Reduction of applied electric potential controlling thermoelastic displacement in a piezoelectric actuator

Summary The present paper discusses how to reduce the applied electric potential which controls a distribution of the elastic displacement, when temperature change induces elastic deformation in a piezoelectric-based solid state actuator. The actuator consists of an isotropic structural plate, onto which multiple piezoelectric ceramic plates of crystal class 6mm are perfectly bonded. The analysis of this thermoelastic problem leads to electric potential applied to piezoelectric ceramic plates. Numerical calculations are carried out for an isotropic steel plate, onto which multiple cadmium-selenide plates are perfectly bonded. Finally, it is shown that the maximum applied electric potential in the case of ten cadmium selenide plates can be reduced to 11% of that derived from the previous study of a similar problem of one cadmium selenide plate bonded onto an isotropic steel plate. Received 10 September 1998; accepted for publication 23 March 1999