Using tuned electrical resonance to enhance bang-bang vibration control

We enhanced the bang-bang vibration control by using an electrical resonance mechanism. The bang-bang method is used in many engineering applications because of its simplified hardware configuration in which a constant-voltage supplier is shared by multiple actuators. However, its control performance is restricted, because the supplied voltage is constant and the sharp modulation of the control input induces chattering, which wastes a significant amount of energy. Our approach to overcome these problems was to combine the bang-bang method with tuned electrical resonance. Based on an elaborate analysis of phase relations between mechanical and electrical vibrations, three switching logics were devised for the hybrid method. Experiments on a 10-bay truss structure demonstrated that our hybrid method not only enhanced vibration suppression of the bang-bang method, but also prevented control chattering.