This report presents an overview of recent results concerning semi-active control structural vibration based on inertial actuators. It is well-known that the inertial actuator can be used as the vibration absorber if the natural frequency of the inertial actuator is closed to the targeted structural resonance frequency. First, the IA with virtual mass is presented to tuning the IA’s natural frequency without changing its physical design. The virtual mass of the IA is realized by using the proof-mass acceleration feedback. Second, a simple and practical multiple-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) vibration absorber, which is based on a single inertial actuator and a parallel connection of multiple low-pass filters as controller, is proposed to damp multiple structural resonances simultaneously. The control performance of the proposed MDOF vibration absorber is the combined control effects for both passive absorber and active absorber. It means that the multiple-mode structural vibration can be reduced effectively by using a single inertial actuator. Third, the natural frequency of the inertial actuator tuned by the inductor-negative resistance shunt circuit is presented. The relationship between the natural frequency of inertial actuator and the parameters of shunt circuit was analyzed. Final, these proposed tunable inerital actuators were experimentally verified on real different vibrating structures in the laboratory by using low-cost and low-power consumption analog circuits. The aim of this report is to illustrate the potential of semi-active structural vibration control approach using inertial actuators. 

Qibo MAO was born in Zhejiang, P. R. China in 1975. He received the Ph.D degree for research on radiation modes sensor by using shaped piezoelectric materials for structural-acoustic control in Mechanical Engineering from the Jiangsu University, China in 2001. From 2001 to 2003, he joined in Institute of Acoustics, Nanjing University, China as a postdoctoral research fellow continuing his research on active control of sound and vibration by using smart materials. From October 2003 to 2010, he was a research fellow in Laboratory for Acoustics, Empa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Switzerland. Since 2010, he has belonged to the staff of Nanchang Hangkong University, School of Aircraft Engineering, China. In 2013, he was promoted to the position of a full professor for sound and vibration control, design of adaptive acoustic/vibration absorbers and vibration-based damage detection. He has published more than 100 international refereed journals and conference papers and has published three books (one in Springer).