Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Green Technology and Sustainable Development, 2014

ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR STATIC ANALYSISOF COMPOSITE

LAMINATES INDUCED BY PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATORS
Nguyen Khanh Binh1,a, Hoang Duc Vinh2,b, Nguyen Hoai Son3,c, Phan Ha Nhut4,d
1 and 2 and 3 and 4

Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education

nguyen.kb222@gmail.com; bvinhhoangduc@gmail.com; csonnh@hcmute.edu.vn

d

phanhanhut@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
The coupling effects between the mechanical and electric properties of piezoelectric materials have drawn
significant attention for their potential applications as sensor and actuators. In this investigation, two
piezoelectric actuators are symmetrically surface bonded one cross-ply composite laminate. Electric voltages
with the same amplitude and opposite sign are applied to the two symmetric piezoelectric actuators, resulting in
the bending effect on the laminate plate. The bending moment is derived by using the classical laminate theory
and piezoelectricity. The analytical solution of the flexural displacement of the simply supported composite plate
subjected to the bending moment is solved by using the plate theory. Theeffects of size, thickness, location and
voltage of the piezoelectric actuators on the response of the composite laminate are presented through a
parametric study. A simple model incorporating the classical laminate theory and plate theory presented to
predict the deformed shape of the simply supported laminate composite.
Keywords: piezoelectric actuator; bending moment; plate theory; flexural displacement.

1.

vibration actuators to excite the selected

modes. Shape control is one of the major
applications for piezoelectric materials.
Koconiset al. [9] controlled the shape of
composite plates and shells with
piezoelectric actuators. Luo and Tong [10]
developed a finite element model to
simulate twisting and bending shape control
using
the
orthotropic
piezoelectric
actuators. Lin and Nien [8] used
piezoelectric actuators to control the
deflection and shape of the composite
laminates.

INTRODUCTION

Piezoelectric materials with the advantages

of quick response, low power consumption
and high linearity have drawn much
attention in the past decade. Piezoelectric
devices are of great interest in structural
engineering with applications to the shape
control, vibration suppression and noise
reduction [4]. Piezoceramics are the most
common material used in smart structures
and can be surface bonded to existing
structures to form an online monitoring
system or embedded in composite
structures without significantly changing
the structural stiffness system. Bailey and
Hubbard [5] developed first adaptive
structure using (PVDF) film as actuator to
control the structural vibration of a
cantilever beam. Huang and Sun [7] studied
the load transfer and wave propagation of
an anisotropic elastic medium induced by
the surface bonded piezoelectric actuator.
Dimitriadiset al. [8] used two dimensional
patches of piezoelectric material bonded to
the surface of a simply supported plate as

The present work investigated the load

transfer
between
surface
bonded
piezoelectric actuators and the host
structure. The proposed method is an
extension of the one dimensionalbeam
embedded with PZT derived by Crawley
and de Luis [6] and dimensionalplate
surface bonded with PZT derived by
Dimitriadis [8]. The model consists of two
piezoelectric
actuators
symmetrically
surface bonded on a cross-ply composite
laminate subjected to electrical voltage. An
analytical expression of the bending
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Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Green Technology and Sustainable Development, 2014

moment induced by the piezoelectric

actuators was derived by incorporating the
composite laminate theory and piezoelectric
effect. The bending moment was then
applied to the composite laminate with
simple supported boundary conditions. A
closed form solution to the deflection of the
simply supported composite laminate was
obtained by using the plate theory. The
objective of this investigationisto develop
an analytical expression of the response of a
thin plate excited by the bonded
piezoelectric actuators. The feasibility of
controlling the deflected shape of the plate
is illustrated by placing the actuators at
various locations.
2.

Figure 1. Bending moment acting on the

composite laminate induced by the lead
zirconate titanate PZT actuators

In
the following derivation,
the
piezoelectric actuators are assumed
tobeperfectly bonded to the composite
laminate and in the state of plane stress.
This implies the strain continuity across the
interfaces as shown in figure 2.

BENDING MOMENT

Consider two piezoelectric actuators

symmetrically surface bonded on a crossply composite laminate. The polarized
direction is along the z-axis. For an
unconstrained thin piezoelectric actuator,
equal strains in both x and y directions will
be induced when activated by a voltage
along the poling direction. The magnitudeof
the strain can be expressed in terms of the
piezoelectric constantd31, applied voltage V
and actuator thickness tpe, as follows [1]:
( ) = ( ) =  =

Figure 2. Straindistribution across the

thickness of the composite laminate

The strains across the thickness of

composite laminate due to the bending
moment can be expressed as follows [3]:

(1)

 =  ;  =  ;

Where subscripts peand p represent the

quantities associated with piezoelectric
actuator
and
host
plate,
respectively,throughoutthis paper. When an
electrical field is applied in the direction
normal to the actuator surface, surface
strains are generated equation (1). Since
this work focus on the deformation of the
plate induced by the bending moment, only
constantd31 is considered in this model.

 = 

(2)

Where Z is the position along the thickness

measured from the midplane of the
laminate, kx, ky and kxy are the curvatures of
the composite laminate.
The bending stresses in the k-th layer of the
composite laminate are [3]:


   =  
 


The two actuators are activated by

applying a voltage of equal magnitude and
opposite sign to the opposing actuators.
The opposite directions of the surface
traction at the interfaces between the
actuator and plate cause the uniform
bending moments along the actuator
boundaries as shown in figure 1.

Where:









   



(3)

 = Q cos % + 2(Q + 2Q )sin cos  +

Q  sin% .
 = (Q + Q  4Q  )sin cos  +
Q sin% cos % .

272

(1)

Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Green Technology and Sustainable Development, 2014

 = Q sin% 2(Q + 2Q )sin cos  +

Q cos % .

[(D12)p + 2(D12)pe] kx+ [(D22)P+2(D12)pe] ky

= (1+vpe)(B11)pe  pe

 = (  2 ),-./01, 2 / + (

 + 2 ),-.2 /01,/.

Where:

(H ) =

In the case of cross-ply (=00 or 900),

33333
33333

 4.5 are equal to zero. The bending
stresses in the k-th layer can be reduced to:


( ) = 6[   +    ]

( ) = 6[  +    ]
( ) = 6[  ]

( ) =

9 

<
:; 

>1 + = @ ]

[6 + = 6

CB

2

(E ) = 2 KL[ J ]
(62 6:
).

(4c)

Where zk and zk-1 represent the positions of

the top and bottom surfaces of the k-th
layer in the composite laminate,
respectively.
The curvatures kx and ky can be solved
from equation (7) as:

(5a)

kO =
[(D )S + 2>D )ST U [(D )S + 2>D )ST U
= A. [

[(D )S + 2>D)ST U. [(D )S + 2>D )ST U [(D )S + 2>D )STU

(5b)

Where: A= B11(pe).  pe

(8b)

<

(X )Y C>X)YZ@.((X<< )Y C>X<< )YZ U:[X< )Y C>X< )YZ U

The bending moments per unit length mx

and my acting on the composite laminate as
shown in figure 2 can be calculated:
[ = KL \A] ^  656` =
]

^_

]

KL \A] ^ 6  (

^_

= 0(6a)

a
+ 
 )56`

(9a)



KL \A] ^ 6  (
 + 
 )56`

(9b)

[ = KL \A] ^  656` =

(6b)

^_

Where t is one haft of the composite

laminate thickness and h is the thickness of
the piezoelectric actuator.

^_

Substituting equation (8) into (9), leads to

the bending moments:

[(D11)p + 2(D11)pe] kx+ [(D12)P+2(D12)pe] ky

= (1+vpe)(B11)pe  pe

kV =

(8a)

W.[(X )Y C(X )YZ :(X< )YC>X< )YZ U

( ) 656 = 0

((F + ) F  ).

(4b)

A:( ) 656 + A:B:( ) 656 +

A:( ) 656 + A:B:( ) 656 +

<
:; 

((F + )2 F 2 ).

The bending moments per unit length mx

and my are defined as the forces times the
moment arm z [2], respectively. The sum of
the bending moments with respect to the
neutral axis (z=0) across the thicknesses of
the composite laminate and piezoelectric
actuators are zero, such that:
CB
A ( ) 656

<
2 :; 

2
(E ) = KL[ J ] (62 6:
).

(4a)

Where Epe and vpe are the youngs modulus

and poisons ratio of the piezoelectric
actuator.

 9 

9  (C;  )

9 

>1 + = @ ]

((F + )2 F 2 ).

2

(E ) = KL[ J ]
(62 6:
).

The bending stresses in the piezoelectric

actuator are:
( ) = :;< [6 + = 6

<
2 :; 

(E ) = (E )

 = ( +  2 2 ),-. /01,  /

+  (,-.% / + 01, % /)

 ;  9 

(E )  =

 = (  2 ),-.2 /01,/ + (

 + 2 ),-./01, 2 /

(7b)

(7a)
273

mx=[kx(D11)p + ky(D12)p]

(10a)

my=[kx(D12)p + ky(D22)p]

(10b)

Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Green Technology and Sustainable Development, 2014

3.

(E )

DEFLECTION OF A SIMPLY
SUPPORTED COMPOSITE
PLATE

fj m

+ 2o f jf< + (E ) f < =

f j
J (s

fj m

fj m

s )r J (s s ][(t t )
p q [r
(t t ) + p  [(ss ) (s s )][r J (t
t ) r J (t t )]
(14)

A rectangular composite laminate plate

with simply supported boundary conditions
is considered in this work. The location of
the surface bonded actuator is shown in
figure 3. The activated piezoelectric
actuators will induce bending moments as
derived in equation (10) to the composite
plate and can be expressed in terms of unit
step function as folows:

For a simple supported rectangular plate, the

flexural displacement w can be expressed by
the following fourier series [2]:

z
u(s, t) = z
eL KL wKe ,-.

ex
y

,-.

Kx
{

(15a)

Substituting equation(15a) into equation

(14), solve for the constant Wmn as follows:
w}~ =

h

mx=kx[h(x-x1)-h(x-x2)][h(y-y1)-h(y-y2)](11a)

<< < <

j j
 j j
(X ) C <
C j (X<< )Y

<

my=ky[h(x-x1)-h(x-x2)][h(y-y1)-h(y-y2)](11b)

(15b)

%
{ y
ex
Kx
A A (s, t),-. y ,-. { 5s5t =
y.{
e < Ce <
%
\ g d (01,e s 01,e s )(01,K t
y.{

eK =

01,K t `

(15c)

Where m= m/a , n =n/b.

4.
Figure 3. Surface bonded actuator on the
composite laminate plate

In the following numerical examples, the

composite material is carbon/epoxy with
stacking
sequence
[0/90/90/0].The
composite
material
properties
of
carbon/epoxy are listed in Table 1. The
dimensions of the composite laminate plate
are length a = 0.38 m, width b = 0.3 m,
thickness tp= 1.5876 mm. The piezoelectric
actuator is assumed to be PZT G-1195 with
the material properties [1] of Youngs
modulus Epe= 63 GPa, Poissons ratio
vpe= 0.3, density pe= 7,600 kg/m2,
piezoelectric constant d31 = 1.9 10-10
V/m and thickness tpe= 0.15876 mm. The
effects of the size and location of the
actuators are presented through a
parametric study to investigate the
deflection and deformed shape of the
composite plate activated by the
surfacebonded piezoelectric actuators.

Using the classical plate theory [2], the

equilibrium equation for the plate can be
written in terms of the plate internal
moment Mx,My,Mxy and the actuators
induced moment mx,my as:
b < (cd :ed )
f <

+2

f< cdg
ff

f< (cg :eg )

f <

= 0 (12)

The internal moment Mx,My,Mxy can be

expressed in terms of the flexural
displacement w. moving the moment mx,my
to the right hand side of equation (12),
yields to the following equilibrium equation
of the composite laminate plate [3]:
(D )h

ij k
iOj

ij k

NUMERICAL VALIDATION AND

EXAMPLES

fm j

+ 2H iO< iV< +(D )S f j = P (13)

Where (D11)p, (D22)p, (D66)P are the bending

stiffness of the composite laminate as
defined in equation (7).

Table1. Material properties of cacbon/epoxy

Substituting equation (11) into equation

(13), leads to the governing differential
equation:

Longitudinal Transverser Shear

Shear Poissons Poissons
modul E1
modulus modulus modulus ratio v12 ratio v23
GPa
E2 GPa G12 GPa G23 Gpa

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Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Green Technology and Sustainable Development, 2014
108

10.3

7.13

4.02

0.28

0.28

4.1 Example 1: One locations of

actuators
Two piezoelectric actuators are surface
bonded on the top and bottom surfaces of
the composite plate. Three different sizes of
piezoelectric actuators as shown in figure 4
are considered in this example. The
voltages of +1V and -1V are applied to the
top and bottom actuators, respectively,
resulting in the bending moment acting on
the composite plate. The deflections of the
composite plate induced by the actuators
are calculated using both the analytical
prediction of equation (15).

Figure 6. The flexural displacements along

x=a/2 of the composite plate
Table 2. Compare maximum displacements of
the composite plate induced by PZT actuators
with three different sizes
Size

Deflection (10-3)

60 x 40 mm

-0.61 mm

80 x 60 mm

-1.19 mm

100 x 80 mm

-1.93 mm

The larger PZT patch size (constant

thickness) is, the more displacement of the
composite laminate plate is at the same
point on the composite laminate plate.

Figure 4. Three different sizes of PZT

actuators

4.2 Example 2: Three different locations

of actuators
To study the capability of control the
deflection shape of the plate, actuators are
placed at various locations. In this example,
the piezoelectric actuators are surface
bonded at three different locations, central,
right and top region of the plate,
respectively, as shown in figure 7. These
three typical locations were arbitrarily
chosen to demonstrate the influence of the
actuator location on the deflection.

Figure 5 shows the deformed shape of the

composite plate predicted by equation(15).
The flexural displacements along the
horizontal line y=b/2 and the vertical line
x=a/2 of the composite plate are presented.

Figure 5. Deformationof the composite plate

induced the PZT actuator 0.06m x 0.04m
obtained by equation (15)

Figure 7.Three different locations of PZT

actuator

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Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Green Technology and Sustainable Development, 2014

At the location 1 (center), deflection of the

composite plate is the greatest and as close
to the edge, the smaller deflection of the
composite plate. Figure 8 and table 3
demonstrates that the shape of the plate can
be controlled by placing the actuators at
various locations.
5.

In this investigation, two piezoelectric

actuators are symmetrically surface bonded
on a composite laminate plate. Electric
voltages with the same amplitude and
opposite sign are applied to the two
symmetric piezoelectric actuators, resulting
in the bending effect on the plate.
Theoretical model of the bending moment
is derived by using the theory of elasticity
to represent the interaction of the actuator
and the host plate. Following the classical
plate theory, the deflection of a simply
supported plate subjected to the bending
moment can be obtained. Author shown the
effects of size and location of actuators on
the responses of the plate are presented
through the parametric study.

Figure 8. Flexural displacement of the

composite plate obtained by equation (15)
along the horizontal line (y=b/2)
Table 3.Maximum deflection of the composite
plate induced by the PZT actuators at three
differentlocation
Location (figure 7)

Deflection (10-4)

-2.1 mm

-6.1 mm

-4.3 mm

CONCLUSIONS

At different locations, maximum deflection

of the composite laminate plate is various.

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[1]

FEM of piezoelectric active structure Vicent Piefort2001.

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Nguyen Van Vuong Application of elastic theory Educational Publishing, 1999.

[3]

Tran Cong Nghi Structural durability of composite material National University, 2004.

[4]

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[5]

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[6]

Crawley, E. de Luis, J. Use of piezoelectric actuators as elements of intelligent

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Huang. G.H.; Sun, C.T. The dynamic behaviour of a piezoelectric actuator bonded to an
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