Piezothermoelasticity analysis for a circular cylindrical shell under the state of axisymmetric deformation

An analytical study for the piezothermoelastic behavior of a circular cylindrical shell laminated with a piezoelectric layer is presented. The solution is obtained through the Power Series Expansion method in conjunction with axisymmetric thermal and mechanical loadings expanded as Fourier series. Both the direct and the inverse piezoelectric effects are studied in detail. Results presented are valuable for both assessing numerical results (e.g. the finite element method) obtained from approximate methods and understanding the piezothermoelastic response of piezoelectric smart shells. It is implied from the present study that the straightforward application of some assumptions adopted to develop analytical models for piezoelectric structures to piezothermoelectric shell structures must be careful. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd