Controlling the nonlinear dynamics of a beam system

Control based on linear error feedback is applied to reduce vibration amplitudes in a piecewise linear beam system. Hereto small amplitude 1-periodic solutions are stabilized wherever they coexist with two or more long-term solutions. In theory, no control effort is required to maintain the 1-periodic response once it has been stabilized. For the beam system, 1-periodic solutions are stabilized by feedback at one location along the beam. Feedback is represented by servo-stiffness or servo-damping which results from increasing two corresponding control parameters. At appropriate levels of these parameters local, or global, asymptotic stability (of the zero-equilibrium) of the error dynamics, i.e. stability of the underlying 1-periodic solutions, can be guaranteed. Local asymptotic stability can be guaranteed for a large range of actuator locations and excitation frequencies and is indicated by bifurcations. Global asymptotic stability can only be guaranteed for a limited range of actuator locations on the basis of the well-known circle criterion. The difference between local and global asymptotic stability in terms of the required values for the control parameters can be significant, and may result in large differences in control performance.