An Electrestrictive Thin Plate Finite Element. Numerical Results and Experimental Validations

摘要

Piezoelectric plates have been widely used for the vibration reduction and noise control of structures. Due to power forces considerations, electrostrictive patches present a growing interest. It is thus the purpose of the present research to contribute to modeling aspects of thin structures integrating such actuators. Several three-dimensional finite elements have been elaborated to simulate these structures behavior. Using the constitutive relationships analysed by the first author in a previous paper, an original two-dimensional plate theory have been presented at SPIE'Ol with a focus on modeling aspects and corresponding appropriate variational formulations. Let us recall that the element here developed has the particular property of reducing the initial electromechanical problem to a purely mechanical problem based on a modified elastic constitutive law. The electrical unknowns are then explicitly derived from the mechanical displacements. This theory thus proved that there is no need to develop new plate finite elements but that one could use classical elements for laminated plates. The previous paper, moreover underlined that using current as actuators driving input leads to simplifications of the behavior modeling. The purpose of this presentation is then to validate the current driven and voltage driven plate models, previously established, through numerical finite element results and experimental correlations.