Limits of vibration suppression in flexible structures

A method is described for the determination of limits of vibration suppression in an elastic structure by means of a given number of control actuators. The method is based on a theorem, described and proved herein, that defines the lower limit of residual deformations for specified disturbances and a given map of placement of actuators which can produce finite control forces. The new method can identify regions of placement which result in acceptable residual deformations, thus making control design easier and reduces the cost of searching for optimal actuator positions. Unlike traditional methods used to solve this class of problems, the new method does not require knowledge about the excitation states of various deformation modes. The method is demonstrated by applying it to a simply supported beam and a plate.