Optimum design and sensitivity analysis of piezoelectric truss structures

This paper is concerned with the optimum design and sensitivity analysis methods of piezoelectric intelligent trusses on the structural stiffness and free-vibration frequency. On the basis of the finite element method and taking into account the mechanical-electric coupling effect under electric load and mechanical load, the computational formula of sensitivities of structural displacement and free-vibration frequency with respect to the size and shape design variables are proposed. A new kind of design variable of the electric voltage and the calculating method of displacement sensitivity with respect to the electric voltage variable is presented. The new method for structural deformation control by optimizing the voltages of piezoelectric active bars is given. The numerical methods of optimum design and sensitivity analysis for piezoelectric truss structures are implemented in JIFEX software. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods and the program. Project supported by the Special Funds for National Key Basic Research of China (No. G1999032805) and the Foundation for University Key Teachers by the Ministry of Education of China.