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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/J008532/1
Title: Low power control methods for energy efficient structures
Principal Investigator: Inman, Professor D
Other Investigators:
Wagg, Professor DJ Burrow, Dr SG Neild, Professor SA
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Organisation: University of Bristol
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 01 June 2012 Ends: 30 November 2015 Value (£): 512,641
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Control Engineering Eng. Dynamics & Tribology
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Aerospace, Defence and Marine Energy
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
03 Nov 2011 Materials, Mechanical and Medical Engineering Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
The aim of this proposal is to discover energy efficient control laws for vibration suppression with the goal of running such systems using harvested energy or a combination of harvested and stored energy by exploiting nonlinearity in both the harvesting mechanism and in control law formulation. It is proposed to investigate the concept of using harvested energy to control the vibration response of flexible structures. Structural components in bridges, airplanes, buildings, wind turbines, etc. are flexible and hence are easily disturbed into vibration from a variety of sources. Often the best solution is a passive one, but in many circumstances performance and safety demand the use of semi-active or active control. The major roadblock in using active control is the requirement for an external power source. Here we propose to investigate the possibility that ambient energy might be harnessed, stored and recycled to provide the energy needed to mitigate vibrations through low power nonlinear control laws, enabling better performance of structures in extreme conditions (wind storms, earthquakes, gusts, etc.).
Key Findings
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Summary
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Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.bris.ac.uk