Local solutions to a model of piezoelectric materials

A local existence theorem is proved for a non‐linear coupled system modelling the electromechanical motion of a one‐dimensional piezoelectric body with domain switching. The system is composed by a heat equation describing the behaviour of the number of electric dipoles and by a wave equation governing the dynamic of the electric displacement. The main coupling in the system appears in the time‐dependent velocity of the waves depending on the number of electric dipoles. The proof of the result relies on a time decay estimate satisfied by the number of electric dipoles and an uniform estimate of the solution of the regularized wave equation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Basic solutions of a 3D rectangular limited-permeable crack or two 3D rectangular limited-permeable cracks in the piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composite materials

The solutions of a three-dimensional rectangular limited-permeable crack or two three-dimensional rectangular limited-permeable cracks in the piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composite materials were investigated by using the generalized Almansi’s theorem and the Schmidt method. Finally, the relations among the electric field, the magnetic flux field and the stress field near the crack tips were obtained and the effects of the electric permittivity, the magnetic permeability of the air inside the crack, the shape of the rectangular crack on the stress, the electric displacement and magnetic flux intensity factors in the piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composite materials were analyzed.     

Identifying the elastic moduli of composite plates by using high-order theories

The study aims to predict the elastic and damping properties of composite laminated plates from measured dynamical characteristics. The elastic constants and damping properties of a laminated element are determined by using experimental data and the results of a multilevel theoretical approach. Solution examples for particular problems are given. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 35–50, January–February, 2008.     

Compressive and thermal postbuckling behaviors of laminated plates with piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite actuators

This paper studied compressive postbuckling under thermal environments and thermal postbuckling due to a uniform temperature rise for a shear deformable laminated plate with piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) actuators based on a higher order shear deformation plate theory that includes thermo-piezoelectric effects. The material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent and the initial geometric imperfection of the plate is considered. The compressive and thermal postbuckling behaviors of perfect, imperfect, symmetric cross-ply and antisymmetric angle-ply laminated plates with fully covered or embedded PFRC actuators are conducted under different sets of thermal and electric loading conditions. The results reveal that, the applied voltage usually has a small effect on the postbuckling load–deflection relationship of the plate with PFRC actuators in the compressive buckling case, whereas the effect of applied voltage is more pronounced for the plate with PFRC actuators, compared to the results of the same plate with monolithic piezoelectric actuators.     

A note on analyticity to piezoelectric systems

In this paper, we consider a piezoelectric dissipative system in which a dissipation term is given through the mechanical part of the stress tensor. The abstract Cauchy problem associated to this system generates a semigroup of linear operators. We establish the analyticity of this semigroup that, in turn, implies the exponential decay of the corresponding energy and the strong regularity of the solutions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlinear finite element analysis of functionally graded plates integrated with patches of piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite

In this paper, a nonlinear static finite element analysis of simply supported smart functionally graded (FG) plates in the presence/absence of the thermal environment has been presented. The substrate FG plate is integrated with the patches of piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) material which act as the distributed actuators of the plate. The material properties of the FG substrate plate are assumed to be temperature dependent and graded along the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The derivation of this nonlinear thermo-electro-mechanical coupled finite element model is based on the first order shear deformation theory and the Von Karman type geometric nonlinearity. The numerical solutions of the nonlinear equations of the finite element model are obtained by employing the direct iteration method. The numerical illustrations suggest the potential use of the distributed actuator made of the PFRC material for active control of nonlinear deformations of smart FG structures. The effects of volume fraction index of the FG material of the substrate plates and the locations of the PFRC patches on the control authority of the patches are investigated. Emphasis has also been placed on investigating the effect of variation of piezoelectric fiber orientation angle in the PFRC patches on their actuation capability for counteracting the large deflections of FG plates.     

Identifying the elastic moduli of composite plates by using high-order theories. 2. Theoretical-experimental approach

The identification of elastic properties of laminated composite plates from measured eigenfrequencies has been performed. The elastic moduli of the laminates were determined by using a multilevel modeling and a two-step identification procedure. At the first step, based on a genetic algorithm, the Young’s and shear moduli were found, but at the second one, by minimizing an error function, the values of transverse moduli were refined. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 207–216, March–April, 2008.     

Modeling of thin isotropic elastic plates with small piezoelectric inclusions and distributed electric circuits

This paper is the second part of a work devoted to the modelling of thin elastic plates with small, periodically distributed piezoelectric inclusions. We consider the equations of linear elasticity coupled with the electrostatic equation, with various kinds of electric boundary conditions. We derive the corresponding effective models when the thickness a of the plate and the characteristic dimension ϵ of the inclusions tend together to zero, in the two following situations: first, when a ≃ ϵ, and second, when a ∕ ϵ tends to zero. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization of piezoelectric fiber distribution in composite smart materials

A new approach to obtain macroscopic properties of fiber‐matrix composite materials is given by the optimization of the fiber distribution for a given pair of materials. The optimization was carried out by Evolution Strategies using an interface to the finite‐element‐software ANSYS. To cover the effects of varied micro level parameters, a homogenization algorithm was included in the optimization process. Two applications verify the correct implementation of the software. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Uniform stabilization of a thermo piezoelectric/piezomagnetic model

We consider an evolution system describing an electro/magneto/thermoelastic phenomenon in a bounded domain of R³${\mathbb{R}}^3$. The resulting anisotropic model is a coupling between two hyperbolic equations, two elliptic equations and one parabolic equation. Assuming that a dissipative mechanism is present on the boundary and suitable boundary conditions are given we prove that the total energy decays exponentially as t?+∞$t?+\infty$ provided the region satisfies a geometric condition.     

Electro-mechanical sliding frictional contact of a piezoelectric half-plane under a rigid conducting punch

This paper investigates the two-dimensional sliding frictional contact of a piezoelectric half-plane in the plane strain state under the action of a rigid flat or a triangular punch. It is assumed that the punch is a perfect electrical conductor with a constant electric potential. By using the Fourier integral transform technique and the superposition theorem, the problem is reduced to a pair of coupled Cauchy singular integral equations and then is numerically solved to determine the unknown contact pressure and surface electric charge distribution. The effects of the friction coefficient and electro-mechanical loads on the normal contact stress, normal electric displacement, in-plane stress and in-plane electric displacement are discussed in detail. It is found that the friction coefficient has a significant effect on the electro-mechanical sliding frictional contact behaviors of the piezoelectric materials.     

A solution method for the sub-surface stresses and local deflection of a semi-infinite inhomogeneous elastic medium

This paper proposes analytical Fourier series solutions (based on the Airy stress function) for the local deflection and subsurface stress field of a two-dimensional graded elastic solid loaded by a pre-determined pressure distribution. We present a selection of numerical results for a simple sinusoidal pressure which indicates how the inhomogeneity of the solid affects its behaviour. The model is then adapted and used to derive an iterative algorithm which may be used to solve for the contact half width and pressure induced from contact with a rigid punch. Finally, the contact of a rigid cylindrical stamp is studied and our results compared to those predicted by Hertzian theory. It is found that solids with a slowly varying elastic modulus produce results in good agreement with those of Hertz whilst more quickly varying elastic moduli which correspond to solids that become stiffer below the surface give rise to larger maximum pressures and stresses whilst the contact pressure is found to act over a smaller area.     

The propagation of elastic waves in composite materials reinforced with piezoelectric fibres

The propagation of longitudinal elastic waves in composite materials, consisting of a polymer matrix reinforced by continuous fibres in one direction, is considered. The reinforcing fibres have piezoelectric properties and have a thin current-conducting coating (“shunted fibres”). The scattering of electric energy in such materials leads to dispersion of the velocity of the elastic waves and to their attenuation. The effective-field method is used to determine the macroscopic electroelastic constants of such composites. These constants enable one to obtain, in explicit form, the frequency dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the wave number of a longitudinal wave, propagating along the reinforcement direction, and also their dependenc on the physical and geometrical characteristics of the components.     

Moisture absorption and mechanical and acoustic responses in shear of a glass fiber fabric/epoxy resin composite

An analysis of the mechanical and acoustic responses of a laminate composed of 12 layers of glass fiber fabric/epoxy resin and conditioned in environments with relative humidities of 0, 60, and 96% RH at 60°C is presented. The first part of the study consists in following the weight gain according to the duration of hygrothermal conditioning, and the second part—in test ing 45°-oriented specimens in uniaxial tension up to failure at constant imposed displacement rates, with registrating the acoustic emission to track the damage process. The influence of moisture content in the material showed up as a significant decrease in its shear modulus, shear stress, and acoustic emission with growing quantity of absorbed water. An exponential function is proposed for describing the relationship between the varying shear modulus and the shear strain. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 595–602, September–October, 2007.     

Dynamic interaction of an elastic medium with a thin-walled curvilinear piezoelectric inclusion under longitudinal vibrations of a composite

Using the method of matched asymptotic expansions, we obtain models of dynamic interaction of a thin-walled curvilinear piezoelectric inclusion of variable thickness with an elastic isotropic matrix under stationary vibrations of the composite. The elastic system is under conditions of longitudinal shear. Different cases of electric boundary conditions on the surface of the heterogeneity are considered. We propose an algorithm for the construction of boundary layer corrections for refining the behavior of displacements and stresses in the vicinity of the edge of the inclusion for its different shapes.     

Stress distribution in an infinite elastic body with a covered periodically curved fiber

Within the frame work of a piecewise homogeneous body model, with the use of the three-dimensional geometrically nonlinear exact equations of elasticity theory, a method is developed for determining the stress distribution in unidirectional fibrous composites with periodically curved fibers. The distribution of the normal and shear stresses acting on interfaces for the case where there exists a bond covering cylinder of constant thickness between the fiber and matrix is considered. The concentration of fibers in the composite is assumed to be low, and the interaction between them is neglected. Numerous numerical results related to the stress distribution in the body considered are obtained, and the influence of geometrical nonlinearity on this distribution is analyzed. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 269-288, March-April, 2009.