In the realm of structural dynamics, free vibration typically denotes stability, with vibrations naturally dissipating over time. However, in certain high-energy environments, such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the effects of sudden thermal impulse impacts on components like collimator jaws can result in significant challenges. Studies have revealed that even brief vibratory responses can cause permanent deformation, particularly when the energy in the system exceeds the yield limit of the collimator material. While passive methods, such as changing the material, have been successful in reducing deformation, these solutions fail when the impact energy surpasses the material's limits. This necessitated the development of an adaptive collimation system incorporating sensors and actuators to respond dynamically to thermal effects. However, the design of a suitable controller for these impact cases remained elusive.This work addresses this gap by focusing on the design of a disturbance estimation-based controller capable of reducing the first-cycle peak response to sudden impacts, restricting resultant compressive forces below the material yield limit. Simulation results indicate that a 25% reduction in the first-cycle peak can potentially achieve this protective effect. Traditional active vibration control strategies involve moving system eigenvalues to enhance stability, but aggressive control leads to robustness issues. Disturbance rejection control offers a balance by reducing extreme pole placements and compensating for uncertainties. However, even this method faces challenges, especially with noise and nonlinearity.This thesis delves into the intricacies of first-cycle peak-restricting controls in smart structures, a field with a clear knowledge gap. A piezoelectric actuator and optical sensor system are employed to test various control algorithms. Simulative investigations, using finite element models and experimental data from a bespoke test rig, explore the relationship between peak attenuation and system parameters such as damping and observer bandwidth. Simulations reveal a saturation point in attenuation improvement, emphasizing the diminishing returns of tuning parameters beyond a certain threshold.The experimental findings highlight the practical limits of first-cycle peak attenuation due to sudden impacts, with the classical controller achieving an 18% reduction, while non-collocated and collocated estimation-based controllers achieve 30% and 48.2% reductions, respectively. However, these gains come with increased noise amplification—up to tenfold—introducing a trade-off between attenuation performance and noise management. The major contribution of this thesis is a framework correlating first-cycle peak suppression with system characteristics and noise amplification, providing insights into the design of disturbance estimation-based controllers. This work offers practical guidance for achieving peak attenuation in high-energy impact scenarios, such as the LHC collimator system, while balancing the challenges of robustness and noise amplification.