The dynamics of piezoelectric material (material with piezoelements distributed over the surface) is described by coupled partial differential equations (PDE's), following from Maxwell's equations, and equations stemming from continuum mechanics. Following Stokes-Dirac theory, these equations can be put into a so-called port-Hamiltonian form, an energy based description that is useful for developing boundarycontrol methods for such systems.

If the bending of the material is relatively small, a linear version of the description suffices. However, if the bending is larger, nonlinear effects play a role.

In this research the different modeling assumptions and frameworks for PDE descriptions of piezoelectric material will be investigated, as well as the different spatial discretization methods.The goal is to obtain a clear picture about the underlying mechanisms of the frameworks, assumptions and methods in relation to stabilizability and control. Laboratory tests of the resultson piezoelectric materialmay be part of the research.

Projectleaders

Prof. J.M.A. Scherpen
Prof K. Morris (Waterloo university)

Funding

Ubbo Emmius Scholarship

Contact information