This award supports a cooperative research project between John Bruch and J.M. Sloss, Department of Mechanical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Sarp Adali, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Natal, and Ronald Hacking, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technikon Natal, Durban, South Africa. The research centers on analytical and experimental research in the field of smart structures. The specific focus is on the application of piezoelectric materials for vibration control of laminated shell structures. Three of the investigators are theoreticians and one is an experimentalist. Using facilities at both UC Santa Barbara and the two institutions in Durban, the investigators will attempt to gain an improved understanding of some of the current obstacles to deployment of smart structures.
This multidisciplinary US-South Africa joint research project involves the study of piezo materials, electromechanical effects, structural mechanics, and mathematical control as well as testing. Its solution requires a team approach involving researchers from both countries with various fields of expertise and facilities. The project will produce knowledge on the use of piezoceramic materials in applications involving vibration damping and shape control. This is an emerging field of technology with vast potential to be used in space structures for improved in-service performance, in aerospace structures for improved sound and vibration control, and in the development of several consumer products.
