Active beam cross-sectional modeling

摘要

A finite-element based analysis for modeling active composite beams with embedded anisotropic actuation is presented. It is devived from three-dimensional electroelasticity, where the original problem is reduced via the variational asymptotic method. The resulting cross-sectional analysis takes into consideration passive and active anisotropic and nonhomogeneous materials, and represents general (thin-walled, thick-walled, solid) cross-sectional geometries. The formulation requires neither the costly use of 3-D finite element discretization nor the loss of accuracy inherent to any simplified representation of the cross section. The developed formulation is numerically implemented in VABS-A, and several numerical and experimental tests cases are used to support validation of the proposed theory. Also, the effect of the presence of a core in originally hallow configurations is presented and counter-intuitive conclusions are discussed. The generality of the method and accuracy of the results increase confidence at the design stage that the active beam structure will perform as expected and, consequently, should lower costs from experimental tests and further adjustments.