Google Scholar
 

Education

  • Ph.D., Princeton University, 1985
  • M.A., Princeton University, 1983
  • B.S., Lehigh University, 1981

Background

Dr. Ferri began at Tech in 1985 as an Assistant Professor.

Research

Dr. Ferri works primarily in the area of structural vibrations and on the interface of vibrations with other areas such as nonlinear dynamics, controls, acoustics, and tribology. Much of his research has involved the role and use of friction to enhance damping in vibrating structures. Friction plays a crucial role in many structural applications, such as turbine-blade vibration, truss and frame structures, and isolation systems. He has also investigated the use of semi-active friction devices in shock and vibration control. The term semi-active implies that feedback control is used to change the friction damping properties in real time in response to excitation and vibration conditions. He has developed passive and semi-active mounts designed to isolate and protect equipment platforms on submarines.

Recently, Dr. Ferri has studied the use of dither to cancel friction-induced oscillations. An ideal application of this technology is to brake systems, where high-frequency forces can be applied to the brake pad in order to eliminate brake squeal. In the area of diagnostics and prognostics, Dr. Ferri has studied the detection of cracks in helicopter transmission components as well as failures in automotive electric power generation and storage (EPGS) systems. He has also conducted research in the areas of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) for submerged elastic structures and for aeroelastic systems. These numerical efforts have relied on the coupling of finite-element models with boundary-element methods and with finite-difference schemes.

Dr. Ferri's research has received funding from a number of sources including: Honeywell, Inc., the National Science Foundation, NASA, The Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Office of Naval Research, and General Motors Corporation. Since joining the School of Mechanical Engineering in 1985, he has taught a wide variety of classes in dynamics, modeling, control, numerical methods, and vibrations.

  • Class of 1940 W. Howard Ector Outstanding Teacher Award, Georgia Tech, 2016
  • Best Paper Award, 2016 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, ASEE Mechanics Division, 2016
  • Jack M. Zeigler Outstanding Educator Award in the Woodruff School, 2010
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers
    • Fellow, 2008
    • Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics Associate Editor, 2005 - 2011
    • Journal of Applied Mechanics Associate Editor, 1997-2003
    • Dynamics and Control of Structures and Systems (Applied Mechanics Division) Technical Committee Chair, 1999-2001
  • Woodruff School Faculty Fellow, 1993-1998
  • Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, 1991
  • Lilly Foundation National Teaching Fellowship, 1990-1991

Representative Publications

  • Haroon, M., Adams, D.E., Luk, Y.W., and Ferri, A.A., “A Time and Frequency Domain Approach for Identifying Nonlinear Mechanical System Models in the Absence of an Input Measurement,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 283, 2005, pp. 1137-1155.
  • Ferri, A.A. and Whiteman, W.E., “Free Response of a System with Negative Viscous Damping and Displacement-Dependent Dry Friction Damping,”  Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 306(3-5), 9 October 2007, pp 400-418.  
  • Michaux, M.A., Ferri, A.A., and Cunefare, K.A., “Effect of Tangential Dither Signal on Friction Induced Oscillations in an SDOF System,” ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2007, pp. 201- 210.
  • Do. N.B., Ferri, A.A., and Bauchau, O.A., “Efficient Simulation of a Dynamic System with LuGre Friction,” ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics, Vol. 2, No. 4, October 2007, pp. 281-289.
  • Badertscher, J., Cunefare, K.A., and Ferri, A.A., 2006, “Braking Impact of Normal Dither Signals,” ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, Vol 129, No. 1, February, 2007, p 17-23.
  • Michaux, M.A., Ferri, A.A., and Cunefare, K.A., "Effect of Waveform on the Effectiveness of Tangential Dither Forces to Cancel Friction-Induced Oscillations," Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 311, No. 3-5, 2008, pp. 802-823.
  • Ferri, B.H. and Ferri, A.A., “Reconfiguration of IIR Filters in Response to Computer Resource Availability,” ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems, Vol 9, No. 1, Oct, 2009, pp. 2:1-25.
  • Kim, D., Leamy, M.J., and Ferri, A.A., “Dynamic Modeling and Stability Analysis of Flat Belt Drives Using an Elastic/Perfectly-Plastic Friction Law,” ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, Vol 133, No. 4, 2011.
  • Patrick, R., Ferri, A.A., and Vachtsevanos, G.J., “Effect of Planetary Gear Carrier-Plate Cracks on Vibration Spectrum,” ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, Vol. 134, No. 6, December 2012, pp. 061001-1 -12.
  • Eicholtz, M.R., Caspall, J.J., Dao, P.V., Sprigle, S., and Ferri, A.A., “Test method for empirically determining inertial properties of manual wheelchairs,” Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 2012;  49(1):51–62.
  • Barker, K.M., Poggi, M.A., Lizarraga, L., Lillehei, P.T., Ferri, A.A., and Bottomley, L.A.,  “Peeling of Long, Straight Carbon Nanotubes from Surfaces,” Journal of Nanotechnology, vol. 2014, Article ID 349453, 11 pages, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/349453.
  • Barber, J.R., Boyles, J.S., Ferri, A.A., and Bottomley, L.A. , “Empirical Correlation of the Morphology of Coiled Carbon Nanotubes with their Response to Axial Compression,” Journal of Nanotechnology, vol. 2014, Article ID 616240, 12 pages, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/616240.
  • Ferri, B.H.,  Ferri, A.A., and Runge, G.B., “Frequency-Weighted Variable-Length Controllers Using Anytime Control Strategies,” ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, 2015, 137(8):081001-081001-10.