Modelling and design of adaptive composite structures Original Research Article

Recent developments in adaptive composite structures with distributed piezoelectric actuators and sensors have attracted significant attention in the research community due to their potential commercial benefits in a wide range of applications such as vibration suppression, shape control, noise attenuation and precision positioning. The complexity in the design and fabrication of the adaptive laminated composites has resulted in a need to develop reliable and refined models to study their material properties and mechanical behaviour. Here, higher order finite element formulations and an analytical closed form solution have been developed to study the mechanics of adaptive composite structures with embedded and/or bonded piezoelectric actuators and sensors. Optimization of adaptive composite structures is also an important design aspect in order to maximize actuator performance. Two optimization schemes are considered in this study where the design variables are the layer thickness, actuator size and location. To demonstrate the validity, usefulness and efficiency of the proposed models several illustrative examples are presented and discussed.