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2011 22: 307 originally published online 11 August 2010 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures
Norman M. Wereley, Gang Wang and Anirban Chaudhuri
Demonstration of Uniform Cantilevered Beam Bending Vibration Using a Pair of Piezoelectric Actuators

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Demonstration of Uniform Cantilevered Beam Bending
Vibration Using a Pair of Piezoelectric Actuators
NORMAN M. WERELEY,
1,
* GANG WANG
2
AND ANIRBAN CHAUDHURI
1
1
Smart Structures Laboratory, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
2
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
ABSTRACT: Smart materials and structures are an emerging revolutionary technology
requiring multidisciplinary training in the fields of aerospace, mechanical, and materials engi-
neering. As such, it is important to educate undergraduate and graduate students in the fun-
damentals and applications of this technology. A curriculum was designed at the University of
Maryland to introduce students to these materials. In addition to a general overview of smart
materials and structures, a laboratory and lecture case study of a piezoelectric actuated beam
was developed. Laboratory experiments were used to determine the bending modal frequen-
cies and mode shapes of a cantilevered beam under actuation of piezoceramics. These tests
were conducted in the Smart Structures Laboratory at the University of Maryland during
regular lecture-length class times and using existing equipment. The results of the experiment
were compared with exact and numerical solutions for the vibration frequencies of a uniform
rectangular beam. The case study proved to be an excellent learning tool as shown by the lab
data correlation and the positive student reviews.
Key Words: actuator, piezoelectric, education.
SUMMARY OF EDUCATIONAL
ASPECTS OF THIS ARTICLE
1. This article discusses materials for several courses in
Aerospace Engineering, ENAE-100: The Aerospace
Engineering Profession; ENAE-423H: Aerospace
Vibration and Aeroelasticity; ENAE-464:
Aerospace Engineering Laboratory; ENAE-655:
Structural Dynamics; ENAE-651: Smart Structures,
which covers both undergraduate and graduate classes.
2. A cantilevered uniform beam is excited by surface-
bonded piezoelectric actuators and undergoes trans-
verse bending vibration. Natural frequency and mode
shape function results are then determined from
experimental measurements.
3. The experimental set-up consists of an aluminum
beam, two piezoelectric ceramic wafers (PZT-5H), a
power amplifier, a function generator, a root clamp,
coaxial cables, and a strobe light system.
4. By tuning the frequency at which the PZT actuators
are excited, the resonant modes of the cantilever
beam can be selectively excited; this excitation fre-
quency corresponds to the natural frequency of the
experimental beam. Photographs are taken at same
time to record beam vibration mode shapes.
5. Analytical results are compared to experimental data
for natural frequency and mode shape functions.
These analyses include the exact solution, the
assumed modes method, and finite element model,
in which the PZT effects are neglected.
6. The experimental demonstration requires one hour of
class time.
7. The experiment provides students with not only an
understanding of the smart materials (PZT-5H) actu-
ation capability but also the visualization of mode
shapes for a cantilever beam undergoing bending
vibration. The experimental data can be used to val-
idate analytical predictions.
8. The same experimental set-up can be used for differ-
ent purposes: a simple Laboratory demonstration of
application of smart materials (ENAE-100), experi-
mental validation of theoretical EulerBernoulli
beam equation and computational FEM analyses
applicable to beam bending vibration (ENAE-423,
ENAE-464), comparison of different analyses
(EulerBernoulli beam model, lumped parameter
model, assumed modes method, FEM) for beam
bending calculations (ENAE-655), or studies of actu-
ation capabilities of piezoelectric smart materials
(ENAE-651).
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail: wereley@umd.edu
Figures 2 and 5 appear in color online: http://jim.sagepub.com
JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT MATERIAL SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES, Vol. 22March 2011 307
1045-389X/11/04 030710 $10.00/0 DOI: 10.1177/1045389X10379661
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INTRODUCTION
B
ECAUSE of the emergence of smart materials and
structures technology in the marketplace it is impor-
tant to educate engineering students about these mate-
rials and theirs applications. What is a smart structure?
Chopra (2002) defines it by writing:
A smart structure involves distributed actuators and
sensors, and one or more microprocessors that analyze
the responses from the sensors and use distributed-
parameter control theory to command the actuators to
apply localized strains/displacements to minimize
response or loads at selected stations. A smart structure
has the capability to respond to a changing external
environment (such as loads or shape change) as well as
to a changing internal environment (such as damage or
failure). It incorporates actuators that allow the alterna-
tion of system characteristics (such as stiffness or damp-
ing) as well as system response (such as strain or shape)
in a controlled manner.
Smart structures are important from an aerospace
engineering perspective for many reasons. An aircraft
that can sense its environment and adapt accordingly
could be very beneficial. Embedded sensors could tell
the pilot when structural damage has reached critical
levels, and smart actuators could automatically correct
pilot control input to account for the damage. Smart
materials-based control surfaces could provide
improved aerodynamic, aeroelastic, and other system
level benefits (Kudva, 2004). The multidisciplinary
nature of rotorcraft offers many opportunities for
the applications of smart structures technologies with
potential for very substantial payoffs in system effec-
tiveness. The rotor is the key subsystem, setting the
current limits on vehicle performance, handling quali-
ties, and reliability. The smart rotor initiative involves
concepts like active blade control using piezoceramics
(Giurgiutiu et al., 1995; Chen and Chopra, 1996),
shape memory alloy (SMA) tunable shafts (Epps
and Chopra, 2001), and controllable semi-active
electrorheological (ER) or magnetorheological (MR)
fluid rotor dampers (Kamath et al., 1999). The
research in support of this initiative is intense and
includes industry and academic input from around
the world.
Because the smart structures paradigm is so broad
and encompasses so many different topics, we will
focus on one specific case study in this article. The
piezoceramics, specifically lead zirconium titanate
(PZT), was chosen for this study for several reasons.
First, the electromechanical coupling that makes a
piezoceramic work is very intuitive (Niezrecki et al.,
2001), much more clearly than the physical actuation
mechanism of an ER or MR fluid or a SMA. This
helps the students understanding of the actuation (or
sensing) concepts involved in smart materials and
structures. Secondly, PZT lends itself to simple and
consistent laboratory experiments that are easy to
run while still being valuable learning tools. Finally,
several well-understood models (Crawley and de Luis,
1987; Crawley and Anderson, 1990) for PZT behavior
exist in the literature, which makes the construction of
analytical models simpler.
Therefore, a PZT actuated beam was constructed to
study the dynamics of beam transverse bending vibra-
tion and smart actuation for the undergraduate and
graduate curricula in the Department of Aerospace
Engineering at the University of Maryland in
College Park (Wereley, 2000). PZT-5H wafers were
bonded to the top and bottom surface of a cantile-
vered beam. When sinusoidal voltages are applied to
the two PZT patches, where the voltage applied to the
bottom piezo wafer is 180

out of phase with the top

piezo wafer, the beam will undergo transverse bending
vibration. By tuning the excitation frequency, beam
resonance can be observed at each of the beams
modal frequencies. The vibrating mode can be
frozen when a strobe light is flashed on the beam
at a synchronized frequency. A still picture can then
be taken using a digital camera. Once the image has
been taken and transferred to a computer, span wise
displacement can be measured using specialized soft-
ware, such as Datathief (Tummers, 2006) or the Image
Processing Toolbox in MATLAB, by picking points
on the mode shape image and extracting the coordi-
nate information. Hence, the natural frequencies and
mode shapes of the beam under transverse bending
vibration can be determined with reasonable accuracy
using this simple experimental setup.
This experiment is a simple and useful demonstra-
tion that provides the student with an understanding
of the basics of piezoactuation while also physically
demonstrating the concepts of modal frequencies and
mode shapes. In addition to presenting the modal
frequency and mode shape physically, students
can also calculate the natural frequencies and mode
shapes using simple structural analyses and validate
their results using our experimental data, as in the
senior and graduate coursers. The pedagogical appli-
cations of this simple PZT actuated beam are
listed in Table 1. This simple experimental design
can be applied to smart structures and structural
dynamics for both undergraduate and graduate
educations.
In this article, the experimental setup is described
first, which will allow instructors to construct a simi-
lar experiment in their respective laboratories.
Next, some simple theoretical and computational
models are presented to analyze the actuated beam.
Finally, the analytical results are compared with
experimentally obtained data to show the excellent
correlations.
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DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENT
As shown in Figure 1, two PZT-5H wafers are bonded
on the top and bottom surface of the beam respectively,
and located close to clamping point for maximum strain
input. The direction of polarization of the two PZT-5H
wafers is different in order to actuate beam transversely,
thus causing bending vibration modes. M-bond adhesive
technology (Vishay Measurement Group) is usually
used to bond the piezoceramics. The procedure com-
prises of the following steps:
1. Mark location for piezoceramic elements on the sur-
face of beam
2. Carefully position piezo with tape (carefully note the
polarization, a black dot denotes the direction)
3. Prepare beam surface
a. Slightly roughen surface of beam to develop texture
suitable for bonding
b. Clean surface with degreaser
c. Scrub surface with acid using a cotton-tipped
applicator
d. Neutralize acid with to bring surface condition back
to optimum alkalinity
4. Apply catalyst to piezo and let dry for approximately
1 min
5. Apply M-bond to the beam surface
6. Position piezo and apply pressure
The above procedure is repeated for another PZT wafer
while being careful of the direction of polarization.
Electrical wires are then soldered on to the surface of
PZT. As shown in Figure 1, we placed two PZTs, one
with polarization direction facing up and the other with
polarization facing down towards the surface of beam.
Next, the electrical connections of the aluminum
beam and PZT are completed. The beam is electrically
grounded and the two PZTs are connected together, as
shown in Figure 2. By doing this, we can apply the same
but out-of-phase voltage to two PZTs to excite the beam
bending vibration modes. The final step in the set up is
assembling the hardware needed in the experiment,
which have been listed in Table 2. A function generator,
a power amplifier, a strobe light system, a PZT switch
box, and some coaxial cables are required. As shown
in the schematic in Figure 2, the function generator
is used for the driving sinusoidal signal; this signal is
amplified and then applied to the PZTs. The same
but out-of-phase voltage is applied to top and bottom
PZTs to excite the beam bending vibration modes. By
connecting an additional cable to the function generator
output, a synchronized signal is sent the light strobe
system as well.
The dimensions of the aluminum beam and material
constants are tabulated in Table 3. The beam is 24.125
in. long, 1 in. wide, and 1/24 in. thick. Two PZT-5H
Piezoceramic
actuators
Clamp
Direction of polarization
Base beam
Figure 1. Schematic of a cantilever beam with piezoelectric actuators at the root.
Table 1. Pedagogical applications of the PZT actuated
beam experiment.
Course Level Content
ENAE-100
The Aerospace
Engineering Profession
Freshman Smart structures
demonstration
ENAE-423 Senior Show beam bending
Vibration & Aeroelasticity frequencies
and mode shapes
ENAE-464 Senior Smart structures
Aerospace Engineering
Laboratory
ENAE-655
Structural Dynamics
Graduate Analyses of structural
dynamics
ENAE-651
Smart Structures
Graduate Analyses of actuation
capabilities
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actuators are bonded on the surface of beam, 0.125 in.
away from the clamping device. Each PZT-5H actuator
is 2 in. long, 1 in. wide, and 12 mils thick.
RESULTS OF EXPERIMENT
Modal Frequency
For the experiment (Figure 3), the bonded piezoelec-
tric wafers were actuated by a purely sinusoidal voltage
at different frequencies (monotonically increasing); the
amplitude and offset were chosen such that the applied
voltage oscillated between 0 V and 100 V. By tuning the
frequency of input signal from the function generator, it
was possible to control the frequencies of beam bending
vibration. When the input frequency matched any nat-
ural mode of the beam, resonant behavior occurred and
the corresponding natural frequency was noted down.
The response of the beam was also stored (by taking a
photograph with a digital camera) for mode shape
comparison.
Mode Shapes
Using the strobe light and the digital camera, pictures
of the first five mode shapes were taken; these are shown
in Figure 4. The digital pictures of each mode shape
were then transferred to a software package called
Datathief. This software has the ability to superimpose
a w versus x (beam deflection vs. location on beam) axis
on the picture. The mouse was then used to place a
crosshair on the modal amplitude at a number of
evenly spaced spanwise locations on the beam. Using
this method, the mode shape functions of beam bending
vibration from the experiment could be extracted.
ANALYSIS OF CANTILEVERED BEAM
Several methods were applied to analyze the cantile-
vered beam based on the EulerBernoulli analysis,
where it was assumed that the stiffness and mass loading
of the piezoelectric wafer actuators can be neglected.
These methodologies are: (i) exact solution assuming an
EulerBernoulli beam via separation of variables, (ii) a
lumped parameter model using influence coefficients, (iii)
assumed modes method based on RayleighRitz or
Galerkin approach, and (iv) finite element method. In
this section, we briefly present each method.
Exact Solutions of EulerBernoulli Uniform Beam
The governing equation for transverse vibrations of
an EulerBernoulli beam is (Meirovitch, 1986; Inman,
1994)
m
@
2
w x, t
@t
2

@
2
@x
2
EI x
@
2
w x, t
@x
2
_ _
f x, t 1
Assume that the solution is separable into spatial and
temporal components as follows:
w x, t

1
n1
X
n
x T
n
t :
Power amplifier Function generator
+
PZT
Beam Strobe
light
Figure 2. Schematic of experimental setup.
Table 3. Dimensions and properties of beam and
piezoactuator.
Quantity Symbol Value Value
(SI Units) (English units)
Length of beam L
b
61.2775 cm 24.125 in.
Width of beam b
b
2.54cm 1.0 in.
Thickness of beam h
b
1.0583 cm 1/24 in.
Youngs modulus of Al E 69 GPa
Density of aluminum 2700 kg/m
3

Length of piezo L
c
5.08 in. 2.0 in.
Width of piezo b
c
2.54cm 1.0 in
Thickness of piezo h
c
0.03048 cm 12 mils
Youngs modulus
of piezoelectric material
E
c
62 GPa
Density of piezoelectric
material

c
7500 Kg/m
3

Table 2. Parts list.

Power amplifier (Trek Model 50/750, HV Power Supply)
Function generator (HP 3325A Synthesizer/Function Generator)
Strobe system (General Radio, 1540 Strobelume)
Piezoceramic material (PZT-5H)
Aluminum beam
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The mode shape function X
n
x can be determined
based on different boundary conditions. For a cantilever
beam fixed at one end, the boundary conditions are:
w0, t 0,
dw x, t
dx

x0
0,
d
2
w x, t
d
2
x

xL
b
0 and
d
3
w x, t
d
3
x

xL
b
0:
Using the boundary conditions, the shape function for
the n-th mode is given by:
X
n
x cosh
n
x cos
n
x
n
sinh
n
x sin
n
x ,
2
where
n
is the solution of characteristic equation:
cosh
n
l cos
n
l 1, 3
and

n

sinh
n
l sin
n
l
cosh
n
l cos
n
l
: 4
For a uniform beam with rectangular cross-section, the
natural frequencies (in radians) of vibration are given
by !
n

n

EI=m
p
, n 1, 2, 3, . . . . The key issue here
is to solve the characteristic equation and find the
solution for
n
from (3). In this article, the function
fzero in MATLAB software was used for solving the
characteristic equation; the n-th natural frequency and
mode shape were calculated by substituting the corre-
sponding value of
n
. The computational code is given
in Table 4.
Numerical Methods
The numerical approaches to solve the beam trans-
verse bending vibration problem will be outlined in
this section. Instead of directly solving the governing
equation for beam bending vibration as shown in the
exact method, the beam bending vibration energies are
utilized (Lagrangian approach). Based on the varia-
tional principle, solving the boundary value problem
for the governing equation is equivalent to finding the
solution of for minimum system energy during bending
(Meirovitch, 1986; Inman, 1994). Therefore, we can
develop very useful approximate methods to solve the
dynamic problem, such as lumped parameter method,
assumed modes method and finite element method.
Figure 3. Picture of actual experimental setup.
Figure 4. Instantaneous pictures of bending mode shapes of a uni-
form cantilever beam vibrating. Excitation was provided by a pair of
piezoelectric actuators. A strobe light was used to capture the mode
shapes at maximum positive and negative amplitudes.
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These methods discretize a system represented by a
second-order differential equation:
M x Kx f x, t , 5
where M is the total mass matrix, K is the stiffness
matrix, and f(x, t) is applied force. Vector x is the
unknown displacement. For the free vibration problem
( f x, t 0), we need to solve a general eigenvalue and
eigenvector problem. Assuming a harmonic response
of the form x Xe
j!t
and substituting into the discre-
tized equation (4), we obtain the general eigenvalue
problem:
KX !
2
MX, 6
where ! is the natural frequency (in radian), and X is the
corresponding eigenvector. The mode shape function(s)
can be constructed from the eigenvector(s). For the uni-
form beam bending vibration problem, the application
of the lumped parameter, assumed modes method, and
finite element method is straightforward and well pre-
sented in the textbooks by Inman (1994) and Meirovitch
(1986). We will briefly present results of elemental mass
and stiffness matrices for each method; MATLAB codes
were developed for each method and are tabulated in
Tables 57.
(1) Lumped Parameter
The influence coefficients, C(i, j), and the corresponding
entries of the stiffness matrix, K(i, j), are calculated
using the following expressions:
C i, j
1
EI
x
j
x
2
i
2

x
2
i
6
_ _
for x
i
x
j
1
EI
x
i
x
2
j
2

x
2
j
6
_ _
for x
i
4x
j
_

_
:
K i, j C i, j
1
, M i, i m x
i
x
i1

(2) Assumed Modes
The entries of the stiffness and mass matrices are calcu-
lated from:
K i, j
_
l
0
EI x
d
2
X
i
x
dx
2
d
2
X
j
x
dx
2
dx,
M i, j
_
l
0
m x X
i
x X
j
x dx
where X
i
x is the assumed i-th mode shape function.
(3) Finite Element Methods
The element stiffness matrix and mass matrix are
(Inman, 1994):
K
EI
l
3
12 6l 12 6l
6l 4l
2
6l 2l
2
12 6l 12 6l
6l 2l
2
6l 4l
2
_
_
_
_
_

_
and
M
ml
420
156 22l 54 13l
22l 4l
2
13l 3l
2
54 13l 156 22l
13l 3l
2
22l 4l
2
_
_
_
_
_

_
:
Table 4. MATLAB code for exact solution of a uniform beam bending vibration.
% Physical properties
Lb = 24.125*0.0254; bb = 1*0.0254; hb = (1/24) *0.0254;
Eb = 69e9; rhob = 2700;
Lc = 2*0.0254; bc = 1*0.0254; hc = 12e-3*0.0254;
Ec = 62e9; rhoc = 7500;
Nmodes = 10; % number of modes desired
betainit = 0.5*pi : pi : (Nmodes-0.5)*pi; % initial estimates
dx = Lb / 100;
x = 0:dx:Lb; % points along beam length
for i = 1 : Nmodes,
BetaL = fzero(cos(x)*cosh(x)+1,betainit(i));
Beta(i) = BetaL / Lb;
al(i) = (sinh(BetaL)-sin(BetaL)) / (cosh(BetaL)+cos(BetaL));
xx = Beta(i)*x;
phi(:,i) = (cosh(xx)-cos(xx)) - al(i)*(sinh(xx)-sin(xx));
end
% frequencies from exact solution
fexact = Beta.*Beta*sqrt(EI/m)/(2*pi);
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TYPICAL RESULTS ASSUMING UNIFORM BEAM
Modal Frequencies
In this analysis, the effects of the PZT wafers are
neglected and their mass and stiffness contributions
are not considered. The beam is assumed to be uniform
and PZT only works as an exciter. Table 8 shows the
results from all the methods; the measured natural fre-
quencies agree well with our prediction results from the
exact solution, lumped parameter, assumed modes, and
finite element methods. Note that the results of the
exact solution and the assumed modes method are
exactly the same, which is because the exact mode
shapes of a cantilever beam were used for the numer-
ical method.
Table 6. MATLAB code for solution of uniform beam bending vibration using assumed modes method.
Nmodes = 10; % number of modes desired
betainit = 0.5*pi : pi : (Nmodes-0.5)*pi; % initial estimates
dx = Lb / 100;
x = 0:dx:Lb; % points along beam length
for i = 1 : Nmodes,
BetaL = fzero(cos(x)*cosh(x)+1,betainit(i));
Beta(i) = BetaL / Lb;
al(i) = (sinh(BetaL)-sin(BetaL)) / (cosh(BetaL)+cos(BetaL));
xx = Beta(i) * x;
phi(:,i) = (cosh(xx)-cos(xx)) - al(i)*(sinh(xx)-sin(xx));
% numerical differentiation
dphi(:,i) = [0 ; diff(phi(:,i))] / dx;
ddphi(:,i) = [0 ; diff(dphi(:,i))] / dx;
end
Kam = zeros(Nmodes); Mam = zeros(Nmodes); % initialisation
for i = 1 : Nmodes,
for j = 1 : Nmodes,% numerical integration
Kam(i,j) = trapz(x,EI*ddphi(:,i).*ddphi(:,j));
Mam(i,j) = trapz(x,m*phi(:,i).*phi(:,j));
end
end
[evecam,evalam] = eig(Kam,Mam);
% frequencies from assumed modes method
fam = sqrt(diag(evallp))/(2*pi);
Table 5. MATLAB code for solution of uniform beam bending vibration using lumped parameter method.
Nlump = 10; % number of lumps
Le = Lb/Nlump; % length of each lump
x = [Le/2:Le:Lb-Le/2]; % mid-point of each lump
Klp = zeros(Nlump); Clp = zeros(Nlump);
Mlp = m*Le*eye(Nlump);
for i = 1 : Nlump, % influence coefficients
Clp(i,i) = x(i)^3/EI/3;
for j = i+1 : Nlump,
Clp(i,j) = (x(j)-x(i)/3)*x(i)^2/EI/2;
Clp(j,i) = Clp(i,j);
end
end
Klp = inv(Clp);
[eveclp,evallp] = eig(Klp,Mlp);
% frequencies from lumped parameter method
flp = sqrt(diag(evallp))/(2*pi);
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Mode Shapes
The mode shape functions of beam bending vibra-
tion were extracted from the experimental measure-
ments. The data was then tabulated for each mode
and the resulting measured mode shapes were com-
pared to the mode shapes predicted using the
EulerBernoulli uniform beam analysis. The measured
and predicted mode shapes agree quite well, as shown
in Figure 5.
ACCOUNTING FOR PIEZOACTUATOR
In the above analyses, the inertia and stiffness effects
of the PZT patches were neglected. If the mass and
stiffness of PZTs are incorporated into our analysis,
then the beam is not uniform anymore and it is diffi-
cult to obtain the exact solutions. However, the
problem can be numerically solved if the region on
the beam with PZTs is treated as an element with mod-
ified stiffness and additional mass in the lumped
parameter, assumed modes, and finite element meth-
ods; the results are tabulated in Table 9. When com-
pared with the results in Table 8, the predicted natural
frequencies increase for each mode compared to the
uniform beam case, which imply that the added stiff-
ness effects of the PZTs are more dominant than the
mass or inertia contributions.
CONCLUSIONS
The cantilever beam test outlined in this article is
simple to construct and provides physical insight into
the actual manifestation of mode shapes and their
associated modal frequencies. The analysis of the
cantilevered beam is straightforward, and the analysis
Table 7. MATLAB code for solution of uniform beam bending vibration using finite element method.
Ne = 10; % number of elements
Le = Lb/Ne;
Ke = [12 6*Le -12 6*Le; 6*Le 4*Le^2 -6*Le 2*Le^2;
-12 -6*Le 12 -6*Le; 6*Le 2*Le^2 -6*Le 4*Le^2] / Le^3;
Me = [156 22*Le 54 -13*Le; 22*Le 4*Le^2 13*Le -3*Le^2;
54 13*Le 156 -22*Le; -13*Le -3*Le^2 -22*Le 4*Le^2] * Le/420;
Mg = zeros(2*Ne+2); Kg = zeros(2*Ne+2);
for k = 1 : Ne,
kbgn = 2*k-1; kend = 2*k+2;
Mg(kbgn:kend,kbgn:kend) = Mg(kbgn:kend,kbgn:kend) + m*Me;
Kg(kbgn:kend,kbgn:kend) = Kg(kbgn:kend,kbgn:kend) + EI*Ke;
end
Ktot = Kg(3:2*Ne+2,3:2*Ne+2);
Mtot = Mg(3:2*Ne+2,3:2*Ne+2);
[evecfem,evalfem] = eig(Ktot,Mtot);
% frequencies from fem
ffem = sqrt(diag(evallp))/(2*pi);
Table 8. Measured and predicted modal frequencies of a uniform beam neglecting effects of stiffness
and mass of the piezoelectric actuator (uniform beam approach).
Modal frequencies (Hz)
Mode number Measured
EulerBernoulli
uniform beam
Lumped
parameter
analysis
(10 elements)
Assumed
modes
analysis
(10 modes)
Finite element
analysis
(10 elements)
1 2.22 2.30 2.31 2.30 2.30
2 13.64 14.42 14.54 14.42 14.42
3 36.46 40.39 40.92 40.39 40.40
4 72.42 79.14 80.54 79.14 79.22
5 117.40 130.83 133.52 130.83 131.16
314 N. M. WERELEY ET AL.
at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on September 7, 2014 jim.sagepub.com Downloaded from
can be easily made more challenging by introducing
additional effects into the analysis. For the undergrad-
uate with a typical structures course at the senior
level, the beam can be analyzed, neglecting the piezo-
actuators for simplicity, using the exact solution of the
EulerBernoulli uniform beam equation, and a finite
element analysis can also be developed and validated.
For the first year graduate student in an introductory
structural dynamics course, the mass and stiffness
loading of the piezoelectric actuator can also be
added to the analysis, and additional analysis meth-
ods, such as lumped parameter or assumed modes
analyses, can be attempted. Computer codes that can
be implemented in MATLAB have also been provided
in this article.
SMART BEAM TEACHING AID
The analyses in this article have been coded in
MATLAB and included in a CD-ROM teaching aid,
which can be provided along with a beam specimen as
described in this article, for easy application in the
classroom.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Supported by National Science Foundation (NSF)
Career Award to NMW, CAREER: Passive and
Active Damping Control for Large Civil Structures,
Award Number 9734244.
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f
1
(x/L)
f
2
(x/L)
f
3
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f
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(x/L)
f
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(x/L)
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0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Figure 5. Comparison of experimentally measured mode shapes (circle) with the exact solutions of the EulerBernoulli beam equation (solid
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2 13.64 14.58 16.25 15.88
3 36.46 40.94 44.62 43.74
4 72.42 80.36 85.59 84.16
5 117.40 132.73 138.43 136.43
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