Optimum Pulse Control of Flexible Structures

A simple yet efficient active control method is presented for reducing the oscillations of distributed parameter systems subjected to arbitrary dynamic environments. Following determination that some specified response threshold has been exceeded, an open-loop control pulse is applied. The optimum pulse characteristics are determined analytically so as to minimize a non-negative cost function related to the structure energy. The proposed control method is shown to be reliable in consistently mitigating the response of realistic multidegree-of-freedom systems, whether linear or nonlinear, subject to arbitrary stochastic or deterministic excitation.