Computational approach of piezoelectric shells by the GDQ method

A piezoelectric laminated cylindrical shell with shear rotations effect under the electromechanical loads and four sides simply supported boundary condition was studied by using the two-dimensional generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) computational method. The typical hybrid composite shells with 3-layered cross-ply [90°/0°/90°] graphite–epoxy laminate and bounded PVDF layers are considered under the sinusoidal pressure loads and electric potentials on the shell. The governing partial differential equation with first-order shear deformation theory in terms of mid-surface displacements and shear rotations can be expressed in series equations by the GDQ formulation. Thus we obtain the GDQ numerical solutions of non-dimensional displacement and stresses at center position of laminated piezoelectric shells. Displacement is generally affected by the thickness of laminated piezoelectric shells under the action of mechanical load. Stresses are generally affected by the thickness and the length of laminated piezoelectric shells under the actions of mechanical load and electric potential.     

Transient Dynamic Response of Clamped-Free Hybrid Composite Circular Cylindrical Shells

Dynamic response of multilayer circular cylindrical shells composed of hybrid composite materials subjected to lateral impulse load is studied in this paper. The boundary conditions (B.C.s) are considered to be clamped-free. Both isotropic (metal) and orthotropic (composite) layers are used simultaneously in the hybrid lamination. There is no limitation for fibre orientation. First order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and Love’s first approximation theory are utilized in the shell’s equilibrium equations. Equilibrium equations for free and forced vibration problems of the shell are solved using Galerkin method. Finally, time response of displacement components of Fibre-Metal Laminate (FML) cylindrical shells is derived using mode superposition method. The effect of lay up, material properties, fibre orientation and volume fraction of metal layers on the dynamic response of the shell are investigated. New interesting results are obtained and discussed providing a helpful insight for aircraft structure’s designers.     

Dynamic characteristics of cylindrical hybrid panels containing viscoelastic layer based on layerwise mechanics

The viscoelastic damping model of the cylindrical hybrid panels with co-cured, free and constrained layers has been developed and investigated by using the refined finite element method based on the layerwise shell theory. The transverse shear and normal strains and the curved geometry are exactly taken into account in the present layerwise shell model, which can depict the zig-zag in-plane and out-of-plane displacements. The damped natural frequencies, modal loss factors and frequency response functions of cylindrical viscoelastic hybrid panels are compared with those of the base composite panel without a viscoelastic layer. The difference in the free vibration and damping of the thin and thick composite laminates and the viscoelastic sandwiched beam between full and partial layerwise theories is verified by comparison with the published results. Various damping characteristics of cylindrical hybrid panels with free viscoelastic layer, constrained layer damping, and co-cured sandwich laminates are investigated. Present results show that the full layerwise damping model accurately predicted the vibration and damping of the cylindrical hybrid panels with viscoelastic layers.     

Static analysis of functionally graded cylindrical shell with piezoelectric layers using differential quadrature method

Three-dimensional solution for static analysis of functionally graded (FG) cylindrical shell with bonded piezoelectric layers is presented using differential quadrature method (DQM) and state-space approach. Applying the DQM to the governing differential equations and to the edges boundary conditions, new state equations about state variables at discrete points are derived. The stress, displacement, and electric potential distributions are obtained by solving these state equations. The convergence and accuracy of the present method is validated by comparing numerical results for the hybrid FG cylindrical shell with simply-supported edges with the analytical solution that has been published in the literature. Both the direct and the inverse piezoelectric effects are investigated and the influence of piezoelectric layers and gradient index on the mechanical behavior of shell is studied.     

Higher order shear deformation effects on analysis of laminates with piezoelectric fibre reinforced composite actuators

A complete analytical solution for cross-ply composite laminates integrated with piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composite (PFRC) actuators under bi-directional bending is presented in this paper. A higher order shear and normal deformation theory (HOSNT12) is used to analyze such hybrid or smart laminates subjected to electromechanical loading. The displacement function of the present model is approximated by employing Taylor’s series in the thickness coordinate, while the electro-static potential is assumed to be layer wise (LW) linear through the thickness of PFRC. The equations of equilibrium are obtained using principle of minimum potential energy and solution is by Navier’s technique. Transverse shear stresses are presented at the interface of PFRC actuator and laminate under the action of electrostatic potentials. Results are compared with first order shear deformation theory (FOST) and exact solution.     

Non-linear coupled multi-field mechanics and finite element for active multi-stable thermal piezoelectric shells

In this paper, a coupled multi-field mechanics framework is presented for analyzing the non-linear response of shallow doubly curved adaptive laminated piezoelectric shells undergoing large displacements and rotations in thermal environments. The mechanics incorporate coupling between mechanical, electric and thermal fields and encompass geometric non-linearity effects due to large displacements and rotations. The governing equations are formulated explicitly in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates and are combined with the kinematic assumptions of a mixed-field shear-layerwise shell laminate theory. A finite element methodology and an eight-node coupled non-linear shell element are developed. The discrete coupled non-linear equations of motion are linearized and solved, using an extended cylindrical arc-length method together with a Newton–Raphson technique, to enable robust numerical predictions of non-linear active shells transitioning between multiple stable equilibrium paths. Validation and evaluation cases on laminated cylindrical strips and cylindrical panels demonstrate the accuracy of the method and its robust capability to predict non-linear response under thermal and piezoelectric actuator loads. Moreover, the results illustrate the capability of the method to model piezoelectric shells undergoing large shape changes by actively jumping between stable equilibrium states and quantify the strong relationship between shell curvature, applied electric potential, applied temperature differential and induced shape change. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Postbuckling of pressure-loaded FGM hybrid cylindrical shells in thermal environments

A postbuckling analysis is presented for a functionally graded cylindrical shell with piezoelectric actuators subjected to lateral or hydrostatic pressure combined with electric loads in thermal environments. Heat conduction and temperature-dependent material properties are both taken into account. The temperature field considered is assumed to be a uniform distribution over the shell surface and varied in the thickness direction and the electric field considered only has non-zero-valued component E_Z. The material properties of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents, and the material properties of both FGM and piezoelectric layers are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The governing equations are based on a higher order shear deformation theory with a von Kármán–Donnell-type of kinematic nonlinearity. A boundary layer theory of shell buckling is extended to the case of FGM hybrid laminated cylindrical shells of finite length. A singular perturbation technique is employed to determine the buckling pressure and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The numerical illustrations concern the postbuckling behavior of pressure-loaded, perfect and imperfect, FGM cylindrical shells with fully covered piezoelectric actuators under different sets of thermal and electric loading conditions. The results reveal that temperature dependency, temperature change and volume fraction distribution have a significant effect on the buckling pressure and postbuckling behavior of FGM hybrid cylindrical shells. In contrast, the control voltage only has a very small effect on the buckling pressure and postbuckling behavior of FGM hybrid cylindrical shells.     

Performance of piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composites for active structural-acoustic control of laminated composite plates

This paper deals with the active structural acoustic control of thin laminated composite plates using piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composite (PFRC) material for the constraining layer of active constrained layer damping (ACLD) treatment. A finite element model is developed for the laminated composite plates integrated with the patches of ACLD treatment to describe the coupled structural-acoustic behavior of the plates enclosing an acoustic cavity. The performance of the PFRC layers of the patches has been investigated for active control of sound radiated from thin symmetric and antisymmetric cross-ply and antisymmetric angle-ply laminated composite plates into the acoustic cavity. The significant effect of variation of piezoelectric fiber orientation in the PFRC layer on controlling the structure-borne sound radiated from thin laminated plates has been investigated to determine the fiber angle in the PFRC layer for which the structural-acoustic control authority of the patches becomes maximum.     

A Three-Dimensional Asymptotic Theory of Laminated Piezoelectric Shells

An asymptotic theory of doubly curved laminated piezoelectric shells is developed on the basis of three-dimensional (3D) linear piezoelectricity. The twenty-two basic equations of 3D piezoelectricity are firstly reduced to eight differential equations in terms of eight primary variables of elastic and electric fields. By means of nondimensionalization, asymptotic expansion and successive integration, we can obtain recurrent sets of governing equations for various order problems. The two-dimensional equations in the classical laminated piezoelectric shell theory (CST) are derived as a first-order approximation to the 3D piezoelectricity. Higher-order corrections as well as the first-order solution can be determined by treating the CST equations at multiple levels in a systematic and consistent way. Several benchmark solutions for various piezoelectric laminates are given to demonstrate the performance of the theory.     

Coupled efficient layerwise and smeared third order theories for vibration of smart piezolaminated cylindrical shells

The improved third order zigzag theory and its smeared counterpart (without the zigzag effect), recently developed by the authors for static analysis of piezoelectric laminated cylindrical shells, are extended to dynamics. The piezoelectric layers are considered as radially polarized to make use of the extension actuation mechanism that is best suited for effective actuation and sensing. The zigzag theory accounts for the layerwise variation of inplane displacements and includes the transverse normal extensibility under electric field, and also satisfies the conditions on transverse shear stresses at the layer interfaces and at the inner and outer surfaces of the shell. Yet, the number of primary displacement variables is only five, same as its smeared counterpart. The two theories are critically assessed for their accuracy by direct comparison with the three dimensional piezoelasticity solutions for free and forced vibration response of simply supported smart angle-ply infinite-length and cross-ply finite-length shells, with a variety of heterogeneous composite and sandwich laminates. It is shown that the zigzag theory, in spite of being computationally efficient, is very accurate even for shells with highly inhomogeneous laminates. In contrast, the smeared third order theory is grossly inadequate for smart shells made of inhomogeneous composite and sandwich substrates.     

Numerical and exact models for free vibration analysis of cylindrical and spherical shell panels

The present paper shows a comparison between classical two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) finite elements (FEs), classical and refined 2D generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) methods and an exact three-dimensional solution. A free vibration analysis of one-layered and multilayered isotropic, composite and sandwich cylindrical and spherical shell panels is made. Low and high order frequencies are analyzed for thick and thin simply supported structures. Vibration modes are investigated to make a comparison between results obtained via the FE and GDQ methods (numerical solutions) and those obtained by means of the exact three-dimensional solution. The 3D exact solution is based on the differential equations of equilibrium written in general orthogonal curvilinear coordinates. This exact method is based on a layer-wise approach, the continuity of displacements and transverse shear/normal stresses is imposed at the interfaces between the layers of the structure. The geometry for shells is considered without any simplifications. The 3D and 2D finite element results are obtained by means of a well-known commercial FE code. Classical and refined 2D GDQ models are based on a generalized unified approach which considers both equivalent single layer and layer-wise theories. The differences between 2D and 3D FE solutions, classical and refined 2D GDQ models and 3D exact solutions depend on several parameters. These include the considered mode, the order of frequency, the thickness ratio of the structure, the geometry, the embedded material and the lamination sequence.     

Active control of forced vibrations in adaptive structures using a higher order model

This paper deals with a finite element formulation for active control of forced vibrations, including resonance, of thin plate/shell laminated structures with integrated piezoelectric layers, acting as sensors and actuators, based on third-order shear deformation theory. The finite element model is a single layer triangular nonconforming plate/shell element with 24 degrees of freedom for the generalized displacements, and one electrical potential degree of freedom for each piezoelectric element layer, which are surface bonded or embedded in the laminate.

The Newmark method is considered to calculate the dynamic response of the laminated structures, forced to vibrate in the first natural frequency. To achieve a mechanism of active control of the structure dynamic response, a feedback control algorithm is used, coupling the sensor and active piezoelectric layers. The model is applied in the solution of illustrative cases, and the results are presented and discussed.     

A comparison of buckling and postbuckling behavior of FGM plates with piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite actuators

Compressive postbuckling under thermal environments and thermal postbuckling due to a uniform temperature rise are presented for a simply supported, shear deformable functionally graded plate with piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) actuators. The material properties of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents, and the material properties of both FGM and PFRC layers are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The governing equations are based on a higher order shear deformation plate theory that includes thermo-piezoelectric effects. The initial geometric imperfection of the plate is taken into account. A two step perturbation technique is employed to determine buckling loads (temperature) and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The numerical illustrations concern the compressive and thermal postbuckling behaviors of perfect and imperfect, geometrically mid-plane symmetric FGM plates with fully covered or embedded PFRC actuators under different sets of thermal and electric loading conditions. The results for monolithic piezoelectric actuator, which is a special case in the present study, are compared with those of PFRC actuators. The results reveal that, in the compressive buckling case, the applied voltage usually has a small effect on the postbuckling load–deflection curves of the plate with PFRC actuators, whereas in the thermal buckling case, the effect of applied voltage is more pronounced for the plate with PFRC actuators, compared to the results of the same plate with monolithic piezoelectric actuators.     

Elasticity Solution of a Laminated Clamped Cylindrical Shell with Piezoelectric Layer under Dynamic Load

Dynamic elasticity solution for a clamped, laminated cylindrical shell with two orthotropic layers bounded with a piezoelectric layer and subjected to impulse load distributed on inner surface is presented. The piezoelectric layer serves as sensor/actuator. The governing elasticity PDE equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations by means of Legendre polynomial expansion for displacement and electric potential in the axial direction. The resulting equations are transferred into state space form and reduced to an eigenvalue problem by using Galerkin's finite element in radial direction. The static and dynamic results are presented for [0/90/Piezo] lamination. The radius to thickness ratio effect on dynamic behavior is studied. The results are compared for different thickness ratios and applied electric loads with simply-supported shell results. Time responses for sensor and actuated shell are presented and natural frequencies are compared with simply-supported shell results.     

Static and free vibration analysis of multilayered functionally graded shells and plates using an efficient zigzag theory

Accurate zigzag theory is presented for static and free vibration analysis of multilayered functionally graded material (FGM) cylindrical shells and rectangular plates by approximating inplane displacements as a combination of linear layerwise and cubic global terms. Governing equations of motion are derived using Hamilton’s principle. The theory yields accurate results for displacements, stresses and natural frequencies in simply-supported functionally graded multilayered cylindrical shell panels and rectangular plates. Effect of changing the volume fraction ratio, aspect ratio and thickness of FGM layer between two homogeneous layers are investigated for a number of multilayered shell and plate laminates.     

Thermal Buckling Analysis of Piezoelectric Functionally Graded Plates with Temperature-Dependent Properties

In this study, the thermal buckling analysis of hybrid laminated plates made of two-layered functionally graded materials (FGMs) that are integrated with surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators referred to as (P/FGM)_s are investigated. Material properties for both substrate FGM layers and piezoelectric layers are temperature-dependent. Uniform temperature rise as a thermal load and constant applied actuator voltage are considered for this analysis. By definition of four new analytic functions, the five coupled governing stability equations, which are derived based on the first-order shear deformation plate theory, are converted into fourth-order and second-order decoupled partial differential equations (PDEs). Considering a Levy-type solution, these two PDEs are reduced to two ordinary differential equations. One of these equations is solved using an accurate analytical solution, which is named as power series Frobenius method. The effects of parameters, such as the plate aspect ratio, ratio of piezoelectric layer thickness to thickness of FGM layer, gradient index, actuator voltage, and the temperature dependency on the critical buckling temperature difference, are illustrated and explained. The critical buckling temperatures of (P/FGM)_s with six various boundary conditions are reported for the first time and can be served as benchmark results for researchers to validate their numerical and analytical methods in the future.     

Exact analysis for static response of cross ply laminated smart shells

Models and analytical solutions are formulated and developed for the static behavior of cross ply smart laminated shells with extension piezoelectric laminae. The models are based on a rigorous first order shell theory. The state space approach is used to find exact solutions for the static response of cross ply spherical, cylindrical and doubly curved shells with various boundary conditions. The smart shells possess two parallel edges simply supported and the remaining ones having any possible combination of boundary conditions: free, clamped or simply supported. Deflections of cross ply laminated shells incorporating piezoelectric layers are determined. Numerical results of six layer laminates are generated to investigate the shell static behavior. The exact solutions for deflections can be used as benchmarks for approximate solutions such as Rayleigh–Ritz and finite element methods.     

Thermoelastic analysis of rotating laminated functionally graded cylindrical shells using layerwise differential quadrature method

An accurate and efficient solution procedure based on the elasticity theory is employed to investigate the thermoelastic behavior of rotating laminated functionally graded (FG) cylindrical shells in thermal environment. The material properties are assumed to be temperature dependent and graded in the thickness direction. In order to accurately model the variation of the field variables across the thickness, the shell is divided into a set of mathematical layers. The differential quadrature method (DQM) is adopted to discretize the governing differential equations of each layer together with the related boundary and compatibility conditions at the interface of two adjacent layers. Using the DQM enables one to accurately and efficiently discretize the partial differential equations, especially along the graded direction, and also implement the boundary and compatibility conditions in their strong forms. After demonstrating the convergence and accuracy of the presented approach, the effects of material and geometrical parameters and also temperature dependence of material properties on the stresses and displacement components of rotating laminated FG cylindrical shells are studied.     

Exact analysis for static response of cross ply laminated smart shells

Models and analytical solutions are formulated and developed for the static behavior of cross ply smart laminated shells with extension piezoelectric laminae. The models are based on a rigorous first order shell theory. The state space approach is used to find exact solutions for the static response of cross ply spherical, cylindrical and doubly curved shells with various boundary conditions. The smart shells possess two parallel edges simply supported and the remaining ones having any possible combination of boundary conditions: free, clamped or simply supported. Deflections of cross ply laminated shells incorporating piezoelectric layers are determined. Numerical results of six layer laminates are generated to investigate the shell static behavior. The exact solutions for deflections can be used as benchmarks for approximate solutions such as Rayleigh–Ritz and finite element methods.     

Exact Solutions for the Analysis of Piezoelectric Fiber Reinforced Composites as Distributed Actuators for Smart Composite Plates

Performance of a layer of piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) material as the distributed actuator for smart composite plates has been investigated in this paper. The investigation is performed by finding the exact solutions for static analysis of simply supported symmetric and anti-symmetric cross-ply laminated plates integrated with a layer of PFRC material. The results suggest the potential use of PFRC materials for the distributed actuators of smart structures with both thick and thin substrate composite plates.