An analytical model for predicting thermo-electro-mechanical response of 1–3 piezoelectric composites

An analytical method based on parallel and series models is developed to evaluate the performance of 1–3 piezoelectric composite where both matrix and fiber phases are piezoelectrically active. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of the volume fraction of ceramic on the smart composite and the performance of the 1–3 composite for underwater acoustics and biomedical imaging has been addressed. The present model is capable of predicting the effective properties of the composite subjected to thermo-electro-mechanical loading conditions. Simulated results are compared with experimentally measured data reported in literature (Taunaumang et al., 1994 [1]) and are found to be in reasonable agreement. The outcome of the present study demonstrates the influence of thermal effect on effective properties of the composite induces the polarization in the composite. Along the loading direction, there is a significant reduction in the effective pyroelectric coefficient of the piezocomposites, except near the monolithic ceramic fiber material.