Piezoelectric sensor location by the observability Gramian maximization using topology optimization

This work presents an optimal design methodology for piezoelectric material positioning in structures aiming at vibration measurements. The main objective is to find the optimal location of piezoelectric sensors using a suitable topology optimization strategy. The sensors location is determined by an optimization formulation that defines where the material should have piezoelectric properties. The objective of the optimization is maximizing observability, measured by means of the trace of the Gramian matrix. The control strategy development is based on a truncated modal system model. A case study and its results are presented and discussed, showing that the optimal placement of the piezoelectric sensors in a cantilever beam can be suitably achieved through the proposed approach.