In this paper we address the problem of low-authority controller (LAC) design. The premise is that the actuators have limited authority, and hence cannot significantly shift the eigenvalues of the system. As a result, the closed-loop eigenvalues can be well approximated analytically using perturbation theory. These analytical approximations may suffice to predict the behavior of the closed-loop system in practical cases, and will provide at least a very strong rationale for the first step in the design iteration loop. We will show that LAC design can be cast as convex optimization problems that can be solved efficiently in practice using interior-point methods. Also, we will show that by optimizing the ℓ1 norm of the feedback gains, we can arrive at sparse designs, i.e., designs in which only a small number of the control gains are nonzero. Thus, in effect, we can also solve actuator/sensor placement or controller architecture design problems. Keywords: Low-authority control, actuator/sensor placement, linear operator perturbation theory, convex optimization, second-order cone programming, semi-definite programming, linear matrix inequality. 1

of excellence in research and education that has contributed greatly to the state-of-the-art in civil engineering. Completed in 1967 and extended in 1971, the structural testing area of the laboratory has a versatile strong-floor/wall and a three-story clear height that can be used to carry out a wide range of tests of building materials, models, and structural systems. The laboratory is named for Dr. Nathan M. Newmark, an internationally known educator and engineer, who was the Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois [1956-73] and the Chair of the Digital Computing Laboratory [1947-57]. He developed simple, yet powerful and widely used, methods for analyzing complex structures and assemblages subjected to a variety of static, dynamic, blast, and earthquake loadings. Dr. Newmark received numerous honors and awards for his achievements, including the prestigious National Medal of Science awarded in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also one of the founding members of the National Academy of Engineering. Contact: Prof. B.F. Spencer, Jr.

This thesis concerns itself with a finite element model of nonproportional viscoelastic damping and its subsequent reduction. The Golla-Hughes-McTavish viscoelastic finite element has been shown to be an effective tool in modeling viscoelastic damping. Unlike previous models, it incorporates physical data into the model in the form of a curve fit of the complex modulus. This curve fit is expressed by minioscillators. The frequency dependence of the complex modulus is accounted for by the addition of internal, or dissipation, coordinates. The dissipation coordinates make the viscoelastic model several times larger than the original. The trade off for more accurate modeling of viscoelasticity is increased model size. Internally balanced model order reduction reduces the order of a state space model by considering the controllability/observability of each state. By definition, a model is internally balanced if its controllability and observability grammians are equal and diagonal. The grammians serve as a ranking of the controllability/observability of the states. The system can then be partitioned into most and least controllable/observable states; the latter can be statically reduced out of the system. The resulting model is smaller, but the transformed coordinates bear little resemblance to the original coordinates. A transformation matrix exists that transforms the reduced model back into original coordinates, and it is a subset of the transformation matrix leading to the balanced model. This whole procedure will be referred to as Yae's method within this thesis. By combining GHM and Yae's method, a finite element code results that models nonproportional viscoelastic damping of a clamped-free, homogeneous, Euler-Bernoulli beam, and is of a size comparable to the ori...

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Stability results for damped multilayer composite beams and plates by

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Abstract: In the present study a sandwich plate, of rectangular form, with magnetorheological (MR) fluid core is investigated. The plate consists of two outer layers made of aluminium and an MR fluid layer in between. The plate edges are clamped. It was assumed that the aluminium layers are pure elastic. The energy is dissipated in MR fluid layer. Additional assumptions concerning displacements, deformations and stresses are introduced in calculations. The active segment of MR fluid layer is placed in various parts of plate. The optimal positions of active segment for selected modes of vibration are determined.