Exploiting self sensing features of carbon nanotubes composite structures for active vibration control

The paper investigates the opportunity of exploiting self-sensing properties of carbon nanotubes to generate a feedback signal, representative of the vibratory state of the structure, to actively suppress vibrations. Due to the so called "tunneling effect", carbon nanotubes (CNT) embedded in the matrix of a composite structure realize a distributed sensor. This means there is a no more a sensor, but, in fact, it is the same structure that is able to provide information on its state on vibration. The paper demonstrates it is possible to exploit electrical signal related to the deformation of the structures to estimate vibration and to design suitable control forces to suppress them.