In the current work, a finite element formulation is developed for modeling and analysis of isotropic as well as orthotropic composite beams with distributed piezoelectric actuators subjected to both mechanical and electrical loads. The proposed model is developed based on a simple higher order shear deformation theory where the displacement field equations in the model account for a parabolic distribution of the shear strain and the nonlinearity of in-plane displacements across the thickness and subsequently the shear correction factor is not involved. The virtual displacement method is used to formulate the equations of motion of the structure system. The model is valid for both segmented and continuous piezoelectric elements, which can be either surface bonded or embedded in the laminated beams. A two-node element with four mechanical degrees of freedom in addition to one electrical degree of freedom for each node is used in the finite element formulation. The electric potential is considered as a function of the thickness and the length of the beam element. A MATLAB code is developed to compute the static deformation and free vibration parameters of the beams with distributed piezoelectric actuators. The obtained results from the proposed model are compared with the available analytical results and the finite element results of other researchers.
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