Vibration reduction in large flexible systems through independent modal control

Many systems have, by their nature, a small damping and therefore they are potentially subjected to dangerous vibration phenomena. The aim of active vibration control is to contain this phenomenon, increasing the damping of the system without changing its natural frequencies and vibration modes. A control of this type can improve the dynamic performance, reduce the vibratory phenomenon (and the resulting acoustic noise) and increase the fatigue strength of the system. The paper introduces a new approach to the synthesis of a modal controller to suppress vibrations in structures: it turns from the traditional formulation of the problem showing how the performance of the designed controller can be evaluated through the analysis of the resulting modal damping matrix of the controlled system. Such analysis allows to evaluate spillover effects, due to the presence of un-modeled modes, the stability of the control and the consequent effectiveness in reducing vibration. The ability to easily manage this information allows the synthesis of an efficient modal controller. Theoretical aspects are supported by experimental applications on a large flexible system.