Abstract
It is known that, when the mechanical coupling between the substructures is weak, small imperfections in a periodic structure can induce vibration localization. This will cause drastic and harmful changes in structure dynamic property. In this study, it is shown that the proposed coupled piezoelectric circuits can greatly relieve or even eliminate such vibration localization problems. Part of the structural vibration energy will be transferred into electrical energy by the piezoelectric materials, and the newly created electro-mechanical wave/energy channel due to the strong capacitive coupling between the piezoelectric circuits applied to the substructures will sustain the energy propagation throughout the structure. The effectiveness of the coupled piezoelectric circuits on reducing vibration localization is demonstrated, and qualitative analyses and design criteria are given.
