Modelling of electric field and stress in piezoelectric composite under bending load in quasi-static conditions

Piezoelectric materials show interesting properties for developing actuators and sensors but those materials have strict constraints on the maximum stress and electric field which must be taken into account in the design. In most cases the electric field is supposed constant but this assumption is clearly inappropriate in bending actuators where the electric field vary across piezoelectric layer thickness. This paper presents an analytical model which takes into account the variation of the electric field and its impact on the stress in laminated structures under bending loads allowing an optimal design of laminated structure using piezoelectric materials.