George A. Lesieutre

Professor and Head

Dept. of Aerospace Engineering

Ph.D., UCLA, 1989

229 Hammond Building
Department of Aerospace Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802

Office: (814) 863-0103
Fax: (814) 865-7092
Email: g-lesieutre@psu.edu
Personal web page

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

General research interests are motivated by aerospace vehicle applications, and include materials and controls for precision structures, vehicle dynamics and control, and systems engineering. Present activities address concepts for morphing aircraft structures, the dynamic behavior of elastomeric components in rotorcraft applications, piezoelectric actuators for structural control, energy harvesting using piezoelectric materials, and the nonlinear dynamics of particle dampers. Other research addresses the dynamic analysis of damped structures, structural composite materials with improved intrinsic damping, semi-active vibration control using tunable transducers and and shunted piezoelectrics, shape determination for gossamer space structures, structural condition monitoring, and bio-inspired control. Experiments are an important part of much work, and improved measurement methods are also of concern.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. – 1989 – University of California, Los Angeles; Aerospace Engineering. Thesis Title: “Modeling Frequency-Dependent Material Damping using Anelastic Displacement Fields.” (Advisor: D.L. "Tino" Mingori)

M.S. – 1987 – University of California, Los Angeles; Engineering.

B.S. – 1981– Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA.

The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Aerospace Engineering, 1989-present

SPARTA, Inc., Aerospace Technology, La Jolla and Laguna Hills, CA, 1983-1989

Rockwell International (Boeing), Satellite Systems Division, Seal Beach, CA, 1981-1983

General Motors, Allison Gas Turbines Division, Indianapolis, IN, 1979-1981

Argonne National Laboratory, Energy and Environmental Systems, Argonne, IL, 1977-1979

LaSalle: Expedition II, Montreal to New Orleans, 1976-1977

Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) (1979 – present).

Member of the American Helicopter Society (1995 – present).

Faculty Advisor for the Aerospace Graduate Student Association (AeroGSA) (1999 – present).

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Lesieutre, G.A., J. Loverich, G.H. Koopmann, and E.M. Mockensturm, “Increasing The Mechanical Work Output Of An Active Material Using A Non-Linear Motion Transmission Mechanism,” Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, 2003.

Lesieutre, G.A., Hofmann, H., and Ottman, G., “Damping as a Result of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2003.

Frank, J.E., G.H. Koopmann, W. Chen, E. Mockensturm, G.A. Lesieutre, and J.Y. Loverich, “Modeling And Design Optimization Of A Bimorph-Driven Rotary Motor,” Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, Vol. 14, No. 4/5, April/May 2003, pp. 217-228.

Szefi, J.T., E.C. Smith, and G.A. Lesieutre, “Formulation and Validation of a Ritz-Based Analytical Model for Design of Periodically Layered Isolators in Compression,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2003.

Shiue, F.W., C.E. Bakis, G.A. Lesieutre, “A Virtual Containment Strategy For Filament-Wound Composite Flywheel Rotors With Damage Growth,” Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 35, No. 9, 2002, pp. 1103-1120.

Brackbill, C.R., E.C. Smith, G.A. Lesieutre, “Application of a Refined Time Domain Elastomeric Damper Model to Helicopter Rotor Aeroelastic Response and Stability,” AHS Journal, Vol. 47, No. 3, July 2002, pp. 186-197.

Lesieutre, G.A., “Damping in Finite Element Models,” Encyclopedia of Vibration, Academic Press, Ewins, Rao, Editors, 2001.

Davis, C.L. and G.A. Lesieutre, “An Actively Tuned Solid State Vibration Absorber Using Capacitive Shunting of Piezoelectric Stiffness,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 232(3), 4 May 2000, pp. 601-617.

Klein, T.F., and G.A. Lesieutre, “The Effect of the Low Earth Orbit Space Environment on the Damping of Carbon Reinforced Polymer Composites,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 37, No. 4, July-August 2000, pp. 519-525.

Zapfe, J.A., and G.A. Lesieutre, “A Discrete Layer Finite Element for the Dynamic Analysis of Composite Sandwich Beams with Integral Damping Layers,” Computers and Structures, Vol. 70, 1999, pp. 647-666.

Hébert, C.A. and G.A. Lesieutre, “Flexural Piezoelectric Transducers With Frequency Agility Obtained Via Membrane Loads,” Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, Vol. 9, No. 12, December, 1998, pp. 1030-1037.

Lesieutre, G.A., “Vibration Damping and Control using Shunted Piezoelectric Materials,” Shock and Vibration Digest, Vol. 30, 1998, pp. 187-195.

Lesieutre, G.A., and C.L. Davis, “Can a Coupling Coefficient of a Piezoelectric Actuator be Higher Than Those of Its Active Material?,” Journal of Intelligent Materials Systems and Structures, Vol. 8, 1997, pp. 859-867.

Lesieutre, G.A., and E. Bianchini, “Time-Domain Modeling of Linear Viscoelasticity using Anelastic Displacement Fields,” Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, Vol. 117, No. 4, October, 1995, pp. 424-430.

Lesieutre, G.A., A.J. Eckel, and J.A. DiCarlo, “Damping of Bromine-Intercalated P-100 Graphite Fibers,” Carbon, Vol. 29, No. 7, 1991, pp. 1025-1032.

RESEARCH SPONSORS:

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

National Rotorcraft Technology Center (NRTC)

NASA Langley Research Center

Office of Naval Research (ONR)

private industry (Lord, PCB, CIRA, MSC, PFC, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas)