Mechatronic design quotient approach in beam vibration suppression design using linear dampers

In using linear dampers for the vibration suppression of flexible structures, their mounting locations and the damping coefficients have to be chosen properly. In this paper, an approach based on the mechatronic design quotient (MDQ) is presented for the optimal design of linear dampers in the vibration control of flexible beams. This approach strives to make the optimal concurrent design of the dampers achieve the performance of an optimal sequential design of uncoupled subsystems as closely as possible. The MDQ approach provides a practical way to evaluate the performance of multi-criteria design. It also provides an insight into the performance degradation of various subsystems due to the dynamic coupling effects in the overall system. The results show that the optimal linear dampers designed using the MDQ approach can achieve the performance of an optimal active controller.