The electromechanical response of multilayered piezoelectric structures

The constitutive equations of multilayered piezoelectric structures are derived in a new form. In this form, the electromechanical coupling is presented as an additional stiffness matrix. This matrix is a true property of the piezoelectric structure and is independent of specific mechanical boundary conditions that may apply to the structure. A novel model of the electromechanical response of such structures is presented. This model accounts for the three-dimensional (3-D) kinematics of the structure deformation. Solution of example problems using the new model shows excellent agreement with full 3-D finite element simulations. These solutions are also compared to the results of previous two-dimensional (2-D) model approximations presented in literature, and the inaccuracies associated with these previous models are discussed.