Vibration analysis and control of fluid containers using piezoelectrically-excited side wall

Abstract

The vibration analysis and control of containers with heavy loaded fluid is undertaken in this paper. The problem of fluid–structure vibration is viewed and analyzed from several viewpoints including both analytical methods and numerical techniques. In order to effectively control the fluid–structure vibration, one of the side walls is made flexible where two piezoelectric patches are utilized to sense the distributed displacements resulting from fluid-structure movements, while the other one is used to actively control the vibration. For this, a boundary control technique is used to actively control the multi-modal vibration of fluid–structure. The simulation results for the analytical models are further validated using a comprehensive finite element method. Before applying the proposed controller, the results show that the fluid vibration is different in different heights and distances. However, the simulation results indicate that the piezoelectrically-excited beam is able to suppress the vibrations of all the positions very effectively and quickly. These results prove the feasibility of utilizing piezoelectrically-excited beams in vibration control of fluid–structure.