Analysis of Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Cylinders in a Hygrothermal Environment

This paper presents an analytical solution for the interaction of electric potentials, electric displacement, elastic deformations, and describes hygrothermal effect responses in hollow and solid cylinders, subjected to mechanical load and electric potential. Exact solutions for displacement, stresses and electric potentials in functionally graded piezoelectric material are determined using the infinitesimal theory. The material properties coefficients of the present cylinder are assumed to be graded in the radial direction by a power law distribution. Numerical examples display the significant of influence of material inhomogeneity. It is interesting to note that selecting a specific value of inhomogeneity parameter can optimize the piezoelectric hollow and solid cylinders responses, which will be of particular importance in modern engineering designs.     

Three-dimensional analysis for transient coupled thermoelastic response of a functionally graded rectangular plate

The generalized coupled thermoelasticity based on the Lord-Shulman theory is considered to study the transient thermoelastic response of functionally graded rectangular plates. The state equations of functionally graded rectangular plate subjected to time-dependent thermal loads were established by using of state space approach, in which three displacement components, three stress components, the temperature and the heat flux were chosen as state variables. By giving simply supported boundary conditions and assuming that the material properties of the plate have an exponential law distribution along the thickness-coordinate, the equations were solved by the numerical Laplace transformations and shooting methods for transient thermal responses of a three dimensional functionally graded rectangular plate due to a thermal shock on its top surface. Effects of the volume fraction distributions of material constituents on the thermal responses, including the temperature change, the displacement and the stresses distributions were investigated.     

Love wave propagation in functionally graded piezoelectric material layer

An exact approach is used to investigate Love waves in functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) layer bonded to a semi-infinite homogeneous solid. The piezoelectric material is polarized in z-axis direction and the material properties change gradually with the thickness of the layer. We here assume that all material properties of the piezoelectric layer have the same exponential function distribution along the x-axis direction. The analytical solutions of dispersion relations are obtained for electrically open or short circuit conditions. The effects of the gradient variation of material constants on the phase velocity, the group velocity, and the coupled electromechanical factor are discussed in detail. The displacement, electric potential, and stress distributions along thickness of the graded layer are calculated and plotted. Numerical examples indicate that appropriate gradient distributing of the material properties make Love waves to propagate along the surface of the piezoelectric layer, or a bigger electromechanical coupling factor can be obtained, which is in favor of acquiring a better performance in surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices.     

Bleustein-Gulyaev waves in a functionally graded piezoelectric material layered structure

This work presents a theoretical study of the propagation behavior of Bleustein-Gulyaev waves in a layered structure consisting of a functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) layer and a transversely isotropic piezoelectric substrate. The influence of the graded variation of FGPM coefficients on the dispersion relations of Bleustein-Gulyaev waves in the layered structure is investigated. It is demonstrated that, for a certain frequency range of Bleustein-Gulyaev waves, the mechanical perturbations of the particles are restricted in the FPGM layer and the phase velocity is independent of the electrical boundary conditions at the free surface. Results presented in this study can not only provide further insight on the electromechanical coupling behavior of surface waves in FGPM layered structures, but also lend a theoretical basis for the design of high-performance surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10632060), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CB601202), the National 111 Project of China (Grant No. B06024), and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20070698064)     

Analytical solution and semi-analytical solution for anisotropic functionally graded beam subject to arbitrary loading

Analytical and semi-analytical solutions are presented for anisotropic functionally graded beams subject to an arbitrary load, which can be expanded in terms of sinusoidal series. For plane stress problems, the stress function is assumed to consist of two parts, one being a product of a trigonometric function of the longitudinal coordinate (x) and an undetermined function of the thickness coordinate (y), and the other a linear polynomial of x with unknown coefficients depending on y. The governing equations satisfied by these y-dependent functions are derived. The expressions for stresses, resultant forces and displacements are then deduced, with integral constants determinable from the boundary conditions. While the analytical solution is derived for the beam with material coefficients varying exponentially or in a power law along the thickness, the semi-analytical solution is sought by making use of the sub-layer approximation for the beam with an arbitrary variation of material parameters along the thickness. The present analysis is applicable to beams with various boundary conditions at the two ends. Three numerical examples are presented for validation of the theory and illustration of the effects of certain parameters. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10472102, 10432030, and 10725210)     

Dispersion of waves and characteristic wave surfaces in functionally graded piezoelectric plates

An inhomogeneous layer element method is presented to analyze the dispersion of waves and characteristic wave surfaces in plates of functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM). In this method, the FGPM plate is divided into a number of layered elements. The elemental elastic and electric properties are assumed as linear functions of the thickness to adopt the variety of the material property of FGPM. The Hamilton principle is applied to determine the governing equations. The phase velocity surface, phase slowness surface, phase wave surface, group velocity surface, group slowness surface, and group wave surface for FGPM plate are formulated using Rayleigh quotient and the orthogonality condition of the eigenvectors. These six surfaces are then used to illustrate the characteristics of waves in FGPM plates. Numerical examples are presented using the present formulations to analyze dispersions and characteristics of waves in FGPM plates.     

Solutions to two or four parallel Mode-I permeable cracks in magnetoelectroelastic composite materials

The solutions to two or four parallel Mode-I permeable cracks in magnetoelectroelastic composite materials are derived using the generalized Almansi's theorem under permeable electric and magnetic boundary conditions. The problem can be solved through the Fourier transform with the help of two pairs of dual integral equations, in which unknown variables were jumps of displacements across crack surfaces, not dislocation density functions. To solve the dual integral equations, the jumps of displacements across crack surfaces were directly expanded in a series of Jacobi polynomials to obtain the relations among the electric displacement intensity factors, the magnetic flux intensity factors and the stress intensity factors at the crack tips. The paper presents the interactions of two or four parallel Mode-I cracks in magnetoelectroelastic composite materials and the crack-shielding effect in magnetoelectroelastic composite materials.     

Nonlinear dynamic response and active vibration control for piezoelectric functionally graded plate

The nonlinear dynamic response and active vibration control of the piezoelectric functionally graded plate are analyzed in this paper. Based on higher-order shear plate theory and elastic piezoelectric theory, the nonlinear geometric and constitutive relations of the piezoelectric functionally graded plate are established, and then the nonlinear motion equations of the piezoelectric functionally graded plate are obtained through Hamilton's variational principle. The nonlinear active vibration control of the structure is carried out with adoption of the negative velocity feedback control algorithm. By applying finite difference method, the whole problem is solved by using iterative method synthetically. In numerical examples, the effects of mechanical load, electric load, the volume fraction and the geometric parameters on the dynamic response and vibration control of the piezoelectric FGM plate are investigated.     

Non-local theory solution of two collinear mode-I permeable cracks in a magnetoelectroelastic composite material plane

The non-local theory solution of two collinear mode-I permeable cracks in a magnetoelectroelastic composite material plane was investigated using the generalized Almansi's theorem and the Schmidt method. The problem was formulated through Fourier transform into two pairs of dual integral equations, in which the unknown variables are the jumps in displacements across the crack surfaces. To solve the dual integral equations, the displacement jumps across the crack surfaces were directly expanded as a series of Jacobi polynomials. Numerical examples were provided to show the effects of crack length, the distance between two collinear cracks and the lattice parameter on the stress field, the electric displacement field and the magnetic flux field near the crack tips. Unlike the classical elasticity solutions, it is found that no stress, electric displacement or magnetic flux singularities are present at the crack tips in a magnetoelectroelastic composite material plane. The non-local elastic solutions yield a finite hoop stress at the crack tip, thus allowing us to use the maximum stress as a fracture criterion.     

Dynamic stress from a circular hole in a functionally graded piezoelectric/piezomagnetic material subjected to shear waves

An analytical method is applied to investigate the scattering of magneto-electro-elastic waves and dynamic stress around a circular hole in a functionally graded piezoelectric/piezomagnetic material layer. Analytical solutions of the wave, electric and magnetic fields are expressed by employing a wave function expansion method. Analyses show that the piezoelectric and piezomagnetic properties greatly affect the dynamic stress in the region of the intermediate frequency, and the effect increases with increasing non-homogeneous parameter. The effects of the incident wave number and non-homogeneous parameter of the materials on the dynamic stress and electric field are also examined.     

Exact analytical solution for free vibration of functionally graded micro/nanoplates via three-dimensional nonlocal elasticity

Using three-dimensional (3-D) nonlocal elasticity theory of Eringen, this paper presents closed-form solutions for in-plane and out-of-plane free vibration of simply supported functionally graded (FG) rectangular micro/nanoplates. Elasticity modulus and mass density of FG material are assumed to vary exponentially through the thickness of micro/nanoplate, whereas Poisson's ratio is considered to be constant. By employing appropriate displacement fields for the in-plane and out-of-plane modes that satisfy boundary conditions of the plate, ordinary differential equations of free vibration are obtained. Boundary conditions on the lateral surfaces are imposed on the analytical solutions of the equations to yield the natural frequencies of FG micro/nanoplate. The natural frequencies of FG micro/nanoplate are obtained for different values of nonlocal parameter and gradient index of material properties. The results of this investigation can be used as a benchmark for the future numerical, semi-analytical and analytical studies on the free vibration of FG micro/nanoplates.     

Closed-form solution for free vibration of piezoelectric coupled annular plates using Levinson plate theory

Free vibration analysis of annular moderately thick plates integrated with piezoelectric layers is investigated in this study for different combinations of soft simply supported, hard simply supported and clamped boundary conditions at the inner and outer edges of the annular plate on the basis of the Levinson plate theory (LPT). The distribution of electric potential along the thickness direction in the piezoelectric layer is assumed as a sinusoidal function so that the Maxwell static electricity equation is approximately satisfied. The differential equations of motion are solved analytically for various boundary conditions of the plate. In this study the closed-form solution for characteristic equations, displacement components of the plate and electric potential are derived for the first time in the literature. To demonstrate the accuracy of the present solution, comparison studies is first carried out with the available data in the literature and then natural frequencies of the piezoelectric coupled annular plate are presented for different thickness-radius ratios, inner-outer radius ratios, thickness of piezoelectric, material of piezoelectric and boundary conditions. Present analytical model provides design reference for piezoelectric material application, such as sensors, actuators and ultrasonic motors.     

Basic solution of four parallel non-symmetric permeable Mode-III cracks in a piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composite plane

The interaction of four parallel non-symmetric permeable cracks in a piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composite plane subjected to anti-plane shear stress loading was studied by the Schmidt method. The problem was formulated through a Fourier transform into four pairs of dual integral equations, in which unknown variables are jumps of displacements across the crack surfaces. To solve the dual integral equations, the jumps of displacements across the crack surfaces were directly expanded as a series of Jacobi polynomials. Finally, the relationships among the electric displacement, magnetic flux and stress fields near the crack tips were obtained. The results show that the stress, the electric displacement and the magnetic flux intensity factors at the crack tips depend on the lengths and spacing of cracks. It was also revealed that the crack shielding effect is present in piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composites.     

Thermal shock fracture of piezoelectric materials

This paper deals with a case study for the piezoelectric materials suddenly exposed to an environmental medium of different temperature. The problem is idealized to a plate containing an edge crack or an embedded crack. The stress and electric displacement histories in an uncracked plate are calculated. These stresses and electric displacements are then added to the crack surface tractions and electric displacements with opposite sign to formulate a mixed boundary value problem. The cracking problem is thus reduced to a singular integral equation of Cauchy type, which is then solved numerically. Both impermeable crack assumption and permeable crack assumption are considered. The results for stress and electric displacement intensity factors are computed as a function of normalized time and crack size. Lower bound solutions are obtained for the maximum thermal shock that the material can sustain without catastrophic failure according to the two distinct criteria: (i) The maximum local tensile stress equals the tensile strength of the medium. (ii) The maximum stress intensity factor for the pre-existing representative crack equals the fracture toughness of the medium. The parameters that control the transient thermal stress and electric displacement are also identified. The method can be used to explore susceptibility to thermal fracture in piezoelectric materials containing pre-cracks.     

Free vibration analysis of piezoelectric coupled circular plate with open circuit

A vibration analysis of a circular steel substrate surface bonded by a piezoelectric layer with open circuit is presented. A solution for the electrical potential along the thickness direction of the piezoelectric layer satisfying the open circuit electric boundary condition is developed for the first time. The mechanical model and solutions for the vibration analysis of the piezoelectric coupled circular plate are then established based on the developed electrical potential, the Kirchhoff plate model, and the Maxwell equation. The first four mode shapes and the corresponding resonant frequencies of the plate with two standard boundary conditions are presented in numerical simulations and compared with those of a piezoelectric coupled plate with the closed circuit condition. The simulations show that the resonant frequencies of the open circuit piezoelectric coupled plate are higher than those of the closed circuit piezoelectric coupled plate. Corresponding discussions are thus provided for the higher piezoelectric effect from the open circuit piezoelectric layer.     

Semi-Analytical Solution for Functionally Graded Solid Circular and Annular Plates Resting on Elastic Foundations Subjected to Axisymmetric Transverse Loading

In this paper, the static analysis of functionally graded (FG) circular plates resting on linear elastic foundation with various edge conditions is carried out by using a semi-analytical approach. The governing differential equations are derived based on the three dimensional theory of elasticity and assuming that the mechanical properties of the material vary exponentially along the thickness direction and Poisson's ratio remains constant. The solution is obtained by employing the state space method (SSM) to express exactly the plate behavior along the graded direction and the one dimensional differential quadrature method (DQM) to approximate the radial variations of the parameters. The effects of different parameters (e.g., material property gradient index, elastic foundation coefficients, the surfaces conditions (hard or soft surface of the plate on foundation), plate geometric parameters and edges condition) on the deformation and stress distributions of the FG circular plates are investigated.     

Thermal postbuckling and vibration analyses of functionally graded plates

Thermal postbuckling and vibration behaviors of the functionally graded (FG) plate are investigated. The material properties of the FG plate are assumed to vary continuously through the thickness of the plate and as temperature with the nonlinearity. The nonlinear finite element equations based on the first-order shear deformation plate theory are formulated for the FG plate. The von Karman nonlinear strain–displacement relationship is used to account for the large deflection of the plate. The incremental form considering the initial displacement and initial stress is adopted for the nonlinear temperature-dependent material properties of the functionally graded material. The numerical result shows the characteristics of the thermal postbuckling and vibration of the FG plate in the pre- and post-buckled regions.     

Bending analysis of a functionally graded piezoelectric cantilever beam

A new analysis based on Airy stress function method is presented for a functionally graded piezoelectric material cantilever beam. Assuming that the mechanical and electric properties of the material have the same variations along the thickness direction, a two-dimensional plane elasticity solution is obtained for the coupling electroelastic fields of the beam under different loadings. This solution will be useful in analyzing FGPM beam with arbitrary variations of material properties. The influences of the functionally graded material properties on the structural response of the beam subjected to different loads are also studied through numerical examples.     

Two-dimensional fracture analysis of piezoelectric material based on the scaled boundary node method

A scaled boundary node method(SBNM) is developed for two-dimensional fracture analysis of piezoelectric material,which allows the stress and electric displacement intensity factors to be calculated directly and accurately. As a boundarytype meshless method, the SBNM employs the moving Kriging(MK) interpolation technique to an approximate unknown field in the circumferential direction and therefore only a set of scattered nodes are required to discretize the boundary. As the shape functions satisfy Kronecker delta property, no special techniques are required to impose the essential boundary conditions. In the radial direction, the SBNM seeks analytical solutions by making use of analytical techniques available to solve ordinary differential equations. Numerical examples are investigated and satisfactory solutions are obtained, which validates the accuracy and simplicity of the proposed approach.     

Scattering of SH guided wave by a circular inclusion in an infinite piezoelectric material strip

By the means of the guided wave theory, the scattering of SH guided wave by a circular inclusion in an infinite piezoelectric material strip is investigated. With the aid of repeated image superposition, the analytical expression of scattering wave is conducted, which satisfies the stress free and electric insulation conditions on the upper and lower horizontal boundaries of the strip. According to the boundary condition, integral equation is set up and analytical expression of dynamic stress concentration factor and electric field intensity concentration factor are obtained. The influence of the order of guided waves, the physical parameters of the medium and position of the circular inclusion on the dynamic stress concentration factor and electric field intensity concentration factor are analyzed and compared with the existing literature in calculating example.