Mechanical Engineering: Faculty: Henry Sodano

Henry Sodano
Personal Web Page
E-mail:hsodano@mtu.edu

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Virginia Tech

Smart Structures, Vibration Control, Power Harvesting, Structural Health
Monitoring, Deployable Satellites

Research Interests
Dr. Sodano researches the utilization/development of smart structures and materials. A smart material can be characterized as one that exhibits useful coupling between multiple physical domains. This coupling can be used in the construction of systems for actuation, sensing, vibration control, power harvesting, or damage detection. Currently he is an active researcher in power harvesting, which uses the coupling present in smart materials to
transduce ambient energy sources into usable electrical energy. He also investigates the development of non-contact vibration control mechanisms. These systems use magnetic fields to transform the motion or vibration of the structure into electrical current that is then dissipated due to the internal resistance of the structure. Because they are non-contact, control energy can be applied without contacting the structure, therefore avoiding the adverse affects of mass loading or added stiffness. Lastly, he is studying methods of identifying structural damage using wireless sensor nodes and the development of structural materials that incorporate biological concepts into their design to allow self-healing or active control of material properties.

Selected Publications

Sodano, H.A., Bae, J.S., Inman, D.J. and Belvin, W.K., 2004, “Concept and Model of Eddy Current Damper for Vibration Suppression of a Beam,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 288, pp. 1177-1196.

Sodano, H.A., Park, G., and Inman, D.J., 2005, “Comparison of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Devices for Recharging Batteries,” Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, Vol. 16, No. 10, pp. 799-807.

Sodano, H.A., Park, G. and Inman, D.J., 2005, “Multiple Sensors and Actuators for Vibration Suppression of an Inflated Torus, AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 42, No. 2.

Sodano, H.A, Park, G. and Inman, D.J., 2004, “Estimation of Electric Charge Output for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting,” Journal of Strain, Vol. 40, pp. 49-58.

Sodano, H.A., Park, G. and Inman, D.J., 2003, “An Investigation into the Performance of Macro-Fiber Composites for Sensing and Structural Vibration Applications,” Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 683-697.