MISSILE AIRFRAME AND STRUCTURE COMPRISING PIEZOELECTRIC FIBERS AND METHOD FOR ACTIVE STRUCTURAL RESPONSE CONTROL
First Claim
1. A missile comprising:
- a missile airframe;
a guidance system for controlling a flight path of the missile;
a first housing for housing the guidance system, the housing containing a plurality of piezoelectric fibers adapted to generate a sensor signal in response to a deformation in the housing and to deform the housing in response to an excitation signal applied thereto;
a control circuit to generate the excitation signal adapted to tune a structural response of the housing in response to frequency components associated with the deformation of the structure, and to apply the excitation signal to the fibers; and
a mounting structure for mounting the first housing to the missile airframe.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of a missile, an airframe and a structure comprising piezoelectric fibers and a method for active structural response control are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a housing structure includes a composite material containing a plurality of piezoelectric fibers adapted to generate an electrical signal in response to a deformation in the structure and to deform the structure in response to an electrical signal applied thereto. A control circuit receives the sensed signal from the fibers and generates an excitation signal that is applied to the fibers to increase the stiffness or compliance of the fibers at predetermined frequencies. In an illustrative embodiment, the control signal is adapted to provide low frequency stiffness and strength performance while attenuating high frequency vibrations to protect electronics housed within the structure.
39 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A missile comprising:
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a missile airframe; a guidance system for controlling a flight path of the missile; a first housing for housing the guidance system, the housing containing a plurality of piezoelectric fibers adapted to generate a sensor signal in response to a deformation in the housing and to deform the housing in response to an excitation signal applied thereto; a control circuit to generate the excitation signal adapted to tune a structural response of the housing in response to frequency components associated with the deformation of the structure, and to apply the excitation signal to the fibers; and a mounting structure for mounting the first housing to the missile airframe. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for controlling vibrations in a missile having piezoelectric fibers integrated into structural components of the missile, the method comprising:
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receiving a sensor signal from the piezoelectric fibers measuring a change in motion in the components; modulating the sensor signal to form an excitation signal adapted to increase stiffness or compliance of the fibers at predetermined frequencies to tune a structural response of the components; and applying the excitation signal to the fibers, wherein the excitation signal is generated to tune the structural response of the components based on frequency components of the sensor signal. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A missile airframe comprising:
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an airframe structure fabricated from a composite material containing a plurality of piezoelectric fibers adapted to generate an electrical signal in response to a deformation in the structure and to deform the structure in response to an excitation signal applied thereto and a control circuit configured to receive the electrical signal from the fibers, to modulate the signal to form an excitation signal adapted to increase stiffness or compliance of the fibers at predetermined frequencies to tune a frequency response of the structure, and to apply the excitation signal to the fibers, wherein the electrical signal includes frequency components associated with the deformation of the structure and the control circuit generates the excitation signal to tune the frequency response of the structure based on the frequency components.
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17. A mounting structure comprising:
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a mounting structure fabricated from a composite material containing a plurality of piezoelectric fibers adapted to generate an electrical signal in response to a deformation in the structure and to deform the structure in response to an excitation signal applied thereto and a control circuit configured to receive the electrical signal from the fibers, to modulate the signal to form an excitation signal adapted to increase stiffness or compliance of the fibers at predetermined frequencies to tune a frequency response of the structure, and to apply the excitation signal to the fibers, wherein the electrical signal includes frequency components associated with the deformation of the structure and the control circuit generates the excitation signal to tune the frequency response of the structure based on the frequency components.
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18. A control circuit for controlling vibrations in a structure containing piezoelectric fibers adapted to generate a sensor signal in response to a deformation in the structure and to deform the structure in response to an excitation signal applied thereto, the control circuit comprising:
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a first circuit for receiving the sensor signal, the sensor signal including frequency components associated with the deformation of the structure; and a second circuit for modulating the sensor signal to form an excitation signal adapted electronically tune a structural response of the structure based on the frequency components of the sensor signal, wherein at least some of the piezoelectric fibers that generate the sensor signal in response to the deformation are the same piezoelectric fibers that deform the structure in response to the excitation signal applied thereto. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification