Journals Proceedings

Abstract

In recent years, smart composite materials have been employed in various science and engineering applications such as aerospace structures, nondestructive testing devices, medical devices, and sensing and actuating applications. One of the most popular classes is a 1-3 piezocomposite that composes of homogeneous transversely isotropic piezoelectric cylinders embedded in an isotropic elastic material. The 1-3 piezocomposites can produce higher electro-mechanical coupling effects, more conformable and less brittle than pure piezoelectric materials. For optimal design of these composites to meet high requirements in practical science and engineering applications, it is essential to know the effective properties that couple electromechanical properties of the composites. This paper is concerned with the development of an efficient methodology to determine the effective properties of smart composite materials with special emphasis on 1-3 piezocomposites. A micromechanics theory based on a periodic microfield approach together with the boundary element method have been employed to calculate effective properties of the piezocomposites. A computer program has been developed based on the proposed solution scheme. Comparisons with the available existing solutions are performed to verify the accuracy of the developed solution scheme. Selected numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the capability of the present algorithm, and to show the influence of various parameters on the effective electro–mechanical properties of the composites.