• Adaptive Structure
• Carbon Epoxy Composite
• CompactDAQ
• CompactRIO
• Control System
• Experimental Validation
• Frequency Response
• LabVIEW
• Macro Fiber Composite Patch
• MATLAB
• Modal Shaker
• Model Validation
• Morphing
• PID
• Piezoelectric
• Real Time
• Simulation
• Simulink
• Smart Materials
• Stability Augmentation System
• Vibration

The main objective of this thesis is the experimental study of Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) piezoelectric actuators embedded on composite laminates, up to the development of a control system implementing self-shaping capabilities.
A test campaign has been carried out to characterise the open-loop dynamic behaviour of the system in order to develop an experimentally-validated MATLAB-Simulink model of the MFC specimen. Then, the model has been used to design the closed-loop control architecture and define the control laws parameters, by addressing stability and performance characteristics of the response in both low and high frequency ranges.
A particular attention has been dedicated to the study of the closed-loop response with respect to vibration disturbances, up to the preliminary definition of compensation strategies based on model-inversion technique.
The whole control design activity has been experimentally-validated by developing specific software in the LabVIEW environment and performing an extensive test campaign on the closed-loop system at the fly-by-wire laboratory of Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale (Università di Pisa)