for vibration damping is presented which is based on a dynamical model derived from Finite Element simulations. The control strategy uses modal decoupling of the system states to enable the manipulation and damping of single eigenmodes. An optimal control strategy is chosen to dampen oscillations as quickly as possible while considering limitations on the force input and peak stresses. The proposed control algorithms are applied to the shell structure under consideration and their applicability is demonstrated by simulation and experimental results.