Vibration analysis of a piezoelectric composite plate with cracks

The vibration behavior of a piezoelectric composite plate with cracks is analyzed in this paper. Based on the principle of minimum energy, a dynamical model is established, and the effects of cracks and piezoelectric materials on mode shapes are analyzed. Numerical simulations for a rectangular aluminum plate with and without cracks are conducted to validate the model. The contours of the displacement and strain mode shapes are compared. It is shown that the strain mode is more sensitive to cracks rather than the displacement mode. The approach is expected to detect damages of piezoelectric composite plates.