Distributed actuation requirements of piezoelectric structures under servoconstraints

This article is concerned with the analysis of actuation requirements for dynamic shape control of a piezoelectric structure. A general procedure is given for determining the distributed actuation input required to satisfy a partially specified displacement field for a generic piezoelectric shell structure. It is shown that under certain conditions, a servoconstraint that defines a finite number algebraic relations on the motion of the material points of the structure can be satisfied in steady state by an equivalent number of independent actuators. Application examples are developed to demonstrate application of the theory and its potential usefulness in the analysis and design of advanced engineering structures.