The effective electroelastic property of cracked piezoelectric media

Summary This paper presents a study on the effective electroelastic property of piezoelectric media with parallel or randomly distributed cracks. The theoretical formulation is derived using the dilute model of distributed cracks and the solution of a single dielectric crack problem, in which the electric boundary condition along the crack surfaces is governed by the crack opening displacement. It is observed that the effective electroelastic property of such cracked piezoelectric media is nonlinear and sensitive to loading conditions. Numerical simulations are conducted to show the effects of crack distribution and electric boundary condition upon the effective electroelastic property. The transition between the commonly used electrically permeable and impermeable crack models is studied.