Analysis of out-of-plane displacement and stress field in a piezocomposite plate with functionally graded microstructure

A modified classical lamination theory (CLT) to account for piezoelectric coupling terms under applied electric field was developed. CLT is capable of predicting the stress field and out-of-plane displacement of laminated piezoelectric layers. CLT was applied to predict the stress and out-of-plane displacement of different types of piezoelectric actuators. A standard piezoelectric bimorph and a newly proposed piezoelectric functionally graded microstructure (FGM) bimorph were analyzed using CLT. The FGM piezoelectric laminates are composite materials whose electroelastic properties are varied through their thickness. The electroelastic properties of an FGM are made to vary in a linear or non-linear manner through the thickness to achieve the maximum displacement of the actuator while minimizing the induced stress field. The CLT results were verified using the finite element method. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. AH rights reserved.