Out-of-plane interface cracks in dissimilar piezoelectric materials

Summary This paper investigates the problem of an anti-plane interfacial crack between two dissimilar piezoelectric material layers. A single crack is first considered. The effect of interaction of two collinear cracks in the medium on the field intensity factors is investigated. The solutions of several particular cases, including an infinite piezoelectric bi-material and a piezoelectric material bonded to an elastic medium, are given. The bi-material constants governing the behavior of the crack tip fields are identified. By considering the crack as a notch of finite thickness, it is shown that the thickness of the notch has a pronounced influence on the crack tip field. The results for the assumption of a permeable crack represent the limit case where the notch thickness is reduced to zero.BLW would like to thank the National Science Foundation of China (#10102004) and the City University of Hong Kong (DAG #7100219) for the support of this work. YGS also thanks the Multidiscipline Scientific Research Foundation Project (HIT. MD 2001. 39) of the Harbin Institute of Technology and the SRF for ROCS, SEM.accepted for publication 3 April 2003     

Energy principles in theory of elastic materials with voids

According to the basic idea of dual-complementarity, in a simple and unified way proposed by the author^[1], various energy principles in theory of elastic materials with voids can be established systematically. In this paper, an important integral relation is given, which can be considered essentially as the generalized pr. inciple of virtual work. Based on this relation, it is possible not only to obtain the principle of virtual work and the reciprocal theorem of work in theory of elastic materials with voids, but also to derive systematically the complementary functionals for the eight-field, six-field, four-field and two-field generalized variational principles, and the principle of minimum potential and complementary energies. Furthermore, with this appro ach, the intrinsic relationship among various principles can be explained clearly. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

An extension of the J-integral to piezoelectric materials

This paper provides an analysis of the crack propagation criterion for a thin piezoelectric plate with a symmetry of order six. On the basis of Gol’denveizer’s asymptotic integration method or Destuynder’s unidirectional zoom technique, we obtain an extension of the purely mechanical J-integral to piezoelectric materials, with a dependence of the gradient of energy of the plate only on zeroth order terms of asymptotic expansions.     

Thermal Stresses in Plane Strain of Porous Elastic Solids

This paper is concerned with the linear theory of thermoelastic materials with voids. We present a method to reduce the thermoelastic problem to an isothermal one with zero body loads and with certain known boundary data. The results are used to study the thermal stresses in a tube and the thermoelastic deformation of a cylinder subjected to a uniform temperature gradient.     

Computational modeling of rate-dependent domain switching in piezoelectric materials

In this contribution a micromechanically motivated model for rate-dependent switching effects in piezoelectric materials is developed. The proposed framework is embedded into a three-dimensional finite element setting whereby each element is assumed to represent an individual grain. Related dipole (polarization) directions are thereby initially randomly oriented at the element level to realistically capture the originally un-poled state of grains in the bulk ceramics. The onset of domain switching processes is based on a representative energy criterion and combined with a linear kinetics theory accounting for time-dependent propagation of domain walls during switching processes. In addition, grain boundary effects are incorporated by making use of a macromechanically motivated probabilistic approach. Standard volume-averaging techniques with respect to the response on individual grains in the bulk ceramics are later on applied to obtain representative hysteresis and butterfly curves under macroscopically uniaxial loading conditions at different loading frequencies. It turns out that the simulations based on the developed finite element formulation nicely match experimental data reported in the literature.     

An efficient coupled layerwise theory for static analysis of piezoelectric sandwich beams

Summary An efficient one-dimensional model is developed for the statics of piezoelectric sandwich beams. Third-order zigzag approximation is used for axial displacement, and the potential is approximated as piecewise linear. The displacement field is expressed in terms of three primary displacement variables and the electric potential variables by satisfying the conditions of zero transverse shear stress at the top and bottom and its continuity at layer interfaces. The deflection field accounts for the piezoelectric transverse normal strain. The governing equations are derived using a variational principle. The present results agree very well with the exact solution for thin and thick highly inhomogeneous simply supported hybrid sandwich beams. The developed theory can accurately model open and closed circuit boundary conditions. The first author is grateful to DST, Government of India, for financial support for this work.     

Invariant formulation of the electromechanical enthalpy function of transversely isotropic piezoelectric materials

Summary Theoretical and numerical aspects of the formulation of electromechanically coupled, transversely isotropic solids are discussed within the framework of the invariant theory. The main goal is the representation of the governing constitutive equations for reversible material behaviour based on an anisotropic electromechanical enthalpy function, which automatically fulfills the requirements of material symmetry. The introduction of a preferred direction in the argument list of the enthalpy function allows the construction of isotropic tensor functions, which reflect the inherent geometrical and physical symmetries of the polarized medium. After presenting the general framework, we consider two important model problems within this setting: i) the linear piezoelectric solid; and ii) the nonlinear electrostriction. A parameter identification of the invariant- and the common coordinate-dependent formulation is performed for both cases. The tensor generators for the stresses, electric displacements and the moduli are derived in detail, and some representative numerical examples are presented.We thank Dipl.-Ing. H. Romanowski for his support and helpful remarks.     

Wave propagation in transversely isotropic porous piezoelectric materials

Wave propagation in porous piezoelectric material (PPM), having crystal symmetry 6 mm, is studied analytically. Christoffel equation is derived for the propagation of plane harmonic waves in such a medium. The roots of this equation give four complex wave velocities which can propagate in such materials. The phase velocities of propagation and the attenuation quality factors of all these waves are described in terms of complex wave velocities. Phase velocities and attenuation of the waves in PPM depend on the phase direction. Numerical results are computed for the PPM BaTiO₃. The variation of phase velocity and attenuation quality factor with phase direction, porosity and the wave frequency is studied. The effects of anisotropy and piezoelectric coupling are also studied. The phase velocities of two quasi dilatational waves and one quasi shear waves get affected due to piezoelectric coupling while that of type 2 quasi shear wave remain unaffected. The phase velocities of all the four waves show non-dispersive behavior after certain critical high frequency. The phase velocity of all waves decreases with porosity while attenuation of respective waves increases with porosity of the medium. The characteristic curves, including slowness curves, velocity curves, and the attenuation curves, are also studied in this paper.     

On some basic principles in dynamic theory of elastic materials with voids

According to the basic idea of dual-complementarity, in a simple and unified way proposed by the author^[1], some basic principles in dynamic theory of elastic materials with voids can be established systematically. In this paper, an important integral relation in terms of convolutions is given, which can be considered as the generalized principle of virtual work in mechanics. Based on this relation, it is possible not only to obtain the principle of virtual work and the reciprocal theorem in dynamic theory of elastic materials with voids, but also to derive systematically the complementary functionals for the eight-field, six-field, four-field and two-field simplified Gurtin-type variational principles. Furthermore, with this approach, the intrinsic relationship among various principles can be explained clearly. The project supported by the Foundation of Zhongshan University Advanced Research Center     

A general theory of thermoporoelastoplasticity for saturated porous materials

A general theory of thermoporoelastoplasticity for saturated porous materials is presented. The theory is derived from the thermodynamics of open systems and irreversible processes. The thermal effects, due to the saturating fluid, are taken into account through a latent heat associated with the increase of fluid mass content. The theory does not assume incompressibility nor infinitesimal displacements for the saturating fluid. To take into account the plastic compressibility of the skeleton, the notion of plastic porosity is introduced. This plastic porosity is different from the overall plastic dilatation. The usual isothermal phenomenological theories appear to be particular cases of the proposed general theory.     

Non-local theory solution for a Mode I crack in piezoelectric materials

In this paper, the non-local theory of elasticity is applied to obtain the behavior of a Griffith crack in the piezoelectric materials subjected to a uniform tension loading. The permittivity of the air in the crack is considered. By means of the Fourier transform, the problem can be solved with the help of two pairs of dual integral equations, in which the unknown variables are the jumps of the displacements across the crack surfaces. To solve the dual integral equations, the jumps of the displacements across the crack surfaces are expanded in a series of Jacobi polynomials. Numerical examples are provided to show the effects of the crack length, the materials constants, the electric boundary conditions and the lattice parameter on the stress and the electric displacement fields near the crack tips. It can be obtained that the effects of the electric boundary conditions on the electric displacement fields are large. Unlike the classical elasticity solutions, it is found that no stress and electric displacement singularities are present at the crack tips. The non-local elastic solutions yield a finite hoop stress at the crack tips, thus allowing us to use the maximum stress as a fracture criterion.     

Charged dislocations in piezoelectric bimaterials

In some piezoelectric semiconductors and ceramic materials, dislocations can be electrically active and could be even highly charged. However, the impact of dislocation charges on the strain and electric fields in piezoelectric and layered structures has not been presently understood. Thus, in this paper, we develop, for the first time, a charged three-dimensional dislocation loop model in an anisotropic piezoelectric bimaterial space to study the physical and mechanical characteristics which are essential to the design of novel layered structures. We first develop the analytical model based on which a line-integral solution can be derived for the coupled elastic and electric fields induced by an arbitrarily shaped and charged three-dimensional dislocation loop. As numerical examples, we apply our solutions to the typical piezoelectric AlGaN/GaN bimaterial to analyze the fields induced by charged square and elliptic dislocation loops. Our numerical results show that, except for the induced elastic (mechanical) displacement, charges along the dislocation loop could substantially perturb other induced fields. In other words, charges on the dislocation loop could significantly affect the traditional dislocation-induced stress/strain, electric displacement, and polarization fields in piezoelectric bimaterials.     

A hybrid phenomenological model for ferroelectroelastic ceramics. Part I: Single phased materials

In this part I of a two part series, a rate-independent hybrid phenomenological constitutive model applicable for single phased polycrystalline ferroelectroelastic ceramics is presented. The term “hybrid” refers to the fact that features from macroscopic phenomenological models and micro-electromechanical phenomenological models are combined. In particular, functional forms for a switching function and the Helmholtz free energy are assumed as in many macroscopic phenomenological models; and the volume fractions of domain variants are used to describe the internal material state, which is a key feature of micro-electromechanical phenomenological models. The approach described in this paper is an attempt to combine the advantages of macroscopic and micro-electromechanical material models. Its potential is demonstrated by comparison with experimental data for barium titanate. Finally, it is shown that the model for single phased materials cannot reproduce the material behavior of morphotropic PZT ceramics based on a realistic choice for the material parameters. This serves as a motivation for part II of the series, which deals with the modeling of morphotropic PZT ceramics taking into account the micro-structural specifics of these materials.     

Semi-inverse solution for Saint-Venant's problem in the theory of porous elastic materials

The purpose of this research is to study the Saint-Venant's problem for right cylinders with general cross-section made of inhomogeneous anisotropic elastic materials with voids. We reformulate the quasi-static equilibrium equations with the axial variable playing the role of a parameter. Two classes of semi-inverse solutions to Saint-Venant's problem are described in terms of five generalized plane strain problems. These classes are used in order to obtain a semi-inverse solution for the relaxed Saint-Venant's problem. An application of this results in the study of extension, bending, torsion and flexure of right circular cylinders in the case of isotropic materials is presented.     

Analytical solution for the electroelastic dynamics of a nonhomogeneous spherically isotropic piezoelectric hollow sphere

Summary By introduction of a special dependent variable and separation of variables technique, the electroelastic dynamic problem of a nonhomogeneous, spherically isotropic hollow sphere is transformed to a Volterra integral equation of the second kind about a function of time. The equation can be solved by means of the interpolation method, and the solutions for displacements, stresses, electric displacements and electric potential are obtained. The present method is suitable for a piezoelectric hollow sphere with an arbitrary thickness subjected to arbitrary mechanical and electrical loads. Numerical results are presented at the end.The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 10172075 and No. 10002016).     

Analytical solution for the electromechanical behavior of a rotating functionally graded piezoelectric hollow shaft

In the present paper, the analytical solution for a radially piezoelectric functionally graded rotating hollow shaft is presented. The variation of material properties is assumed to follow a power law along the radial direction of the shaft. Two resulting fully coupled differential equations in terms of the displacement and electric potential are solved directly. Numerical results for different shaft geometries with different profiles of inhomogeneity are also graphically displayed.