Full-field experimental–numerical study of mechanical static strain and stress in piezoelectric multilayer compression-type actuators

This paper presents a hybrid experimental–numerical study of the mechanical behaviour of axial multilayer piezoelectric actuators. The study focuses on deformations and strains produced by the application of a DC voltage without mechanical load. The experimental techniques used are the electronic speckle pattern interferometry with out-of-plane and in-plane sensitivity. The numerical model uses the 3D finite element analysis. The full-field deformation and strain maps obtained by both methods show that the actuator looses its original parallelepipedic shape. Some consequences are destructive stress concentrations and errors in the direction of the displacement.