Vibration Analysis of Piezolaminated Plates for Sensing and Actuating Applications Under Dynamic Excitation

The vibration characteristics of piezolaminated plates under coupled electromechanical loading are investigated using the finite element method. Higher order shear deformation theory is adopted to incorporate the effect of shear in the formulation. In the finite element formulation, an isoperimetric eight-nodded rectangular element is employed with linear through-the-thickness electric potential distribution. In the parametric study, the influences of geometry and boundary conditions on the vibration characteristics of piezolaminated plates are evaluated. Numerical results are presented for the frequencies of simply supported, clamped plates fitted with piezoelectric patches at the top and bottom surfaces of the laminate. For this, a model simulating the effect of the electromechanical loading with control potential is developed. Studies are also performed for piezolaminated plates with various thickness-to-span ratios, along with convergence test. The effect of the provision of piezoelectric layers to improve the vibration response of plates is investigated. This analysis reveals that the electro-mechanical coupling can strengthen the plate’s resistance to vibration.