Dynamic electromechanical response of piezoelectric plates as sensors or actuators

This study presents a simple and accurate approach to examine the dynamic electromechanical responses of piezoelectric actuators or sensors, which are modeled as a piezoelectric rectangular plate. Based on the three-dimensional linear piezoelectricity, the fundamental unknowns such as the displacements and the electric potential are assumed to be expandable through the plate thickness coordinate. The dynamic electromechanical responses of the plate are expressed in terms of Fourier coefficients. When the boundary conditions and electromechanical inputs are specified, the unknown Fourier coefficients can be determined explicitly. In terms of analyzing a vibrating PIG-151 piezoelectric plate, numerical results of the proposed formulation correlate well with results in previous literature regarding frequencies. Analysis results also indicate that the plate size, thickness, and electroelastic constants influence dynamic response. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.