Piezoelectric actuation and sensing mechanisms––closed form solutions

The purpose of this study is to investigate the actuation and sensing mechanism of a shear PZT embedded in a composite laminated beam. The actuator/sensor is either continuous or in the form of patches. The effects of actuator location and number of patches on actuatorʹs performance are studied for various configurations of patches and boundary conditions under mechanical and/or electric loads. A comparison between the shear PZT and the traditional (extension, surface mounted type) PZT was preformed in order to get a better understanding. A relatively simple, yet accurate model was developed and implemented. The analytical model is based on a first order shear deformation theory. The three-coupled equations of motion of a general non-symmetric piezolaminated composite beam subjected to axial and lateral tractions are derived and solved for the static case. It seems that in the actuation mode, the surface mounted type patch has a great efficiency compared with the shear type. However, by changing the dimensions of the beam to a short and `stubbyʹ one, the efficiency of the shear piezoceramics becomes larger than the efficiency of the surface mounted piezoceramics. For the sensing mode, the shear type piezoelectric patch might provide a larger output as compared to the surface mounted type one, for certain loading cases.