Overall electroelastic moduli of particulate piezocomposites with non-dilute BCC microstructure

The present paper addresses an analytical method to determine the overall behavior of piezocomposite materials containing body centered cubic (BCC) distribution of arbitrary oriented ellipsoidal heterogeneities. This approach is based on the extension of the electromechanical equivalent inclusion method (EMEIM) to interacting multi-inhomogeneities. In this treatment the short and long range interactions of the piezoelectric particles are appropriately incorporated through the homogenizing eigenstrain–electric field. The periodicity of the microstructure of the medium suggests representing the eigenfields in terms of Fourier series, accounting for the matrix–particle, interparticle and interaparticle interactions with high precision. The proposed method is also extended to problems, where the reinforcement particles may have very thick and/or functionally graded (FG) coatings. Through consideration of several complex scenarios the robustness and applicability of the proposed theory are demonstrated. Accordingly, the effects of volume fraction, thickness and electroelastic moduli of coating, as well as shape and orientation of the coated ellipsoidal reinforcements on overall behavior of piezocomposite are thoroughly examined. A strong dependence of overall response of piezocomposite on the microstructure of their reinforcement particles is recognized.