Exact deflection solutions of beams with shear piezoelectric actuators

state-space approach and Jordan canonical form. A case study is presented to evaluate the performance of the authors' previously reported models. Through a demonstrative example, a comparative study of the first-order and higher-order beams with two shear piezoelectric actuators is attained. It is shown that the first-order beam cannot predict the beam behavior when compared with the results of the higher-order beam. Further applications of the solutions are presented by investigating the effects of actuators lengths and locations on the deflected shapes of beams with two piezoelectric actuators. Some interesting deflection curves are presented. For example, the deflection curve of a H-H beam resembles saw teeth that rotate clockwise about the central location with the increase of actuators lengths. The presented exact solutions can be used in the design process to obtain detailed deformation information of beams with various boundary conditions. Moreover, the presented analysis can be readily used to perform precise shape control of beams with n actuators of shear piezoelectric. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.