Investigation of actuating characteristics of laminated PVDF actuator used on paraboloidal shells

Based on flexibility and converse piezoelectric effect of PVDF, a laminated PVDF actuator (LPA) with hyperbolical surface is designed and attached on a paraboloidal shell partially. Models of control forces are established according to thin flexible shell theory and membrane approximation, respectively. Analytical expressions of actuating forces and moments are derived and detailed parametric study is conducted to evaluate the effects of physical properties of the actuator on control forces. The results indicate that: Magnitude of normal actuating force distributed on the actuating area which controls the normal vibration authoritatively is much larger than those of actuating moments; The larger the curvature radius of the paraboloidal shell, the smaller the magnitudes of the actuating forces; The magnitudes of actuating forces are approximately in linear with the number of PVDF layers; To make fully use of this actuating force, the actuator should not be placed at the point where the surface strain is large but at the point with large normal deformation.