Non-linear vibration of a piezoelectric beam contacting with a fixed disk

Non-linear vibrations of a cantilever piezoelectric beam in contact with a fixed disk are studied in this paper. The piezoelectric beam is excited to produce mechanical longitudinal oscillations by inverse piezoelectric effect of piezoceramics. The equations of motion describing the vibrations and contact forces are derived by Hamilton's principle and the geometry constraint. Finite element formulation is used to reduce the equations to a set of non-linear ordinary differential equations. The transient amplitudes and the contacting forces are simulated by the Runge-Kutta algorithm. The effects of piezoceramics, excitation of voltage and the frictional forces are investigated and discussed. (C) 1999 Academic Press.