Linear and Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Active Composite Laminates

The paper presents a finite element concept for analysis of thin-walled active structures featuring fiber reinforced composite laminate as a passive structural material. The structure is rendered active by embedding piezoelectric material as a multifunctional material. A 9-node degenerated shell element based on the first order shear deformation theory is developed as a modelling tool capable of predicting the general behavior of the structure for controlling purposes. The von-Kármán type nonlinearities are considered. The solution strategy of the geometrical nonlinear analysis is based on the incremental approach using the updated Lagrangian formulation. Some numerical results are given to demonstrate the behavior of the element. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)