Modeling and Design of Piezoelectric Actuators for Fluid Flow Control

A theoretical and experimental investigation into the modeling and design of piezoelectric flap actuators is described. The motivation for this study is to develop design tools for piezoelectric actuators in active flow control systems. In line with this goal, structural dynamic models of varying complexity must first be assessed. Theoretical modeling of the flaps is carried out using finite element analysis. For comparison, a companion experimental parametric study is executed in which ten otherwise identical piezo flaps with varying piezo patch sizes are fabricated in the Dynamics and Controls Laboratory at the University of Florida. The flaps are characterized using a laser displacement sensor and a scanning laser vibrometer to obtain the frequency response functions between the input voltage signal and the tip displacement and velocity of the flaps. The DC response and natural frequency of the flaps are extracted from the frequency response functions, and these are compared with the theoretical values.