Stress analysis of bi-layered composite beam induced by piezoelectric actuator

Actuators based on piezoelectric effects have received great attention for their broad applications in sensors and actuators. In this study, a piezoelectric layer is adhered to a substrate to form a bi-layered composite beam. Electric voltage is applied to the piezoelectric layer, resulting in a bending moment on the bi-layered composite beam. A static analysis basing on the theories of elasticity and piezoelectricity is performed to determine the stress distribution in the composite beam induced by the piezoelectric layer. The theoretical predictions are compared with the numerical results of the finite element method to demonstrate the validation of the proposed method. A numerical study is conducted to investigate the effects of the thickness and Young's modulus on the stress distribution of the composite beam. Numerical results show that the stress distribution across the thickness is heavily dependent on the ratios of the thickness and Young's modulus between the two layers. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2015.