Active Control of a Smart Fin with Piezoelectric Actuators: Simulation and EXperiment

An active control system for vibration suppression of a representative dynamic model of a typical fighter vertical tail was designed and implemented in simulation and experiment in this paper. Piezoelectric patches were employed as actuators in the model. The Frequency Response Function (FRF) of the smart fin was obtained from a Finite Element (FE) model. The corresponding transfer function was derived from the µ synthesis and an active control system was then designed to suppress the vibration of the fin model. Implementation of the control system in practice demonstrated significant vibration reduction of the smart fin.