Experimental analysis of nonlinear resonances in piezoelectric plates with geometric nonlinearities

Piezoelectric devices with integrated actuation and sensing capabilities are often used for the development of electromechanical systems. The present paper addresses experimentally the nonlinear dynamics of a fully integrated circular piezoelectric thin structure, with piezoelectric patches used for actuation and other for sensing. A phase-locked loop control system is used to measure the resonant periodic response of the system under harmonic forcing, in both its stable and unstable parts. The single-mode response around a symmetric resonance as well as the coupled response around an asymmetric resonance, involving two companion modes in 1:1 internal resonance, is accurately measured. For the latter, a particular location of the patches and additional signal processing is proposed to spatially discriminate the response of each companion mode. In addition to a hardening behavior associated with geometric nonlinearities of the plate, a softening behavior predominant at low actuation amplitudes is observed, resulting from the material piezoelectric nonlinearities.