An experimental analysis of the benefits of shunted piezoceramics for damped and undamped structures

The application of electrically shunted piezoceramic materials (PZTs), commonly known as "smart damping materials," for reducing noise and vibrations in damped and undamped structures is examined, using a specially designed test stand. The 'smart damping' technique used in this study involves attaching PZTs that are shunted with electrical circuits, consisting of resistors, capacitors, and inductors. The shunted PZTs are simple, do not require any external power, and can be easily and cost-effectively applied in practice. The test results indicate that the shunted PZTs can dissipate vibration energy, much the same way as adding viscoelastic damping materials to the structure, without adding any significant amount of weight to the structure. The results further indicate that the shunt circuits can be tuned to specific vibration frequencies, in the lower frequency ranges. The results presented here include a comparison between smart and passive damping materials, in terms of the noise and vibration reduction performance.