Vibration dissipation characteristics of symmetrical piezoelectric networks with passive branches

In this paper, a new vibration reduction approach by means of symmetric piezoelectric network is proposed, combining energy harvesting and vibration reduction. The system could be constructed by several individual structures with identical mechanical parameters, such as blades of rotor machinery. Two basic forms of network-connection are studied, in which dissipation of both mechanical and electric field is considered. Dynamic models are established by the Lumped Parameter approach and Kirchhoff's Circuit Theorem, and the normalizing process is used to make the models more general. Subsequently, the modal information and harmonic response of piezoelectric networks with an arbitrary number of components are obtained. Based on the dynamic characteristics of piezoelectric networks, the mechanism of vibration-suppression behavior of such systems is studied. Design guidelines of these vibration reduction systems are established via parameter studies. Eventually, the optimized parameters of each networkconnection form are obtained analytically. It is shown that the symmetric piezoelectric network can suppress the response of the given frequency to zero, and also perform better than pure passive piezoelectric shunts in resonant frequency band.