Vibration of beams with piezoelectric inclusions

A mathematical model for the vibration of beams with piezoelectric inclusions is presented. The piezoelectric inclusion in a non-piezoelectric matrix (host beam) is analyzed as two inhomogeneous inclusion problems, elastic and dielectric, by using Eshelby’s equivalent inclusion method. The natural frequency of the beam is determined from the variational principle in Rayleigh quotient form, which is expressed as functions of the elastic strain energy and dielectric energy of the piezoelectric inclusion. The Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and Rayleigh–Ritz approximation technique are used in the present analysis. In addition, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of the energies due to piezoelectric coupling on the natural frequency of the beam.