Diagonal flexoelectric sensor on cylindrical shell substructure

In this paper, the cylindrical flexoelectric sensor is put forward. A simply supported cylindrical shell is used as the substructure of sensor model. And the substructure is attached with a diagonal flexoelectric patch. Based on Kirchhoff-Love thin shell theory, the signal equation is derived first. The expression shows that signal is not related to membrane strain. Then the modal signal is obtained by modal expansion method. Signal components in longitudinal direction and circumferential direction are fetched out respectively. By case study, the best orientation angle of flexoelectric patch is evaluated, and the dimensions of shell and flexoelectric patch are optimized. The best orientation angle is reached when the long side of flexoelectric patch is parallel to the short side of rectangle unwrapped by cylindrical shell. Smaller radius of shell is more appreciated for signal outputting. Analysis data shows that higher signal output needs smaller dimension of flexoelectric patch. The average effect and strain gradient are the biggest factors to signal output. All these analysis data can offer useful guidance to the design of flexoelectric sensor.