Sensitivity analysis for assessing the reliability of active vibration control (AVC) systems

In this paper, a contribution to reliability assessment of AVC systems based on piezoelectric actuator components is presented. One reliability problem is the performance degradation of piezoelectric actuators during operation, leading to a reduction of the system performance. The method called sensitivity analysis presented here is based on a multibody simulation of the complete system and allows to assess the reaction of the overall system to a virtual degradation of the actuators. As a result, failure criterions for the actuator devices can be given which can be compared to degradation data obtained from degradation experiments performed at the actuator components. The method therefore is an important tool for the robust system design.